We have decided to run a 5k Park Run League for club members starting in March and running to the end of December. Hopefully this will motivate your running and get more members meeting up at Saturday Park Runs. There will also be a league for juniors doing the 2k Bolton Junior Park Run on Sundays at Queens Park (ages 4 to 14)

The league table will be shown here and updated each month.

Every runner taking part will need to submit their best park run time done since 01/01/2023 – this will be your base time until you improve it. If you haven’t done a park run yet you have got all of March to get one in.

Every month from March to December you submit your best time done in that month. This must be done at the same park run as your base time. You get a score based on the difference between this time and your base time. For example if you have a base time of 21 mins and your best time in March is 21:15 you get 15 points. If you start getting faster and your best time in May is 19:50 then you get minus 10 points. If your March time is your first Park Run this year it will become your base time and you will get 0 points for March.

If you join the league in April or later in the year you will be given 0 points for March and 120 points for every other month you have missed

At the end of the year the lowest scoring runner wins and will receive an award at our annual presentation night.

If in any month you beat your 2023 PB/BaseTime and score negative points then the new PB becomes your new base time

Hopefully doing the scoring in this manner will equalise the league so everyone has a real chance of winning regardless of age, gender, running experience etc.

If you want to take part please e-mail chairman@boltontri.com with your base time and when sending in your results each month always make the e-mail subject ‘BTC Park Run League’

If you are not a ParkRun member it is free to register and free to run. Go to https://www.parkrun.org.uk/register/

Notes

• Runners will need to be set up on parkrun and choose Bolton Metro Tri Club as one of your associated clubs (you are allowed up to 5 associated clubs – Bolton Metro Tri Club used to be our official name 15 years ago. At some point we will get ParkRun to change it)
• Times issued by parkrun are final and are the only times that will be accepted – never mind what your watch said!
• Can you have more than one go at the parkrun in the month? Yes, you can do the event as many times as you like in the month; the fastest time will count.
• Can I do different park runs each month? Only times done at the same Park Run as your base time can be submitted. So choose your local park run where you can take part regularly. For most members this will be the Bolton Park Run at Leverhulme Park or the Bolton Junior Park Run.
• What happens if I beat my PB/Base time? If this happens you will get a negative score and reduce your overall tally. Remember the Base time is not fixed so the new PB will then count as your Base time.
• If you do not complete the parkrun in any month, your time will be awarded as PB + 120 secs
• What happens if it is a tie? In the unlikely event of a tie at the end of the season, there will be a run-off in January 2024 at the Bolton Park Run.