Gravesend junior parkrun 25 - the half-marathon wristband

If life had taken the path that I had imagined it would, I would have been running the 2015 London Marathon and Matilda would have been in Central London with her Mum and the rest of my family getting ready for a brief encounter with me as I trudged out my final mile or so. But as things panned out, this year was not to be and I withdrew my place.

with her half-marathon wristband and certificate [photo: dani]

With the marathon no longer an option I wanted to do something else and what better than helping the next generation of (marathon) runners. So I put my name down as a volunteer at Gravesend junior parkrun and we headed over there for a pretty special event. You see, a few weeks beforehand Matilda had run at the inaugural Lesnes Abbey Woods junior parkrun and in the process she had achieved her first junior parkrun landmark run by running 11 times becoming part of the junior Half Marathon club (11 x 2 being 22km - ie hitting and then passing the half-marathon mark).

She knew that she would receive a wristband as recognition of her achievement so she was pretty excited and was keen to go even though it was a miserable, rainy morning. By the way, when a junior runner reaches a landmark run a link appears on their personal club progress page and this gives the runner a printable certificate. I hadn't told Matilda about the certificate but I had printed one out and framed it.

approaching my marshalling spot [photo: 7t]

Once arriving at the Gravesend Riverside Gardens I headed over to GjpHQ in order to hand over the certificate so it could be included with her presentation. Once that was sorted I got kitted out in the hi-vis volunteer jacket and grabbed myself one of the legendary junior parkrun foam hands (I picked blue to match the half-marathon wristband).

Just before the warm-up the wristband presentations took place and Matilda was over the moon to receive her blue half-marathon wristband and certificate. As soon as that was complete I took a swift jog over to the opposite side of the park to take up my position at the car park gate marshalling spot. Matilda had decided that she wanted her Mum to run around with her today.

hi-five [photo: dani]

After about 16 minutes of pointing, hi-fiving and cheering, the last of the runners and the tail runner came past and it was time to collect some signs and head back to HQ. It's actually quite interesting seeing the responses I got when I offered hi-fives - the younger ones loved it, but in general the older ones were not so keen.

Once the results had been processed Matilda's results text message came through to my phone and she was really happy when I told her that she had run a new personal best. Her best 2k time is now 15.21; this is exactly one minute faster than her previous best on the course. So although it wasn't the day I had initially had in mind for 26 April 2015, it certainly turned out to be pretty good.

chilling out at home post-run [photo: 7t]

She's even started to talk about running at 'Daddy's parkrun'....

Gravesend junior parkrun 21: snot-a-roos

Last time we went to Gravesend junior parkrun, Matilda unfortunately took a tumble during the start and hurt her knees. Ever since that day she hasn't been too keen on returning. Her reason has been that it has been too cold, which is fair enough. We have been filling the void with a combination of swimming, lazing around, or have been to the Sunday mornings 'movies for juniors' screenings at the cinema (the entry fee is £1.50 per person - and I do like a bargain).

Since that visit the course has been reversed which seems to have made a massive difference to the problems that were beginning to occur at the start as the event became more popular. A huge thumbs up to the team for recognising and acting on this!

bolting matilda [photo: dawn granger]

Matilda had a tonne of energy and was bouncing around all over the place as we walked over to the start-finish with fellow parkrunners Jane and Alex. Shortly after arriving I had a chat with the event director for the forthcoming Lullingstone parkrun, and then it was time for the warm up - which Matilda loves!

Once thoroughly warmed up, the junior runners lined up and the run director said 'ready...' but before he gave the order to go, Matilda bolted. After a slight pause from the run director and a cheeky backwards grin from Matilda, the rest of the runners were despatched.

off-piste [photo:7t]

Now. There is an official junior parkrun course that was created by the adults and there is the alternative course that is created by children, more specifically, was created by Matilda*. Today. For most of the course there is no choice but to follow the prescribed route, but in a few spots there are some slightly off-piste variations of the course that can be used (unofficially of course).

