We were privileged today to have Jarkko Järvenpää not only introduce Tampere parkrun today, and offer sound tips to runners, but he also generously offered to pace at a steady 4min/km so that fast participants could have a crack at breaking the 20 minute parkrun 5km barrier! 3 (three) succeeded, one a first timer, and surprisingly to me the other two had already run faster on previous attempts. Encouragingly, a parkrun tourist, Mandy from the UK, the first female finisher, also ran a nice fast pace!

There were 41 of us out of the course, today’s run made possible by those parkrunners who selflessly stayed behind on the start/finish line: Anna (today’s RD), Muhammed Ashan and Annete (scanners), Antti H and our Junior parkrunners Oskar and Julius who took on the time keeping role and did a fab job, and Simo who handed everyone their finish tokens. Everyone was brought across the finish line safely by today’s tailwakers, Antti and Elvira. Thanks to all those who helped behind the scenes and more visibly too - including Leena who assisted Jansku around today!

We were lucky with the weather today - the rain held off, and though there were a few puddles to avoid the course was mostly dry and the conditions good for running! It was lovely to see Ulla out on the course - and taking a week from volunteering, well done.

Huge thanks too to Heather for running the course with Lumi, my dog!

A reminder that Tampere parkrun will celebrate its 6th birthday on Saturday 14th October and the week before that (Oct 7th) our lovely friend Sam (Sadly without Ross and their dog) will be visiting us from the USA. Let’s try for a lovely turnout for both events.

Your faithful report writer,
Lorna from Turku

Tampereen parkrun viettää pian 6-vuotissyntymäpäiviään (ensimmäinen parkrun oli 14.10.2017), mutta henkilökohtainen matkani parkrunin parissa alkoi vasta seuraavana keväänä (21.4.2018), kun juoksin ensimmäistä kertaa!

Tänään juoksin 50:ttä kertaa Tampereella (eli 250 km juoksua!). Kiitos jokaiselle vapaaehtoiselle, joka on mahdollistanut sen.

Parkruniin osallistuminen (riippumatta vauhdista tai tyylistä) on minulle tärkeää. Olen myös löytänyt iloa vapaaehtoistyöstä.

My Finnish isn’t great … so the rest of the report is in English!

Tampere parkrun will soon celebrate its 6th birthday (the inaugural parkrun was on October 14th 2017) but my personal journey with parkrun only began the following spring (21st April 2018) when I ran my first ever parkrun!

Today I ran my 50th parkrun in Tampere (that’s 250 km of running!) Thank you to every volunteer who has made that possible.

Today there were 56 participants plus volunteers at Tampere parkrun, eleven (11) of you walked or ran with us for the very first time - it was great to have you with us - and five of you completed your first parkrun ever! Congratulations!

I remember my own inaugural parkrun very well!

I caught a very early coach up to Tampere, a city I didn’t know at all. The bus station was closed when I arrived so I had to search for a public toilet. I got confused finding the start (I was on the wrong side of the bridge!) and oh it was raining cats and dogs … but I received such a wonderful welcome from Olli (who happened to be today’s RD too) that I felt very glad I’d been brave and stepped right out of my comfort zone.

That parkrun was the first time I’d run a 5km without stopping! That was actually my only goal that day but I was very very pleased with my time of 42.07 too!*

I’ve shared this before but my learning to run at the age of 56-57 was part of my determined battle against SAD (seasonal depression - the lack of light in the winter here in Finland is very hard for me). I had started the couch to 5k (C25K app) the previous November - on a treadmill at our local pool - and taught myself to run! I’m not fast and it’s definitely not elegant but starting to run turned my life around and I’m so grateful for the part that parkrun has played - and continues to play - in that.

Participating in parkrun (no matter how slow or inelegant ) matters to me. I’ve also found a joy in volunteering (and learning new skills along the way, today, for example I processed the results … not bad learning for a granny who will turn 65 next year!)

