Our ‘to do’ list of South West parkruns contains some events that were around long before we got our barcodes. There are some events that we want to get to soon, but haven’t had the right practical opportunity. And there are some where the timing works perfectly. Like when a beach parkrun starts a few weeks before you have parents visiting.

Woolacombe Dunes parkrun is, unsurprisingly, in Woolacombe, Devon, and takes place on the sand dunes. The terrain meant we needed to leave the kids at home, and so while we would probably have preferred to parkrun a little closer to home after our trip to Cornwall, the timing of having my parents available to look after the kids was too good to miss. And so we found ourselves leaving the house at 7am to head for the coast.

Once we were in Woolacombe itself, the directions on the course page easily took us to the long car park, which is free in the off-season (November-March). We did misread the facilities information, and so after checking with the RD had to head back into the village for toilets (just a couple of minutes away). On attempt 2 we still easily found a parking space, in a car park that’s slightly above average for its outlook.

We quickly located the start (mere metres from the end of the car park), and then returned to the car to get the right layers sorted. Ben went off for a warm up (sensible, given the temperature) and I chatted to a lovely lady from Cardiff who’s getting closer to the Most Events table. There was a call for the First Timers’ briefing, and what felt like everybody (over 50% were first timers at the event) huddled round. Except, of course, Ben and the other people warming up!

The first timers’ briefing was delivered with a PA system (big tick) and was sensibly split to cover the course elements first, so that us tourists could disappear and leave the actual newbies in peace. The microphone was then handed over to the RD for the actual run brief, before we all went over to the start. Some time around this, I saw Ben sprint past towards the car. It turned out that after his warm up he’d decided to ditch his Parkclaws in favour of his Speedcross. I own far fewer pairs of trail shoes, so it’s much easier for me!

Unusually, I actually heard both the countdown to the start and the start itself. The first section is downhill on a cross between rocky trail path and bad road. This didn’t last long, before we turned right onto the sand dunes. To start with it felt like any other trail path – compressed mud with a fair few rocks – but soon some sand started creeping into the mix. Over the dunes it became less trail and more beach, with a few steeper descents.

It’s fair to say, I’m still pretty rubbish at running downhill, but I coped reasonably well to start with. And then there was a fairly steep downhill. With a bend in it. Entirely on loose, sinking sand. I lost my footing a little, and with it my nerve. I actually stopped to the side to let a few people past, and when it became clear that walking would just make me sink took a deep breath before running down to the beach.

The beach is spectacular. The section lasts from around three quarters of a mile in until around 2 miles in. This was the first time I ever stopped during a parkrun to take a photo. I slightly regretted it when it took me ages to get my phone back in my pocket, and when I found out Ben had also taken a photo. But it was amazing. The tide was fairly low when we ran, so there was a nice wide area and also plenty of damp sand to make it as compact as possible.

I probably could have run faster through this section, but I ended up running with (I assume) a father and son, and enjoyed the company. It was also far too much fun to over-exert myself. After a mile of flat (albeit on not the easiest surface), the uphill to re-join the dunes was pretty intense. Particularly with the soft sand surface. Yes, I walked it. The terrain changed back to being more compacted, and we started a steady incline back up the hill. Or so I thought.

Being down on a beach and looking all the way up to where your run started is pretty intimidating. Being up on a dune, looking all the way up to where your run started, and realising the next section is downhill is a little demoralising. But we did indeed spend a third of a mile descending, as the path through the dunes went a little closer to the beach.

Then the uphill arrived. Steep uphill to start with, part of which led us to re-join the path we’d taken down to the beach. More annoying than my lack of fitness to tackle the hill was the fact that I had to stop to re-tie a shoelace. Again. The gradient got a whole lot friendlier as we turned back onto the track at the top. I did have a momentary blank as to which way to go, as there was no marshal or arrow here, but the runners around me pointed out the people off to our left.

Ben ran down from the finish area, and ran me in the last section. Which was pretty helpful, as it made me actually run rather than crawl. The kid I’d run with on the beach put on a massive sprint finish and sped past me at the end. Which is unsurprising given how children run. Scanning was right near the end of the finish funnel, which made it easy to find.

We chatted to a few people, including the RD, before heading back to our cars and round to the Beachcomber Cafe for second breakfast. Once it opened (at 10), the place was absolutely packed with happy parkrunners.

At the time of writing, the course description says that buggies are allowed, however I personally don’t think that the course is buggy friendly, particularly with the downhill sinking sand. It probably goes without saying, but this is definitely a trail shoes course.

Woolacombe Dunes is a pretty special parkrun. It has to be right up there with the most stunning locations we’ve visited, if not at the top. The long stretch on the beach makes it truly fantastic, and I’m always a fan of anywhere you can listen to waves the whole time. I imagine in the summer months they will get a fair few holidaymakers, and what better way to spend part of your holiday than running such a scenic parkrun.