Note pyjamas under coat, and no socks or shoes!

On Saturday, we were off on our travels again to visit another parkrun in the south west. With Longrun Meadow, and a fair few of the other local runs, being off-limits to buggies at the moment due to the severe mud and puddles, we had a look for a more… benign course. Chipping Sodbury seemed to fit the bill perfectly: three laps of playing fields, all on solid paths. It did sound a little boring though!

parkrun tourism almost always means an early start, unless we’re staying away, and this was no different. A 6:45 alarm is slightly earlier than we have during the week, and it would have been earlier but for the fact that we’d got most of our stuff ready the night before! Unfortunately, one thing that we couldn’t sort out the night before was our lovely daughter…

Still, we set off around 7:40, which left us plenty of time for the trip up the M5 and a little way along the M4. Some research had indicated that there was plenty of parking, and that proved to be the case. There were also toilets at the car park, which is always appreciated after a drive! After a short new runners briefing, followed by the general pre-run briefing, we had a short debate about how many layers to wear. Lolly opted to shed her hoodie before we started, but I kept mine on, for the first lap at least.

Finished! (Credit: Mel Warren)

The start line was a short walk from the car park, and even shorter for those of us forced to start at the back with buggies or dogs. That far back, I couldn’t hear when we started (invest in a klaxon for starting your parkruns, event directors!) but soon enough, we started plodding forwards. Despite being told that buggies had to start at the back, there were only two of us there, and at least four buggies taking part, but nevermind!

As usual, the start was pretty congested, and it wasn’t really until about three-quarters of the way through the first lap that I started making decent progress through the field and found some gaps to run in. The course, which is actually just short of three full laps, starts at the bottom of a shallow ascent of about 60 feet over a third of a mile. I didn’t really feel the climb on the first two laps, but certainly did on the third! It then winds its way through a little grove of trees, before coming back down on the other side of the playing fields from the start. A short sharp descent drops the runners down into a small car park by the scout hut, which also had a little speed bump buggy jump on it. It then turned through a little decorative seating area, turned a sharp bend and went through a staggered gate, across the car park, through another staggered gate, and back to the start. Technically, the end of the lap was by far the most challenging in the buggy, with a series of tight turns, especially the gates!

Putting the “park” in parkrun.

The support was pretty good, mainly around the finish funnel by the car park, but also on the “down” section of the course, on the other side of the cricket club by the car park. One thing that I was very impressed by was a plastic sheet, which was used to put any outer layers that runners had stripped off onto. This was a great solution, as all too often, I’ve thrown my hoodie off, only to find it wet and muddy on the grass later.

I suggested in the first paragraph that the course looked a bit boring, and that is certainly what I’d been expecting. However, it surprised me a lot: although it was essentially a “road”-style course, rather than trail, it was varied and really enjoyable. As with all parkruns, the support around the course from the marshals was great, and everyone was friendly. We didn’t stop for a drink after, but we did sample the play park before a trip to Sweatshop to get Lolly (and me, sneakily) some new shoes.