Category Archives: parkrun

parkrun tourism: Teignmouth Promenade parkrun

by Lolly

Yes, we do still exist! It’s fair to say that the last few months have been a bit up and down. There’s been a few things I’d have loved to have written about but haven’t managed (my 100th parkrun, progress towards PB pace, on and off training plans, etc). But we’ve come to the conclusion that the best cure for all of this is more tourism. Cue Teignmouth Promenade parkrun.

Our eternal quest to conquer the South West region has suffered greatly from the amazing growth the region has experienced in the last couple of years. We’re still managing to hover at about 50% complete though, and are particularly targeting any that would make a good family trip. So something by the seaside works quite well.

Teignmouth Promenade parkrun started just over a month ago, and as the name suggests takes place on the promenade in Teignmouth. For those of you not familiar with Devon, it’s actually pronounced “Tin-muth”, so make sure you’re saying it correctly in your head! Like other promenade runs (hi Seaton, Minehead and Exmouth) this involves running out and back, in this case 3 times.

The course starts near the pier, goes along to the Yacht Club, back (past the pier) to near the lighthouse. One more complete loop, and then the last time you finish before the lighthouse end (roughly level with the start). Having read the description before we went, my main worry running with the buggy was the prospect of several 180 degree turns. As it turned out though, that wasn’t the tricky part.

Wrapped up warm with the buggies before the start

Ever so slightly chilly

We arrived and parked up in good time, and having set up both buggies we even had time to head to the toilets near the pier. Uncharacteristically for us, we were at the gathering point around quarter to 9. Enough time to worry about the number of clothes we were in (the horror of de-layering in cold wind before a run) and that the kids were in (why wouldn’t the little man keep his hat on?!).

At the Run Director’s call we made our way over to the sea-side of the promenade path, and then picked our way through the gathering crowd to get to the back, where we discovered we were 2 of 4 buggies taking part. After a little while, Ben, being significantly taller than me, noticed that the briefing had started. Unfortunately being at the back I didn’t hear a thing, which is a fairly common occurrence for buggy-runners.

The next thing I missed was the start, again with Ben commenting that people had started moving. And so we were off. And almost immediately stopped again as we crashed buggies. Slightly embarrassing, but there are far worse crashes for each of us to have! I had been expecting a standard flat prom-run, but very quickly there was a short-sharp up then down for the pier entrance. The path also zig-zagged a few times, which was slightly testing with a buggy in the initial crowd of people.

The path got narrow, and my next worry became how on earth this would work as an out-and-back, let alone once people started lapping as well. This was answered when runners started coming the other way – on a higher path to our left. The joining point for the two paths required a sharp turn, and my timing meant that there were 3 runners side-by-side going the other way when I had to make the turn. Note to self, practice sharp turns with the buggy!

Ben being way more relaxed about corners (from TP parkrun Facebook page)

There was then the expected 180 degree turn round the cone, which actually after the zig-zagging path didn’t seem all that bad. The (marginally) inland of the two paths was much better surface, albeit still with one zig-zag, and before I knew it we were rounding an ice-cream hut and passing the gathering area, where the finish funnel was set up. This just left a nice wide path near the lighthouse, an even wider turn round the end, and another easy path to get back to the start.

The second lap was much the same, with the added excitement of being lapped. It was pretty tricky on some of the narrower sections, having to run with one wheel consistently close to the wall, but the faster runners generally seemed appreciative of my efforts. As we passed the finish funnel for the second time I noticed how narrow it was, but hoped that (as is often the case) it would be wider by the time I finished.

Can we agree to ignore my posture, just this once?

The third lap was hard. I hadn’t run for 4 weeks, and I was pushing a buggy containing a 5 year old. Slowing down slightly also meant ending up in a bigger group of people, which meant more pressure to get the corners right! Despite being tired, and struggling to answer the many questions my daughter was asking, it didn’t go too badly and I was soon speeding up towards the finish. Which, by the way, was still the same width.

Finish token in hand, I carried on following the line of cones and was a bit confused not to find a barcode scanner. I asked a nearby marshal, who said they were in the Lemon Tree cafe and pointed me in the right direction. On the way I met up with Ben, and we decided to put the buggies in the car first. Because the barcode scanning was actually significantly further away than where we’d parked, as it involved crossing the road, walking past some shops, and then identifying the cafe by the line of people outside waiting to be scanned. As with Exeter Riverside, I imagine they will have a fair few tokens disappear as people fail to make it that far.

By the time we actually made it to the cafe to have our barcodes scanned it was fairly full, so we headed to an alternative nearby cafe (Coasters) instead – testing our children’s patience when we ordered just after a large group of South West Road Runners.

Pier-ing at the course from a different angle

Afterwards we had a lovely hour or so admiring the sea view, visiting the section of pier that was open, and enjoying the amazing play park. Definitely a great one to take kids to.

