parkrun Tralee - 1 year on

It's been a year since Parkrun event arrived in Tralee and we will make a short review of the past year and what effect this event is having on our club members and other participants.
Quick reminder about Parkrun idea you can read in this post from January 2015 HERE.
Some of the statistics from parkrun Tralee for 2015 with our club members:
Number of runners registered: 33
Number of runs by St.Brendan's AC : 211

Most number of runs individual: 
Yvonne Quill (33), Shannon Quill (24), Kirstie Nowak (12)
Zach Walshe (21), Pat Sheehy (21), Peter Jackson (20)

Fastest run:
Derek Griffin - 17:00, Peter Jackson - 18:36, Artur Nowak - 20:44, 
Ursula Barrett - 21:40, Eimear O'Sullivan - 23:17, Ann McGlynn - 23:19

Fastest run by age grade:
Zach Walshe - 82.09%, Derek Griffin - 75.88%, Pat Sheehy - 69.21%
Ann McGlynn - 73.70%, Eimear O'Sullivan - 71.44%, Ursula Barrett - 69.31%

Fastest finisher:
Ursula Barrett (4 times), Peter Jackson (4 times), Derek Griffin (2 times), Ann McGlynn (1 time)

There is a strong presence from St.Brendan's AC members on most of the Saturdays in both capacities - as participants and as volunteers.
What we learn from the past year and what we like:

• Location: it's perfect - middle of the town, in great park, with easy parking access and toilets near by,
• Time: early enough to get there and be done by late morning,
• Organisation: well set up with strong core of people who are friendly and helpful, no registration on the morning, just short briefing,
• Cost: it's free (you may need to laminate your barcode or want to buy parkrun T-shirt but it's optional)
• Inclusion: runners, joggers, walkers along with buggies, small kids and dogs (on leash) are all welcome
• Fast turn over time: for some very fast runners that's literally all done under half an hour
• Social aspect: meeting old friends and making new ones

Some advice for current and future participants:

• Try to arrive 20-30min before the start to warm up - your run/jog will be more consistent using dynamic warm up
• Pace yourself according to ability - be realistic
• Don't try to beat you PB every week - pick the date for PB every 4-5 weeks
• Use pacers if trying for PB
• Bring family and friends with you, if not participating to cheer you on
• Say hello to other runners, walkers and volunteers 
• Smile for the camera
• Not ready to run/walk - start with volunteering
• Have a few barcodes printed and laminated and don't forget to bring it with you or get ID band with barcode for you wrist
• Don't rely 100% on any GPS enable device (GPS watch or smartphone with app) for distance - these devices DO NOT measure the route. They calculate the distance using algorithm based on GPS signal strength (this could be weak under the trees) and frequency of the signal. Better strategy is to split the distance into 3 laps - if aiming for 30min that's 10min per lap, 24min finish it's a 8min per lap and so on. 
• Cool down after the run (light jog for few minutes), some stretches will help as well.