There was quite a bit of river/sea debris along the riverside path and this became the first additional feature. Instead of skirting around the edge, Matilda decided that the random bits of seaweed and logs would become hurdles. Around a few corners and there's a small off-road section beside the main path containing some large rocks and small grass mounds - obviously these are to be jumped on, run over and sprinted down.

off-piste [photo:7t]

Another theme of today's run was Matilda's runny nose (aka snot-a-roos), which every few minutes needed to be wiped away (Daddy, I have snot-a-roos). And being such a well organised parent, I of course did not bring any tissues.... My punishment for being so unprepared was to donate my sleeve to the snot-a-roos cause. Which might seem a bit 'eurgh' to non-parents, but as a parent I think you just get on and deal with it in the best way you can at the time.

Further on, the path is the easier option but why take that when you can easily sneak past the wicked witch and jump through the frame surrounding a small tree. Or you can even stop for a few seconds to pick up some feathers for your collection! Then there were the marshals offering high-fives - today Matilda had seemingly decided to turn these into chest-fives - I'm not sure if this is a new thing or if she was just being lazy!

chest-five [photo:7t]

This continued around both laps which of course meant that a personal best was out of the question. But the brilliant thing is that she doesn't care about personal bests.

At this age it's so important to let kids be kids. If during the run they want to run around off the path, pick up random stones, briefly run the opposite way along the course, or even pop into the playground to have a quick slide, this is surely the time to embrace it. Because once they get older they might become obsessed with personal bests and their Garmin splits, and that innocent, care-free spirit may be lost forever.

sneaking past the wicked witch [photo:7t]

The results for Gravesend junior parkrun event 21 can be found here

*other children may have previously used similar methods

Gravesend junior parkrun 14

When I asked Matilda what she wanted to do upon waking on Sunday (1 February) she replied with a very enthusiastic 'SWIMMING!!!'. The swimming pool in Dartford is currently undergoing refurbishments so we have been going to Cascades in Gravesend (aka North Downs Run HQ).

General admission to the pool is from 10.30am which fitted in perfectly with a quick visit to Gravesend junior parkrun. So we packed our swimming bags, stuck on our running gear and headed over to the riverside leisure area in Gravesend.

It was a very cold morning and Matilda wasn't overly keen to run at first, but we walked over to the start area and by the time the mass warm up session had finished she was raring to go. So much so that I didn't even spot her as she eagerly headed over to the start line. Fortunately, one of my running buddies Angela was there and she kindly let me know that Matilda had already lined up.

one [photo: paul johnston]

As everyone was forming on the start line I said a quick hello to BuggyRunningDad who was there with his children. I had been given an invitation to run with Matilda so I hung around at the back knowing that I could let the kids get going and then catch up with Matilda as the runners began to thin out.

As the runners headed off and the crowd of spectating parents and volunteers began to clear, I was faced with the sight that pretty much broke my heart. Matilda was standing there looking around for me and calling my name. I rushed over to her where she explained that she had fallen over during the start and hurt both of her knees. She kept saying 'Daddy, it was too tight' in reference to there being too many people squeezed into a small space (she has confirmed that my interpretation was indeed what she meant).

two [photo: paul johnston]

In order to try to take her mind off of her grazed knees and to try to prevent her from getting too cold, I suggested that we carry on around the course and we walked the first hundred metres or so with the tail runner. As we walked along, she remained pretty upset and by now she was also shivering so I suggested that we should go back to the car, which she agreed would be the best thing to do.

In order to warm her up I started the engine and within a few minutes she was playing with the stereo (I had no idea it could pump out so much volume) and the hot air blowers in the car. Her knees were slightly grazed but she soon forgot about the fall. Now nice and toasty we got into our respective seats and headed off to the swimming pool where we an absolutely fantastic time.

three [photo: paul johnston]

When we arrived home I spent some thinking about the start area at Gravesend junior parkrun which is fairly narrow, is bordered on one side by a brick wall and features a short sharp downhill. This combination didn't seem to be problematic when the numbers were lower, but now that the event is attracting larger numbers (68 junior runners + parents) it is definitely in need of a re-think...

... which was why I was happy to read in the event report that the start point of the run is being reviewed. You'll never get that many children to line up sensibly and smaller ones like Matilda will unintentionally get themselves right in the thick of the action without realising that they are at risk of being swept off their feet. I'd definitely say that it needs to be moved to a wider area that is flat to minimise the risk of future start line falls. There are wider paths on the course so hopefully changing it will be quite straightforward. I told Matilda about the possible change to the start area and she responded with a big 'Yay!'.

four [photo: paul johnston]

Matilda's incident was captured in a series of four photos by the photographer on the day and just looking at them really breaks my heart all over again.