While the route wasn’t entirely what I expected, it was still a very enjoyable run. Being by the sea was great, although it’s fair to say my passenger had more chance to admire the views than I did. Definitely a great location for an extended visit. I’d love to visit again when the event has had a bit more chance to bed down (and our daughter wants to go to the park again), but there are so many places left to visit that who knows!

parkrun tourism: Bideford parkrun

by Ben

Bideford parkrun has been up and running since April 2016, and is up to event #125. We’ve been intending to do it almost the entire time since. Bideford is about an hour and a quarter drive for us, so is very reasonable as an out-and-back in a morning option. With Lolly’s parents over for the weekend (helping us out with a childcare emergency – thank you) we were free to roam. Unfortunately, the August Bank Holiday meant that the roads were likely to be awful, eliminating most of our options. After a short analysis of the remaining options, we chose Bideford – essentially as the one using the least amount of M5/A303!

Bideford is a town in North Devon that sits on the River Torridge (the name comes from ‘by the ford, rather than a ford of the river Bide). It’s closest other parkrun is Barnstaple, which we did in November 2015. The pair tend to double up for New Year’s Day. The course goes around Victoria Park and King George V playing fields, near the river.

The parkrun course is also marked as an England 3-2-1 route.

We arrived in plenty of time, and parked in the spacious pay and display (or Parkmobile) car park located right next to the park. With some time to kill, we had a wander around Victoria Park, getting a feel for the place. We were annoyed that we hadn’t brought the children, as there is an amazing play area in the park, along with a cafe, paddling pool, toilets, and well… all sorts!

Pre-run faffing and toilet stops done, we headed over for the new runner’s briefing. This was relatively short and to the point, explaining the course: three and a half laps. Basically, one loop of Victoria Park itself to start (the 0.5) and three full loops of Victoria Park and the King George V playing fields. Or, as the RD succinctly put it at the end: three times around the tree stump and four times past the toilets.

The main briefing was similarly routine; one runner on her 50th run, standards terms and conditions apply, let’s go! We were shepherded a short distance back towards the start, and after a little wait for some runners that were late, we were set on our way.

Four times past the toilets (and amazing playing area).

The half lap to start is entirely on tarmac paths skirting around the outskirts of Victoria Park. The event feels like it has a lot of marshals, giving great support on the way around. I can recall eight marshal locations, plus the mass of volunteers around the start/finish area. Not bad for such a small course. The paths are all a pretty good width, and the event tends to attract between 100 and 150 people (we had 133), so there isn’t too much issue with congestion.

After the first half lap, we passed the start line and headed right, going around a Children’s Centre, and into the playing fields. This involved switching off the tarmac paths onto the grass. I’d opted to wear road shoes, not having noticed the grass section during our wander around the park, but thankfully it was plenty solid enough that I didn’t regret my decision. Towards the end of the grass, the ground started to get a bit rutted. On the first lap lightly turned my ankle, but thankfully it didn’t bother me after a few strides. On the final lap, rather than continue back past the start line, we turned off early and headed down the grass for the finish.

Finish strong!

In advance, I always think that courses with three or more laps will be tough and dull, but I didn’t have an issue today at all. In fact, thinking back, I’m not sure I ever have. From a personal point of view, my run was quite disappointing. After a few weeks of not running, I struggled with the pace, and faded away after the first kilometre or so. Hopefully a couple of weeks of decent running will get me nicely back into shape.

As a parkrun, I’d say Bideford is good without being amazing. The park itself is lovely, and the volunteers were plentiful and supportive. Having done 35 different events now, it can be easy to start being snobbish about different courses, and I might have prejudged this course harshly because of that. I would have no complaints at all if this was my home run, and it benefits from being almost entirely pancake flat (just a small lump past the toilet block really).

The Barge Cafe.

Lolly had a fantastic run, setting her P2BPB (post-second-baby personal-best). We considered hanging around for second breakfast in the cafe (which is on a boat!) afterwards, but neither of us were feeling ready for food immediately, so we ended up stopping at Sainsbury’s cafe in Barnstaple on the way home for food instead. Victoria Park also hosts a junior parkrun, Torridge junior parkrun, and we’re already planning a weekend away to spend a Saturday in Bude (Tamar Lakes parkrun) and the Sunday in Bideford. Both because the park will be great for the kids, and because Bideford looks such a lovely place.

parkrun tourism: Street parkrun

by Lolly

For the list-orientated type, parkrun tourism is a veritable treasure trove of opportunities. We’ve mentioned in the past our (very) long-term goal of becoming South West regionnaires (that’s every parkrun in the South West region), but along the way there are different counties to complete. When we did Shepton Mallet back in January it completed our Somer-set, but with a parkrun collection you’re never complete for long.

Street parkrun started in May 2018, and became the 3rd parkrun to feature on Longrun Meadow‘s “Other parkruns nearby” list. We’ve had it on our to-do list ever since, but it’s risen in priority since the start of the summer holidays as it requires neither the M5 or the A303 for us to get there. After 2 failed attempts (kids poorly, adults poorly), this weekend we were extra determined to make it.

