You arrive early.
You complete an easy jog.
You do a few strides.
Your legs feel warm and ready.
Then you walk over to the start, listen to the briefing…and stand completely still.
Five minutes later, the countdown begins.
If that sounds familiar, there’s one simple change you can make to your parkrun routine:
Once you’ve warmed up, try to stay warm.
Your Warm-Up Doesn’t Finish When You Stop Jogging
We tend to think of the warm-up as a separate activity.
You warm up.
You finish.
Then you wait for parkrun.
A better way to think about it is that your warm-up continues right through until the run begins.
The purpose of warming up is to prepare your body for the harder effort that’s coming.
You’ve increased your body temperature, started moving blood around the working muscles, elevated your heart rate and prepared yourself for faster running.
You don’t need to keep exercising hard after that.
But you also don’t want to spend a long period doing absolutely nothing.
The parkrun Problem
parkrun creates an interesting challenge.
Unlike a training session where you can finish your warm-up and immediately begin your workout, there’s often some unavoidable waiting around.
There’s the first-timers’ welcome.
The briefing.
Milestones.
Announcements.
Visitors.
Then everyone moves towards the start.
All of that is an important part of parkrun.
But it also means there can be a gap between finishing your warm-up and actually starting your 5K.
If you spend that entire period standing still—particularly on a cold Saturday morning—you may start losing some of the readiness you’ve worked to create.
You Don’t Need to Run Around During the Briefing
This doesn’t mean jogging circles around everyone while the Run Director is speaking.
Please don’t do that.
You can listen to the briefing and still keep your body gently active.
Shift your weight from one foot to the other.
Take a few small steps.
Gently move your legs.
Roll your shoulders.
Stay relaxed.
If there’s space after the briefing, walk around rather than immediately planting yourself on the start line.
These movements don’t need to look like a workout.
You’re simply avoiding becoming completely stationary.
Think About a Cold Saturday Morning
This becomes particularly relevant during winter.
Imagine you’ve spent 10–15 minutes warming up.
You feel comfortable.
Then you stand around in shorts and a singlet while the temperature is only a few degrees above freezing.
By the time the countdown starts, you may not feel quite as warm anymore.
On mornings like these, keeping gently active can be particularly useful.
You can also keep an extra layer of clothing on for as long as practical before the start.
The aim is simple:
Don’t warm yourself up and then unnecessarily cool yourself down again.
Your Strides Should Be Near the End
If you’re including strides in your parkrun warm-up, their timing matters too.
There’s little benefit in completing your final stride 20 minutes before the start and then standing around.
Ideally, those short faster efforts come towards the latter stages of your preparation.
You want the transition to look something like:
Easy running.
Dynamic movement.
A few controlled strides.
Gentle movement.
Start.
Rather than:
Warm up.
Stop.
Stand around.
Get cold.
Start running hard.
Be Considerate Around Other parkrunners
The start area at some events can be extremely crowded.
So use common sense.
Don’t suddenly start doing high knees or large leg swings when hundreds of runners are packed around you.
You don’t need much space to stay gently active.
Small movements are enough.
And if you’re positioned towards the front, be particularly aware that runners around you may be concentrating on the briefing or preparing for the start themselves.
Staying warm should never come at the expense of someone else’s safety or enjoyment.
Don’t Turn It Into Another Workout
There’s another extreme to avoid.
You don’t need to keep your heart rate elevated by jogging continuously until the countdown.
Your warm-up should prepare you—not tire you.
Once the main work is finished, the goal changes from getting warm to staying ready.
That distinction matters.
Gentle movement is enough.
What About Hot Weather?
On a warm summer morning, the situation changes.
You’re unlikely to cool rapidly while standing around, and overheating before a hard 5K can become the bigger concern.
So adjust your routine to the conditions.
You may need a shorter warm-up.
You might seek shade before the start.
You may want to minimise unnecessary extra running.
A warm-up isn’t something you blindly repeat regardless of the weather.
It should prepare you for the conditions you’re actually going to run in.
Make the Final Minutes Part of Your Routine
One of the advantages of having a regular pre-parkrun routine is that you remove unnecessary decisions.
You know when you’ll arrive.
You know when you’ll start jogging.
You know when you’ll complete your strides.
And you know what you’ll do during those final minutes.
That routine can become familiar and reassuring.
Instead of standing at the start wondering whether you’re ready, you’ve followed a process you’ve practised many times before.
Bringing It Back to Saturday
Your parkrun warm-up doesn’t really finish when your easy jog finishes.
It finishes when your parkrun begins.
So once you’ve prepared your body, maintain that readiness.
Stay gently active.
Keep warm.
Time your strides appropriately.
Adjust for the weather.
Then, when the countdown reaches three, two, one…
You’re not trying to wake your body back up.
You’re already ready to run.
Want a complete routine to follow before your next parkrun?
Download my free Arrive Ready: The Complete parkrun Warm-Up Guide:
https://qwikkiwicoaching.lpages.co/parkrun-warm-up-routine-nz-opt-in