ParkRun

I was looking for a 5k race in Copenhagen and stumbled across ParkRun. They are an organization that facilitates free, weekly, timed 5k races in parks around the world. In Copenhagen, there are three races that happen every Saturday.

You register online and get a barcode that you can print out. You bring your barcode with to the race. When you cross the finish line, you get a card with your finishing order and another barcode on it. They track finishing time based on overall place. After you cross, you give your order card and your personal barcode to someone and they scan it to get your time. Later in the day, the times are posted online and emailed out to all participants. There were also a couple people taking pictures and they posted those online later. I actually got some decent pictures of me running.

On Saturday, there were 62 runners as well as some spectators. We met at a beautiful park in eastern Copenhagen. We ran three laps around the park. It was a totally flat route and pretty: things are getting really green now and the trees are leafing out, so it was nice to be in such a verdant park for a run. The other runners were also great and I enjoyed talking with them before and after the race.

It was also fun to get out and race! I've been doing a lot of speed workouts here, so I wanted to do a race to see if I've gotten faster. It's always funny how doing a race makes you push more than you had planned. I was sore and my legs were pretty tight so I didn't think I would push too hard. Once the race started though, I couldn't go slow. I was the second woman to finish and I set a new 5k PR.

I'm running out of Saturdays left in Copenhagen. I wish I had discovered ParkRun sooner, but I will be back the rest of the Saturdays that I'm in town.