We’ve all been there. As January rears its ugly head, thousands of us up and down the country resolve to be healthier, to get fitter or to do more exercise. And when this urge comes around, one of the sports many of us turn to is running.
The reasons are bountiful. First off, we all know how to do it – it’s just putting one foot in front of the other, but faster than walking. Secondly, it’s cheap. All you really need is a pair of trainers and you are good to go, no expensive gear required. Third, it can be a solo pursuit or a social one – many people choose to start their running adventures together to help encourage each other and make sure they carry on with it for longer than the first few weeks of the new year. Running is also something you can do pretty much anywhere, which is one of the reasons that I think it’s such a great hobby to have when you go camping or caravanning.
Even with the great reasons listed above, not to mention how running makes you feel happier, healthier and improves your overall well-being, it’s sometimes pretty tough to keep up that motivation. It’s funny – January is the single most popular time of the year for people to take up running, but it’s also probably the least enjoyable month to do it. It’s cold, it’s dark, it’s miserable – but there are ways you can stick with it, and one of those is parkrun.
Hopefully you will have heard of parkrun, but if not, here’s the brief 101. Parkrun is a network of free, timed, weekly five kilometre runs in parks and green spaces around the country that anyone can take part in. Simply by registering online and printing your unique barcode you can turn up to any parkrun anywhere in the country at 9am on a Saturday and run with men, women and children of all ages and abilities. There are about 500 parkruns in the UK at last count, and alluding to my earlier point, many of them are incredibly close to campsites.
What better way to keep up your commitment to running than heading out from the campsite on a crisp and bright morning, coming back just an hour or so later with 5k under your belt before most of the other campers have even stirred? The sense of satisfaction and achievement you get from a parkrun really sets you up for the day and the weekend.
At the time of writing, I have completed 34 parkruns, most of which have been in my hometown or nearby. However, I have managed to get a couple in while camping and having thoroughly enjoyed the synergy between running and camping, it’s something I will be trying to wedge in on all future camping trips.
One particularly enjoyable event was running the Cannock Chase parkrun last summer, which is just a ten-minute drive from Cannock Chase Club Site. It was so easy and a great way to wake up and shake off the cobwebs, that I wondered why I’d never done it before. All it required was an extra pair of trainers packed in with my tent and some get up and go – though as it was summer, I woke up quite naturally in plenty of time for the run thanks to the early sunrise. I ran with my colleague Stuart Kidman, but would have been equally happy and welcomed alone, or with a family – parkrun welcomes anyone over the age of four, all organisers ask is that children under 11 are accompanied by an adult during the run.
So, if running is your resolution for 2018, why not consider giving parkrun a go? It’s a great event to stick in the itinerary on any camping trip and you could even organise a few of your fellow campers to go over with you. Camping can be a very sociable pastime if you want it to be, and running is exactly the same. Stick with it – I promise you will feel the benefits long into the year!