Best of all, though, has been being part of this wonderful community and being able to claim many of the parkrunners here in Tampere as very good friends. A huge thank you to those of you who have hosted me on a Friday night here in Tampere (you know who you are) so I could continue to participate in Tampere parkrun after the early morning coach from Turku to Tampere was withdrawn.

An extra bonus has been parkrunning elsewhere too. I’ve run all of Finland’s 7 parkruns - and have set myself a personal challenge of RDing at each of the evebts (if the ED is comfortable with that) because I want to pay back where I can, and some of the newer parkruns (especially Lahti and Jyväskylä) are just starting to build up their core teams so if I choose to volunteer on the start/finish like it frees a local to run for a change.

parkrun is an important part of my life and my well being. I can’t attend every week but I try my best!

Until we see again … happy parkrunning everyone!

Lorna from Turku

PS Don’t forget to sign up to volunteer if you can!

* Today’s run was more than 3 minutes slower … and that’s fine with me! There were, however, 7 people who ran Tampere parkrun faster than ever before and gained PBs today! Well done to each and everyone of you!

29 July 2023

We were delighted to visit Tampere parkrun as a tourist family during our summer vacation in Finland. We'd been twice before few years ago, and we knew it was a very welcoming event, which draws a crowd of really fast runners and walkers alike. Perfect.

By a brief intro, Ratina is easy to find, it's convenient, with plenty of public transport options and parking, if you need those. The post run cafe / social was really wonderful, too. Before we left, after exploring the city, we noticed that public Sauna and Swim was also available across Tammerkoski river! Wow!

During our visit the weather conditions were carefully assessed as "British" and volunteers tried to hold on to their umbrellas, and runners braced themselves for the wind and rain along the way. The route is a beautiful lakeside course, next to Pyhäjärvi lake, and the conditions added a challenge that everyone seemed happy to embrace, with #sisu, of course!.

Well done to all 37 runners, joggers and walkers who completed the course, and a special well done to eight runners who got a new PB! A special shoutout to nine first timers, and visitors from Iran, Colorado USA, Liverpool and Sheffield!

The weather was awful, I wore a winter coat in July, got soaked, but somehow I left with a warm and fuzzy feeling inside. I got some of that #parkrunhappiness again!

This event felt particularly welcoming and I was so impressed with it's inclusive and international ethos. This was truly heartwarming. It was lovely to talk to volunteers who were also keen runners, but had taken their turn to help out! Looking at the results I noticed so many runners also had 50 + volunteer awards in the results. We'll done! It's great to see your commitment to the event and that you make it happen! It was also nice to see regular runners chatting to visitors and Olli the RD went beyond the call of duty to make sure the event went well, and participants were well looked after and welcomed. Hieno juttu.

Thanks team Tampere! We’d definitely recommend this event to Tampere residents, for a fun way to start your weekend with a bit of exercise! We'd surely recommend this event to parkrun tourists as well – add this on your list of events to visit, it's a lovely parkrun and a fun city to visi, too! For British parkrun tourists we'd particularly recommend taking the double decker train if you come from Helsinki, and a visit to the Moomin museum!

Thank you so much.

Minna, RD from Graves juniors, Sheffield, UK

Hei, my name is Kathy and I suffer from anxiety. Here is a story for you

I am British and have been parkrunning in the UK for seven years. I love touring and look for a parkrun wherever I travel. I have done parkruns in over 80 locations. Every parkrun is special!

Another love of mine is ice hockey. I have travelled to various World Championships and 2022 was so exciting - because unbelievably, Great Britain qualified! So with some friends, I came to Finland last year to visit Helsinki, Turku and beautiful Tampere, with its amazing Nokia stadium where we watched GB v Finland. Wow what a game! We lost of course, but that’s okay - we love Finland too

And naturally, I had looked for a parkrun. I was thrilled to find out Tampere has a parkrun! How wonderful! But disappointingly, we had to get an early train to Helsinki to fly home and I did not have time for parkrun. I was heartbroken.

