My first (Freedom) parkrun

by Adrian J. Watts 📅 2026-01-15 🕒 3 min read

Six years after a student encouraged me to try the local parkrun, I finally went and explored the route. And I liked it.

2019

Back in 2019, I was completing my final teaching practicum placement. I was with a Grade 4 class, and one of the kids and I got along really well, which was surprising since his whole life revolved around sport and mine... did not.

🚘 Fun fact: At the time, I was also learning to drive... and taking my sweet time about it. This same student strongly encouraged me to get my licence, and challenged me to have it by the end of the teaching placement. I did! Honestly, if not for that, I might not even have it now!

Both this student and the teacher supervising me would go and do the local 5km parkrun every Saturday. At the time, I was obese (I had been sick for about two years, which had extremely limited my movement and medication had me craving high-fat food constantly) and they were both encouraging me to be more active. They really wanted me to do the parkrun, and I said I would give it a go.

It's been six years.

parkrun

parkrun is a weekly (Saturdays, in this case) event in which participants walk, jog or run a pre-defined 5km route. Participants are given barcodes which can be scanned to record and document times, which are shown in an event results table each week. I have been wary of attending not because of the challenge of the walking itself (I could even jog, if I really wanted) but because of all the people. It's a lot of loud, enthusiastic, pushy, sporty people in one spot...

Earlier this month I was clearing out my email and noticed the many updates I have from parkrun. I went to unsubscribe and when I clicked into my account I saw lots of interesting options. There was (not)parkrun and something called a Freedom parkrun.

Freedom parkrun

I actually walk quite a bit - one of the legacies of not learning to drive until I was 35. I often do 5km+ in a day, sometimes in a single go, but walking is very rarely for its own sake. It will be to get to or from somewhere or, most likely, to play Pokemon GO.

I gave it my first go this morning, and played Pokemon GO while I strolled. It took me 57 minutes and 39 seconds.

I can do better. I am going to keep doing Freedom parkruns for a few weeks until I reach a certain baseline, then I will do the real thing.

How results are worked out

parkrun uses an age and gender grade percentage to allow participants to compare results.

Step 1: Identify the reference standard

The reference standard from WMA for a 41 year old male is approximately 17 minutes and 30 seconds.

Step 2: Convert times to seconds

My time: 3459 seconds
Reference time: 1050 seconds

Step 3: Age Grade Calculation

Standard time / My time × 100 = Age grade %

So in my case:

1050 / 3459 × 100 = 30.4%

Step 4: Interpretation

>70% = Excellent club runner
60-69% = Good club runner
50-59% = Average recreational runner
40-49% = Regular walker / slow jogger
<40% = Beginner or casual walker

Given that I didn't know the route and was primarily playing Pokemon GO, I don't think I did too badly!