If you like competitive running, but can't be bothered with the entry forms and inevitable sponsorship, parkrun is for you. It's free to enter, registration is once only and there are 5km timed runs across the UK at 9am every Saturday.
I registered and printed off my barcode yesterday, for a run today. The Braunstone course is easy to follow, with marshals and signs, and all I had to do was collect a token as I finished. My results get logged at http://www.parkrun.com , so I can now turn up at 9am every Saturday, at any parkrun, and compete against my own PB and my age group.
Call me old-fashioned, but that's what running is all about. None of the fluffy stuff like filling out forms, dressing as a banana or getting in the car to run around a stately home. I can't wait for the first parkruncycle, or parkswimcyclerun, or... (you get the idea). read more