So, How did I find parkrun?

To be honest with you, I'm not really sure. I have vague recollections about how I found it, but nothing concrete. I do remember the first time I attended though.

I'd been running for a couple of years with my Brother and Sister in Law. My interest had waxed and waned due to one thing and another. I suspect I was googling something and came across this weekly 5k at Heaton Park (one of my favourite places) which was called parkrun. All you had to do was sign up on their website and you could run for free with others whilst being timed.
I do remember being hesitant, and that even though I signed up straight away, it took me a few weeks to visit for the first time.

My first visit was on the 21st of May 2011. In the previous 2 years, I had run the Trafford 10k and the Manchester 10k, so I'd raced before. I knew the deal, or did I?

Timing Chips are one thing, but how would they work the barcode angle? Would each person start, one by one so that they could be scanned off the start line and at the finish line? My mind couldn't work that one out.
So after a read through on the website the evening before, I drove up to the park, parked behind the lake and wandered over to the start line which was in front of the Cafe at that time.

The briefing was quick (There were less people there then, and we were off.
Man, that first 5k hurt. I'd done 5k before, in fact I'd run 10k regularly, but there's something about a parkrun which tests you every single time you run.

The first 1k was to challenge, past the lake, up a bit of a hill, through the copse and back past the start. Not too bad. Then I realised that the bit of a hill was 1/3 of a bigger hill I was about to tackle, I later came to know the a
name of that Hill, they call it Angina and with good reason. Now that was horrid for weeks.

The next part was my favourite on the old course though, running across the front of Heaton Park, looking out to the right over Manchester, WHAT. A. VIEW. On a lovely Saturday morning.

Around past the Golf Course, then down the gradual hill, around the back of the lake and back to the finish in front of the cafe.

I won't lie to you, on that first visit I walked 4 times, it was only on my 8th run. that I finally managed the whole 5k without walking.

I completed the course in 37:54, and achieved position 245, quite near the back. but the seed was kinda sowed.

in 2011 though, I only managed 6 parkruns. I didn't catch the bug just then.