But we had fallen in love with Tampere and promised we would come back, and this time I would parkrun - my first in Scandinavia! And so, here we are - back in Tampere for the weekend.

I am anxious and I panic easily. So, today I left lots of time (so I thought) to get from my hotel to parkrun. But calamity! There was a festival blocking the path and I didn't know what to do! I looked for another way and could not see a solution. I do not speak Finnish and I was lost alone in an unknown city. But I was so close…

I found a security guard but they would not let me through. I looked at my watch. It starts in 9 minutes! And I don’t know how to get there! I travelled all the way from England for this, I have to get there!

The guard said, go to the bridge and climb up, so I did - but another security guard was blocking the way. I was really panicking now. But more parkrunners arrived, all looking for the start, which helped to calm me. We lost several more minutes trying unsuccessfully to get help. Then a kind runner said he knew a way through a tunnel so we followed him, and he led us right…

So we made it to parkrun after all! We missed the 09:30 beginning by several minutes, but thanks to Ritva the wonderful tailwalker who spotted us and waited, we quickly made it to the start line and were able to catch up. The panic was over! Finally, I was doing the Tampere parkrun that I missed last year. A dream come true.

And wow - isn’t it beautiful! I loved it. Such a pretty route. The beauty of an out-and-back course is even though we missed the briefing, it was easy to navigate. I loved seeing the other runners on their way back, exchanging greetings and even high-fives. Tampere, you have a beautiful city and a wonderful parkrun.

So I want to say a VERY BIG THANK YOU to the brilliant team of volunteers who made parkrun happen this morning and made my anxiety disappear. And I want to say hello to my new friends, first timer Afshin, also Katarina and Anna, who helped find the start when I was so anxious. Thank you - you really helped me. I am so grateful you spoke English. And we found it together

If you are reading this, and haven’t volunteered before, do give it a go. It is fun and so rewarding. I volunteered today by writing the run report so I could run as well. Thank you for reading it!

Lots of love,
Kathy from Luton x

It’s not all about me ~ I know that (honestly, I do!) ~ but I (always) have such a fab time at parkrun, that I just can’t help myself - sharing my enthusiasm wherever I happen to be parkrunning !

Parkrun is such FUN and it’s free and really is for everyone!

Today I was RD (run director) at Tampere parkrun - a lovely way to ‘pay it forward’ for all the RDs and other volunteers elsewhere around the world who make it possible for us to walk or run in so many beautiful locations!

Tampere was sparkling today ~ and the early summer vibes were there for everyone (parkrunners or not) to enjoy. I’m currently sitting by the water not far from the start/finish listening to a fab band (they just sang YOU’LL NEVER WALK ALONE” (should be parkrun’s theme song!) all part of an event blessing motorcycles and bikers for the 2023 season.

My coach back to Turku (and no, we still don’t have a parkrun in Turku /Åbo - sad isn’t it?) is later today, but I’m not complaining : the summer schedule means I get to be here a bit longer and soak up the Tampere vibes which is fab-u-lous!

It also meant that today, after a very leisurely post run coffee with other parkrunners (outside at Laukontori) I was able to do a solo (not)parkrun to the arboretum and back and it was just glorious : it’s warm out there but there is plenty of shade and loads of things were happening en route - a church rowing boat race, a game of pesäpallo (Finnish baseball), people picnicking, cyclists galore, loads of action out on the water, as well as the bikers’ blessing (I’m still listening to the fab band who are now playing Elvis hits!) and I get all all thanks to parkrun. Amazing!

Today was rather special!

We were able to celebrate Åke’s 100th parkrun - congratulations!
A huge thank you to Heather (today’s tail-walker) for making such delicious American style cookies for me to distribute (in Åke’s honour) to participants as their barcodes were scanned by Ishiria.

parkrun is entirely volunteer based -that keeps it free, fun and for everyone- every week.*

So thanks too to
~ Kimmo for cycling over to the turnaround point to drop off the cone,
~ Hanna for giving out the tokens (and sorting them after)
~ Anne and Åke for time keeping,
~ Nicole for taking photos en route,
~ Riitta for being Sari’s AV guide,
~ Jyri for assistimg Jansku (and helping post run) ,
~ Anna for running to Ratina to tell parkrunners we’d changed cafes (oops!), YOU ARE A STAR and really embody the parkrun value of including everyone
~ Olli for delivering the parkrun bag and key to Åke earlier this week so I could pick it up!

