Caitlin Adams, from Adelaide, set the record at Lochiel parkrun last weekend
Forget the Olympics: parkrun is where the real record-setting is happening! Caitlin Adams is a runner from Adelaide, Australia, and last Saturday she set an astounding new global parkrun record of 15m38s.
“I hadn’t raced in a while with everything happening with COVID so it was good to get a hard and fast hit out this morning,” said the 24-year-old. She is coached by Adam Didyk, who was in Tokyo with the Australian team at the time. She said that she was inspired by the team; especially the marathoners, who were pounding the pavement at the same time.
Caitlin might be the fastest parkrunner in the world, but she did what many of us do on a Saturday morning: went off too quickly. “The first 300m was a bit of a shock to the system as we all took off so fast!” she says.
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Instead of stressing about her pace, she decided to ignore her watch and focus on how she felt during the race. “I didn’t look at it until the last kilometre,” she remembers. She says that the Australian record was in the back of her mind, but her aim was just to see what was “in her legs”.
“When I saw my time was 15m38s I thought, wow, I’ve got the Australian record! When I realised that it was the global record, I thought that was pretty cool for a Saturday morning.” We couldn’t agree more, Caitlin!
For Caitlin, though, it’s not all about setting records. She loves how accessible parkrun is for everyone, regardless of speed or ability. “I love how people roll up and have a walk or run or jog on a Saturday morning. I love seeing the little kids come across the line then the older generations, too – and then going to have a coffee afterwards.”