Gravesend junior parkrun 10

Sundays have been quite hectic lately, and this has meant that Matilda hasn't been to a junior parkrun since November. So with nothing else in the calendar, we got up and went over the the Gravesend Riverside Gardens to take part in the tenth Gravesend junior parkrun.

me and my number one running buddy [photo:dani]

It was the first event of 2015 and, even though the weather was cold, damp and foggy, had a fantastic turnout of 48 junior runners. Matilda wasn't in a pb hunting mood and we played our usual running games as we proceeded around the course.

half-way around [photo:dani]

This was her 9th junior parkrun and she was supported by her Mum and her Opi (Grandad on the German side). Her finishing time was 17.44 [results] which was actually her slowest on the course. I think that was mostly down to running with me.

chatting about something [photo:dani]

As always, the volunteers were fab - they had their big foam hands with them and Matilda was loving collecting the hi-fives as she went past. Once all of the runners had completed the course, we headed back to the car to warm up.

running along the foggy riverside [photo:dani]

It was brilliant to run with Matilda and it seems that this is slowly replacing our buggy running. It also got us out of the house nice and early before heading off across into Essex to drop her Opa off at Stansted airport. Of course, this whole blog post was just an excuse to post some photos of the two of us running together.

Gravesend junior parkrun (#2)

As I understand it the second Gravesend junior parkrun event was thrown into chaos when the team arrived at the Gravesend Riverside Leisure Area to find that the fun fair that had been in town had churned up the grass and left all sorts of obstructions around the course. Fortunately the team reacted quickly and found a suitable route for the keen youngsters to get their weekly 2 kilometre parkrun fix. For a full account of this you can read the Gravesend parkrun news page for their account of the day.

such fun, not fair [photo: dani]

For the first time ever, the junior runner and her mum had gone to a parkrun without me. Where was I, then? Well, I had headed off to the Castle to Castle 5k (6.8k) Run in Chiddingstone for a little muddy adventure in the countryside. The eager parkrunner and her mum had taken the train over to Gravesend. It's a pretty straight forward journey and only takes about 15 minutes from Dartford. She has some proper running kit, but at the moment she is having a phase of picking out various random costumes for running - last week it was the pink tutu, and this week it was the Adventure Time onesie.

the 29 eager runners [photo:gary bignell]

So instead of running the normal two-lap course, the children ended up running the modified version which I'm told was roughly two-and-a-half laps using a slightly different route around the riverside leisure area. Matilda did get a little confused at having to take a different route, but after a prompt and a lot of pointing, she got herself back on track. She always says that she loves to 'run with the other children', and this week she spent some of the run running with two of her SLGR team mates.

go #teamslgr! [photo:gary bignell]

I was still in Chiddingstone when her results text message came through and I was over the moon to see that she had run another 2 kilometre personal best, which now stands at 16.21 and her age grading has risen to 48.93%. This is a 50 second improvement over last week's time at the same venue. She had taken her brand new Australian parkrun barcode disc (barcode options) along this week, which she tells me is now her favourite!

adventure time [photo: gary bignell]

It was a great turnout as far as SLGR goes - This week there were five SLGR junior runners, which means that 17.24% of the runners were from our little friendly black and orange club. There were also two of our adult runners on the volunteer roster, so a really good showing all round! SLGR juniors are currently (November 2014) top of the club list at the venue (bear in kind that if you click on the link years from now it may have changed completely).

approaching the finish (with dani taking a photo in the background) [photo: gary bignell]

After reviewing the results in a little more detail, I saw that Matilda was the most experienced junior parkrunner on the day, which is a great achievement at the ripe old age of four years, 2 months and 22 days old.

having her australian barcode disc scanned [photo:dani]

That was Gravesend junior parkrun event 2 as best as I can make out. Sadly her 100% attendance record will be broken next week when we head off to sample another venue. But, we will be back (again)!