Great teamwork guys … you help make parkrun what it is!

Today we had 44 participants (in addition to volunteers) of whom ten (10!) were first timers and all bar one** of whom ran their very first parkrun ever! We really hope you liked it and will join us at Tampere parkrun (or another parkrun elsewhere) again!

Jonna and Sharon completed their all important second parkrun with us, and along with Tero (parkrun #3) and Kimmo, managed to get wonderful PB (personal best times) today. Wow!

I will be back with you soon …until then keep parkrunning!
Lorna from Turku

*There WILL be parkrun in Tampere on midsummer Day (June 24th)
Åke will be your RD. As ever if you can help by volunteering (timekeeper, scanner, handing out tokens , u turn delivery) please sign up

** SHOUT OUT for Dave from down under (Perth, Western Australia) who joined us today. It was his 214th parkrun, but his 1st in Finland! (his 14th parkrun country!)

The Special Ascension Day Event 2023  

Tampere parkrun #206

It is cold, it is windy, it is downright stormy when I arrive at the starting point of Tampere parkrun on Ascension Day. People are wearing beanies and gloves and it hurts to think of letting go of my hoodie and the thick woolly sweater I’m wearing. This is my second time ever attending Tampere parkrun. The first time was a few years ago, in August and in the bright, hot sunshine. Quite a contrast but still somehow very special to be here for this special event.

Tampere is hosting ice hockey games right now and you can see and feel it everywhere. This is also the case at the Parkrun. The run director, for example, is also sporting the Finnish colours, blue and white, on her cheeks. Some parkrun visitors have brought the face paint with them. Ice hockey fever together with the stormy weather creates an atmosphere not easily forgotten.

The run director hops on a park bench and gives us clear instructions and off we go. There are some first timers as well as parkrun tourists. They are from France, the UK and Australia. Not too many other people are around, just a few people walking their dogs. Plenty of possibilities to look around, feel the wind on the cheeks, hear the waves hitting the shoreline and observe the increasing greenness around us. 

The volunteers today need special attention. They are giving their time and effort on this cold and stormy morning and allowing the rest of us to have this unforgettable morning run on Ascension Day 2023. The volunteers are well-prepared, wearing basically winter attire. Later in the coffee shop they are the ones to choose hot drinks whereas I see some parkrunners to go for iced coffee and tea.

Thank you, Tampere team, for today!

Aallot loiskivat raivokkaasti rantaan ja taivas on synkkä ja uhkaava, kun Tampereella juostaan helatorstain erityinen parkrun. Tunnelma on kuitenkin erinomainen ja iloinen. Oman lisänsä päivään tuo jääkiekon mestaruuskisat, jotka ovat menossa Tampereella.

Muutamia ensikertalaisia samoin kuin muutamia juoksu-turisteja on mukana tällä helatorstain juoksulla. Kiitos kaikille, niin osallistujille kuin erityisesti vapaaehtoisille tästä mieleen jäävästä helatorstain aamusta!

-Reija, who was happy to attend this special parkrun and then her very first tram ride in Tampere!

Parkrun report #104 Tampere parkrun Saturday May 6th 2023

Tänään Tampereen sydänyhdistys ja Tampereen diabetesyhdistys toimivat vapaaehtoisina! Kiitos! Meitä osallistujia oli yhteensä 88 + vapaaehtoiset, wau! Tämän kevään osallistujaennätys. Saimme myös 12 omaa ennätysaikaa, onnea! Nähdään helatorstaina extraparkunissa klo 9.30!

