I’ve completed 355 parkruns – here’s what you need to get started

Running his own race … our writer has completed more than 350 parkruns and picked up plenty of tips along the way. Photograph: Alan Martin/The Guardian

I have a gym membership and walk everywhere, but I’m not what you’d typically picture when you think of a fitness writer. Compared with the Guardian’s running experts, I’m a not-particularly-enthusiastic amateur.

But what I lack in speed, stamina, and gazelle-like grace, I make up for with dogged persistence. Since 2014, I’ve run 355 parkruns in 63 locations. That’s a lot of hours – especially given my finishing times.