Gravesend junior parkrun (#1)

Gravesend's Riverside Leisure Area is the home of Gravesend Junior parkrun. The area features five elements; The Fort Gardens, which were previously used as New Tavern Fort and guarded the entrance to the Thames from 1870 until converted into gardens in the 1930s. During the summer months it is possible to tour the fort's underground tunnels and learn about how it would have defended the maritime route into London against an enemy fleet. The promenade area which has frontage onto the Thames and features an olympics fitness area and the cafe/toilets.

the opening section heading towards the first marshal [photo:7t]

The Dell Area, with links to Gravesend's military history as a defence ditch. The Gordon Memorial Gardens which is a formal area with a statue of General Charles Gordon - he supervised the extensive rebuilding of the fort between 1865 and 1879. Finally Gordon Pleasure Gardens which features heavily in the route of the parkrun and contains the pond with two fountains and a couple of play areas.

warm up session [photo:7t]

On 2 November 2014 Gravesend Junior parkrun held their inaugural event and with us being very local, this could quite possibly become my daughter's junior parkrun home event. With that in mind, we wanted to be around to welcome the event into the parkrun family. For anyone new to the junior series, they are for 4-14 year olds and take place on Sundays. Runners need to register for parkrun in advance and bring their personal barcode (the barcode is valid at any parkrun event worldwide). Also, the start time and frequency does vary slightly between venues, so always check the individual events' webpage before travelling. For a full list of junior parkrun venues, please see this map.

richey nervously getting a quick shot of the start line [photo:7t]

On the day, we picked up Richey (Dartford parkrun Event Director) en route as he had volunteered to be the day's official photographer. Upon arrival we parked in the car park adjacent to the park, which is free on Sundays. As you may have spotted from my other junior parkrun blog entries, I like to arrive early and freedom run the courses to get a better understanding as to what the children experience during the run before writing about it.

matilda, look where you are going [photo:7t]

With my freedom runs (three of them) out of the way, I found my daughter and the rest of our group and prepared for the inaugural run to get under way. The main meeting point is right in the centre of the park, next to the building which houses the toilets and cafe. This venue has a 9.30am start time and just before this, in true junior parkrun style, there is a briefing followed by a warm up session.

the marshals had big foam hands [photo:7t]

After the warm up, the young runners gather on the start line which is at the corner next to the cafe/toilets building. Once the run is underway, the runners head south along the straight tarmac path passing the pond on their right. Its ever so slightly downward gradient at the beginning ensures everyone gets a nice speedy start. At the end of this path, the runners go through the iron gate and turn right where they run along the path at the southern end of the park. Another right hand turn just before the car park brings the runners back into the boundaries of the park.

there was one 10th anniversary t-shirt on show [photo:7t]

The path now meanders back in the general direction of the cafe building and the runners pass along the opposite side of the pond, where they may pass the odd fisherman. They soon run past the far side of the cafe building and turn left followed by a right which leads directly onto the riverside promenade. From here there is a fab view across the River Thames to Tilbury Fort, sewage works and the power station. It's not the prettiest of views, but the twin chimneys of Tilbury Power Station are quite a sight.

tilbury power station [photo:7t]

At the far end of the promenade, the course turns back towards the park and the runners have a little lump to go over which leads into a gentle downward path that takes them back towards the start area. It's a two lap course, so at the end of lap one, the runners turn the corner at the cafe/toilets building and complete another lap. At the end of lap two it's an all-out sprint for the finish where the runners are welcomed with cheers and applause.

she ditched the running gear today [photo:7t]

The results were processed and online within an hour or so and it turns out that my daughter ran another 2k personal best. She knocked 5 seconds off her time she set the previous week at Wimbledon Park Junior parkrun. Her 2k personal best now stands at 17.11, and she does that all with a smile (and today in a pink frilly pink tutu).

matilda with her running buddies [photo:7t]

This event marked my daughter's fifth junior parkrun and also her fifth different junior parkrun venue. I've asked her what she thought about it, but she is four-going-on-fourteen and won't give me a straight answer. So I'll just tell you what I thought - I really enjoyed running the course, the route is interesting enough to keep runners engaged and also compact enough to keep nervous parents happy. As with all junior events, it is very well marshaled and the marshals are very interactive with the children; offering encouragement and hi-fives all around the course.

the finish area [photo:7t]

One of the great things at the inaugural was the support from other parkrun events - Four parkrun event directors (from Shorne Woods, Great Lines, Orpington and Dartford parkruns) that had come along to offer their time and support at the event. Always good to see the great links between the venues. The inaugural attracted an impressive 40 junior runners so it will be interesting to see where it goes from there. We'll certainly be back!