Saturday marked the 500th Hastings parkrun. I’ve ran 204 of those, toured 20 times and bagged 50 volunteer credits.

My average parkrun time? 27:05.

My best? 19:18.

Saturday? 20:56.

Despite it being someway off my fastest I left thinking “running cannot get any better, can it?”.

So what made it so special? Partly the gratitude I experienced having come back from injury, not necessary for the pace I ran, but just to feel strong again, and to feel I was moving so well.

I had no intention of running with others. I had my metronome set to 174 and 4:15 per km as my target pace. Once we battled past those desperate to start at the front, regardless of their expected finish time, I discovered I had a little group to run with. 7 of us had settled into a pack. A pack I appeared to be leading. But I was having a blast.

The pace felt manageable. I was mindful of my form and just soaking up the spring sunshine as we made our way towards the Brazilian carnival rhythms of Sambalanco. I bet if we checked our Strava graph in fine detail, we all ran a little bit faster as we glided by the samba beats.

So this sparks the question, can running get any better than this? Yes it’s likely I will run faster parkruns this year, but will I enjoy them as much as Saturday? Almost certainly not, and what’s more important, enjoyment or what our watch says when we cross the line?

Why are we chasing faster times? Is it our insecurity that needs recognition from our peers? Or do we need to prove to ourselves we can achieve our goals.

One of my favourite sayings at the moment is “The journey is more enjoyable than the destination”. So don’t be a in a hurry to reach your peak. Enjoy your running, whatever level you’re at right now.

Reading feedback over the weekend it was great to hear how much Klare, Michelle and Su enjoyed the Run to the Sea Ultra. Time was never a target. They were not interested in splits, or their pace, they just wanted to have fun.

It did result in new 50k PBs for Michelle and Klare, albeit it was their first ultra. But that counts right?

Sam D was also in action and he did admit his enjoyment levels were not as high as other events, but he clocked a new 50k personal best of 4:28:34, and finished 12th place overall.

These results came after 2 parkrun PBs at Hastings. Glenn managed his third parkrun PB in his last 6 attempts, clocking 20:45.

Allan, I forget how old he is, somewhere in the 70-74 bracket, recorded a new PB of his own. 24:29. Amazing. Just goes to show what can be achieved later in life if longevity is your priority. Or was it purely the pink shorts?

We had one more PB to celebrate over the weekend. Mark clocked a huge half marathon personal best, 9 minutes if my maths are on point, to finish the Bristol half in 2:18:46. Mark is on training plan 11, so this highlights how long that journey can be on route to your final destination. Assuming you plan your trip wisely that is.

We had a number of other team members taking part in events. James used the Wings for Life World Run in Milton Keynes to smash out his long run, covering 22.66km in just over 2 hours.

Chrissie (1:15:33) and Sarah M (1:06:40 – 1st in her age category), both headed to Horsham for the 10k and the latest instalment of the Sussex Grand Prix.

On Friday evening Shain banked a top 5 finish in the Rye Summer Series 5k, crossing the line in 18:13. Jamie (43:05) and Heidi (58:51) both completed the 10K.

Another strong week for the team. Remember, train smart, enjoy your running, and never be in a mad rush to reach your peak. When you get there, it becomes harder just to maintain your fitness, so enjoy the journey whilst it lasts and you’ll continue to see improvements.