Sincere thanks to the diabetes and heart associations of Tampere who turned out in great number at Tampere parkrun today, volunteering and walking or running our lovely 5k course! It was BRILLIANT!

November 14 is Diabetes Day, a global awareness day held annually. The date 14/11 was chosen as it's the birthday of Frederick Banting, who discovered insulin. The volunteers and participants today liked parkrun so much that they are thinking about take over again in mid November to celebrate this event! Watch our news for an update on this.

Today we celebrated - belatedly! - Heather’s 100th parkrun and Anna’s 25th parkruns. Fantastic running girls - keep up the good work.

Today 88 people (plus volunteers) participated in park run over 1/3 of whom were first timers. We really hope you had a fun time with us - and will come back soon - why not even next week? We’d love to see you … and you might even get a personal best time (PB)

There were actually 12 PBs this week too. Hurrah!

There are no winners or losers ever at parkrun but a huge shout out to junior runner MAËL HENRIC JM15-17 who was not only the first finisher today but crossed the line sub 16 minutes! Wow.

Lovely too were all those who joined us to WALK parkrun … which is just as beneficial health wise and an added bonus is you can choose to chat with a friend as you walk!

Parkrun is held every Saturday at 9:30am and in less than two weeks in Finland we will also have a special parkrun on Helatorstai (Ascension Thursday) …at the usual time of 9:30 and from the usual starting place! Come join us then too.

Lorna from Turku

First TWO important announcements

1. OUR next parkrun in Tampere will be our 200th run. Come ready to celebrate!

2. We are going to LACK volunteers for the rest of April!

... so please, please consider giving up your run/walk and offer your help as scanner, token distributor or the all-important time keeper if you can. We also always need someone to put out the u turn cone too. If you choose to do that particular task, and can get back to the start in time, you can still run or walk the course.!

Without these key volunteer spots (plus RD) being filled each week we cannot put on the parkrun, so if you can help in the next few weeks, please do. You can sign up by email OR leave a message on Facebook!

tampere@parkrun.com

Now for the run report ~ Tampere parkrun’s 199th event!

April Fools’ Day saw a very nice turn out - including the SUN that showed up- for our #199th parkrun.

It’s been very cold at night this week - and the arboretum part of the course was a bit icy this morning, so our lovely Run Director Olli took the sensible precaution of having us run the shorter course twice. Thanks for taking care of us by checking the course this morning!

The walking / running today was really nice.

What always blesses me the most - week after week - is the spirit of parkrun - it’s FUN and so nice to be with such an encouraging group of people.

Today I got great JOY in seeing my friends Anna and Antti spur one another on. It got them both a very nice - fast - finish time with a great PB for Anna. Well done!

There was some very fast finishers today - both the leading two with sub 20 minute times, but excitingly, a first timer, Verne, helped my friend Cristian break the 24 minute barrier with a new PB, and they in turn helped pace Mikael who also got a sub 25 minute PB. Just BRILLIANT!

parkrun is, of course, for walkers not only runners - and we were excited to welcome two new participants today one of whom was unregistered.

I was excited to meet Caitlin from South Africa at last. She’s run parkrun before but this was ran her first parkrun in Finland (and she helped sort the tokens in the cafe after). The whole pack of walkers seemed to be having loads of fun together at the back with Jyri bringing up the rear as our tail walker today.

parkrun is really for everyone … and I love how we help facilitate that. There’s such a spirit of encouragement and friendly ‘competitiveness’ too. Anna ran with her younger son who had a real spurt at the end, today, pipping Ishiri and Annti H (who earned a
PB for his efforts) WELL DONE JULIUS, You did great!

Last week Nina helped pushed Jansku round the course in his sporty wheelchair …in very tough slushy conditions, today it was slightly easier for Tuire (though always hard work) and Nina got to take on a new task of being the eyes for Sari who is visually impaired. Thank you!

Me? I just love to be at parkrun .. and today even stopped to take a few photos, because - you know - getting a good time isn’t everything!

