Most runners think parkrun begins when the stopwatch starts.
But in reality, your run begins long before the first step.
What you do in the 15–20 minutes before the start line often determines how the entire run will feel.
Some runners arrive prepared and settle into rhythm quickly.
Others spend the first kilometre fighting their breathing, struggling to find pace, and wondering why the run feels harder than expected.
The difference usually comes down to preparation.
Over the years I’ve watched thousands of parkrunners line up on Saturday mornings, and the same pre-run mistakes appear again and again.
Fortunately, they’re also very easy to fix.
Mistake 1: Starting Cold
This is by far the most common mistake.
Runners arrive, stand around chatting during the briefing, then suddenly try to run their fastest 5K of the week.
From a physiological perspective, that’s a tough way to start.
Your muscles are cold.
Your cardiovascular system hasn’t ramped up yet.
Your body hasn’t experienced the intensity of race pace.
The result?
The first kilometre feels uncomfortable and chaotic.
I explained this pattern in more detail in Why Most parkrunners Struggle in the 1st Km (And How to Fix It).
The short version is simple: your body performs better when it has already begun preparing to run.
Mistake 2: Warming Up Too Hard
Interestingly, once runners realise warm-ups matter, they sometimes make the opposite mistake.
They turn the warm-up into a workout.
A proper warm-up should prepare the body without creating fatigue.
Elite runners understand this balance well, which is why their warm-ups gradually increase intensity rather than jumping straight into hard efforts.
You can see how this approach works in practice in How Elite Runners Prepare Before a 5K (And What parkrunners Can Learn).
The key idea is preparation, not exhaustion.
Mistake 3: Finishing the Warm-Up Too Early
Another mistake I see regularly is runners finishing their warm-up far too early.
They jog for a few minutes, then spend the next ten minutes standing still waiting for the start.
During that time, the body begins cooling down again.
By the time the event begins, the benefits of the warm-up have largely disappeared.
Timing matters.
The ideal approach is to finish your warm-up just before the event briefing begins so that you stay warm right up until the start line.
Mistake 4: Doing Nothing During the Briefing
The briefing might only last a minute or two, but it’s still an opportunity to keep the body moving.
Instead of standing completely still, use that time to stay loose.
A few gentle leg swings or small movements can help maintain mobility in the hips and keep your muscles ready for running.
It’s a small detail, but small details often make the biggest difference over time.
Mistake 5: Treating parkrun as a Sudden Effort
Many runners approach parkrun as if the effort begins the moment the stopwatch starts.
But experienced runners treat the event differently.
For them, the run feels like a continuation of movement rather than a sudden burst of effort.
They’ve already jogged.
They’ve already experienced race pace briefly during their warm-up.
So when the start signal comes, their body simply continues running.
That’s why rhythm arrives earlier and the opening kilometre feels smoother.
Small Adjustments, Big Differences
None of these mistakes are dramatic.
They’re small things.
But when combined, they have a significant effect on how your run feels.
Starting warm instead of cold.
Preparing the body for race pace.
Timing your warm-up properly.
These simple adjustments often make the first kilometre feel calmer and more controlled.
And when the first kilometre goes well, the rest of the run usually follows.
Download the parkrun Warm-Up Routine
If you’d like a simple guide you can follow before parkrun each week, I’ve put together a short resource that explains the warm-up routine I recommend to runners.
You can download it here:
➡️ Download the parkrun Warm-Up Routine
It takes less than two minutes to read, but it can completely change how your next parkrun feels.
Bringing It All Together
Across this series of articles we’ve looked at several simple ideas:
Why the first kilometre of parkrun often feels harder than it should.
How a structured warm-up prepares the body for running.
What elite runners do before a 5K.
And the most common mistakes runners make before the start line.
Each of these ideas leads back to the same conclusion.
Preparation matters.
And sometimes the smallest adjustments before the run begins can have the biggest impact on how the entire run feels.
See you Saturday.
— Ray
QWIK KIWI Coaching