It’s been cold. Wet. Generally miserable… and we’ve barely done a parkrun yet in 2025, let alone been touring.
So, we’ve been a bit short of parkrun tales for you this year. But our ‘revelatory reels’ - alliteration is working hard to cover for the truth here - are back.
Michelle was away for the weekend and it was another visit to our home parkrun at Northampton, but I was able to celebrate friends doing their 50th, 250th and 300th events - and to pick up an overdue trophy!
Welcoming MARM to Northampton:
📍 Northampton parkrun, Racecourse, Northampton
🗓️ Saturday, February 7
📏 5k with trophies
A somewhat different parkrun tale this week…
Back in the middle of last year, It came to my attention that the winners of The Amazing Northampton Run Relay won in one hour 38 minutes - a decent but, I felt, vulnerable time!
So, having never seen a podium let alone the top of it, a few members of our Step Forward With Lewis Running Club joined forces to create two crack teams.
We then, of course, had to enlist the services of a suitable ringer - none over than Tim Stent, aka The Middle Aged Running Man.
On the day, things didn’t go quite to plan. The race wasn’t as vulnerable as we felt. Several athletic types turned up! Some wore club kits… but we still finished third and seventh!
What we hadn’t realised on the day was that 3rd place bagged trophies… and today we decided to collect them. And do a presentation. In front of 500 people at parkrun.
What could go wrong!
Thanks to Simon Hollis and Go Beyond Sport for putting on the brilliant Amazing Northampton Run - entries for 2026 are open!
If you want to, you can catch up with all our previous videos on the Running Tales website.
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Further reading:
◾Imagine if an everyday runner could actually win an event…
The joy of the middle of the pack and the party at the back.
Competing only against yourself, running for the joy of the freedom of the road, inspiring others, improving your mental health… That’s what running is all about.
Or is it… what if, just once, you could win a race?
◾How a middle aged running man became a YouTube sensation…
‘I don’t stretch. I don’t eat healthily. I’m nearly 46 and I’m knackered.’
As introductions on YouTube running channels go, Tim Stent’s welcome message on his first Middle Aged Running Man (MARM) video has more than a hint of unorthodoxy about it.
But then Tim isn’t your usual running influencer. In fact, he isn’t a running influencer at all.
◾TAKE THE BEST PATH: Path Projects offer some of the best running gear in the business.
I love this kit and it looks really cool even on a 48-year-old, decidedly average runner like me!
Visit Path Projects via this link and back Running Tales in the process (affiliate link).
Our latest podcast: Ross Thompson - The inspiring story of The Orange Running Guy
Struggling with his mental health and looking to lose weight, Ross Thompson made the decision to start running around a year ago.
At first it was a struggle, and Ross was left wondering if running was for him. But he slowly grew to like it, and his efforts were supercharged when he took the decision to create his alter ego: The Orange Running Guy.
Suddenly, his running was more than just a battle with himself. Ross was growing a network of running friends across social media, inspiring him just as he provided them with inspiration.
Now, he has gone from 5k parkruns to planning his first 10k race at the Wolverhampton 10k - which finishes in the stadium of his beloved and orange-wearing Wolverhampton Wanderers. He is even hoping to complete 50k at Endure 24 later this year.
Running Tales spoke to Ross about how running has changed his life, gathering community and aiming to inspire others, and how his daughter created The Orange Running Guy...