Lorna, from Turku
See you all again when I’m next in Tampere - in May

I worked with the BEST team of volunteers ever today. Seriously we had so much FUN on the start/finish line that I feel just a tiny bit guilty getting a Volunteer credit today. I’m also very thankful for those who helped behind the scenes too (you know who you are).

We would really appreciate more people coming forward to volunteer in the next few weeks - If you could offer to help in some capacity, especially eg offering to put out the u turn sign (by bike, e-scooter (in summer) or by car, and if you get back to the start by 9:30 am you can still run!) and the all important time keepers, scanners etc on the start/ finish) or even setting up /packing up we would be very grateful. Please do contact us or sign up with the RD on the day for a future week

Volunteering is FUN - honest

Interestingly, the five start /finish line volunteers today were from five different nations (USA, Finland, UK (England) Sri Lanka and Spain (Catalonia) and additionally there were runners / volunteers from South Africa, Portugal and Brazil too today.

I love that Tampere parkrun is so international and I’m thankful too that the Finns at parkrun are so patient and forgive my very mediocre Finnish too.

I checked the course yesterday, and the route was near perfect winter running. This morning, however, there was a nasty cold headwind for the return leg, and the new snow made the course a bit trickier. It wasn’t icy though and so participants were able to run the whole normal course which was great! Not surprisingly, though, there were no PBs!

We had FIVE first timers today - hurrah! - as well as one participant who returned to Tampere for their all important second run. That’s so encouraging!

A lot of regular parkrunners were away this week as it’s the start of the school half term ‘skiing holiday’ so it was nice that we were able to put on parkrun today and 21 participants could walk/run the course. yippee!

Jansku got what I think might be his best ever finish, (token 5), thanks to the heroic efforts of Jyri who pushed his sporty wheelchair; and that freed Tuire to be our tailwalker too. It’s awesome that Tampere is so inclusive and those who can help Jansku to have a ‘thrilling run’.

We always go for coffee afterwards. It’s where we process the results too (if you don’t wish to join that’s ok too, but for me it’s a wonderful part of belonging to the Tampere parkrun family).

Thank you all for your contribution today!
See you again soon

Don’t forget: Tampere parkrun runs every Saturday at 9:30 am. We always start by Laukansilta Bridge, so why not invite a friend, colleague or neighbour to come down next time … they can walk, jog or run the course, dogs (1 per person) are allowed (short leash please) and babies and smaller kids in buggies are all welcome. If someone is in a wheelchair they too are warmly welcome (and they and the person pushing both get times).

You see parkrun really IS for everyone! It’s FREE and it’s so much FUN.

LORNA from Turku,
One day we really will have a parkrun of our own, but for now I’m happy to belong to Tampere’s parkrun family

Today was my 102nd parkrun but my very first as tail walker* in Tampere.

We had a blast at the back - dancing and bopping, cheering every park runner (and a few non parkrunners too - oops!) as they went by in their return leg and laughing and chatting as we covered the 5km. We even remembered to collect the u-turn sign and cone and bring those back to the start.

Thank you Heather and Anna for being such great company.

Today there were 25 participants including two first timers, Atte and Mikael, who ran their very first parkrun today. I really hope you enjoyed it and still think it was worth to get here! A warm welcome awaits you - and everyone - again next Saturday, same time (9:30am) and same place (by Laukonsilta bridge)!

Thanks to all the lovely volunteers who made this week’s parkrun happen. Johanna our lovely Run Director was wearing seven layers of woolly socks!

One of the best things about parkrun is that it’s as much a social event as a place to participate in a timed 5km walk or run every week. Here in Tampere we love our post parkrun coffee and today a large crowd of us gathered in Espresso House (in Ratina shopping centre). Join us next week if you can.

Julia will be our RD (run director next week) if you’d like to help as a volunteer let us know by email tampere@parkrun.com or through Facebook messenger!

Hope to see you soon!

Lorna from Turku
One day we will (I hope) have a parkrun of our own

*I’ve now tail-walked in four of the six parkruns in Finland