December 6th - Parkrun Dilemma

   

Chris and Rob at Havant Parkrun

    I am fairly new to the world of Parkrun, if you're not sure what it is then let me explain, Parkrun is a free weekly Saturday morning 5km run, Parkrun's happen all over the country, there are 5 Parkrun's in my area. Parkrunner's are issued their own personal barcode which is scanned in at the end of each run enabling you to keep track of your progress, its a brilliant idea. 

    I say I am fairly new to Parkrun, that is a lie, I've actually had a Parkrun barcode for about 5 years but I have never had the confidence to actually join in with one, that was until this July when I took part in my first Parkrun. Last Saturday (the 4th) I took part in my 10th Parkrun, the location I generally choose is in Southsea mainly because I know some of the other runners and it is next to the sea if I feel like I need a dip, The Southsea run is very popular often getting between 300 and 400 runners.

    I've was asked not too long ago whether I run the Parkrun's without my shirt on and the answer in short is no. you see I think its a bit more complicated than just getting on and doing it. I am not 100% sure if I feel that it is the right thing to do, I mean don't get me wrong, I would love to run Parkrun shirtless but there are things to consider. 

1 - As I mentioned I have run Parkrun since July and in that time I have never seen another shirtless runner, not at Southsea or at any of the other local runs. 

2 - The Parkruns are organised events, many runners wear the various Parkrun branded t-shirts (quite cool but not my cup of tea) and a lot of runners take the events really seriously (which is great) in all their high tech running gear and trainers. and there I am bouncing along towards the back in a vest and shorts trying not to get in anyone's way. 

and lastly

3 - For a very short while I was a member of a Parkrun Facebook group, a quick search led me to find that there are a small group of people who dislike the idea of runners who run without a shirt, I totally understand their point of view, some random sweaty bloke showing off his body, who wants to see that, I get it, I really do. As I have said in previous posts I do not do this to show off my body, I do it because I like to experience the cold and freedom.

Rob and Chris at Queen Elizabeth Country Park Parkrun

    There is something that I really find uncomfortable, something I avoid at all costs and that is confrontation, It scares the crap out of me, I hate the idea of being confronted by anyone about anything and If I were to turn up to a Parkrun without a shirt on and someone were to question me or tell me to stop then I would probably crumple inside and feel like would not want to run at that Parkrun again. 

    So there is my dilemma, I want to run Parkrun shirtless but I am not convinced that its the right thing to do, maybe I just need to work on my confidence. What do you think?

Southsea Park Run - Dec 2021