Uncharacteristically, we actually left a few minutes earlier than planned. 5 minutes into the drive we realised my Garmin was still on charge and so we went back to get it and ended up running a more familiar 5 minutes late. Street parkrun takes place in the playing fields of Strode College Sports Centre. We were initially unsure if the sat nav had taken us the right way, but happily saw the familiar collection of running kit at the other end of the car park.

First running buggy assembled, I took it (and our son) over to the start, hoping to catch at least a bit of the first timers’ briefing, while Ben stayed with Lani as she decided whether to run or go in the buggy. I found the briefing on the other side of the playing courts, and typically was too late to get much course information. The safety warning at the end for rutted ground was pretty crucial though, particularly with a buggy.

Apparently there was a view of a well-known landmark. I genuinely didn’t notice.

Handily, at the end of the briefing someone said hello to me – it turned out that Al who we know from Longrun Meadow was also visiting that day. He confirmed that the course was 3 laps of fields. Just as I was starting to get worried about timing, Ben and Lani appeared having made the decision of no buggy.

Everyone moved the short distance to the start, which was a reasonably wide area on the grass. The briefing covered the usual basics, with more emphasis on being careful with the ground conditions. The start was a nice clear air-horn sound, which meant it was easily audible at the back of the pack. Not that the back was very far away, thanks to the wide starting patch.

And so we were off and dodging obstacles. At least that’s what it felt like, with the usual shuffling of people finding position combined with a few sports-related fixings. I was happily surprised with how good the surface was underfoot, and more importantly for me under-wheel. We were quickly at our first 90 degree turn to go along the top of the field, and despite fears to the contrary I found enough width amongst everyone to swing round.

The course sounds pretty awful on paper. Round two sides of one field. Through a gap to the next field. Round 2 and a half sides of the field. Out and back in the middle of the field. Round the other 1 and a half sides of the field. Back through the gap. Round remaining 2 sides of first field. Do this again twice, then straight on to finish. See? Really not appealing.

A map from my Strava. Because my route description could use some work.

Strangely, though, it works. One of the beauties of visiting different parkrun locations is you see the wide variety of ways that you can do 5k. Running with the buggy I found that the many turns broke it up into manageable sections. There was a slight gradient, and so for one side in each field I could relax a little as the buggy gained a bit of downhill momentum. It was a welcome let-off, as the rutted grass was otherwise relentless.

The back-and-forth nature of the course made it a very sociable event. It was easy for me to keep track of where Ben and Lani were, with having several reference points. There were also a surprisingly large number of marshals, with one at pretty much every turn. I don’t know if they will reduce the number slightly as the event beds in more, or if it’s felt the number is right. The marshals were very encouraging, several with jingle bells, and also helpful in pointing out the worst of the terrain.

Inevitably on a 3 lap course, I was lapped reasonably early on. I tried to stick obviously to one side, as I was a bit worried about the width in places. It all worked ok though, with one runner passing me on the narrowest bit with no issues. And I didn’t even take anyone out while going round the corners.

At least he’s too young to ask if we’re nearly there yet

As is my standard, I’d saved a little for a faster finish. Unfortunately there was someone relatively close in front of me, and it became clear that if I kept going I would either hit them or the route markers, so I didn’t go as fast as I could have. The finish funnel was a little on the narrow side for a buggy, but wider than it first appeared.

I collected my finish token, and had a chat with the volunteers about my barcode placement (I keep it on an extra hairband in my hair). After a quick chat with Al, I headed to the car to pick up Lani’s barcode wristband, which had been left there in all the indecision. The ease of pushing the buggy across the playing courts instead of the grass added an extra spring to my step.

All that was then left to do was chat to some more people near the finish, cheer people in, and wait to watch Ben and Lani finish. Which they did 4 minutes faster than the previous time Lani had done a 5k parkrun.

Determined finisher

For most of the year there is a cafe in the sports centre, but it was closed due the summer holidays. The other sports facilities were still available, including free to use showers. Unsurprisingly, though, we were in need of post-run refreshments. So we headed over to Clarks Village for food and shoe shopping.

Street parkrun was a pleasant surprise for me, and a good reminder that the paper description doesn’t mean everything. The community feel was particularly good for such a young parkrun. I’d be interested to see how the fields cope over the winter, and was definitely pleased that we went in such good conditions. We could well be back to this one though… probably the next time the kids grow out of their shoes!

parkrun tourism: Exmouth parkrun

by Ben

A bit of a #throwbackthursday post today to a parkrun that we visited back in May, but for one reason or another, we never got around to writing up at the time: Exmouth parkrun.

Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside…

This was sort of unintentional parkrun tourism. Sort of. Exmouth parkrun was not our intended destination when we set out. Let me explain…

My in-laws were with us for the weekend, and so we decided to take the opportunity to get out and visit somewhere new. A look around, and we decided that Torbay Velopark took our fancy. It was a reasonable, but not silly, distance away, and it looked an interesting course.

We set off, a little bit late, but without too much concern. But, as we went, we noticed the traffic was a bit heavier than we’d accounted for (it was a bank holiday weekend). We kept going, though the sat nav estimated arrival time was starting to get a bit concerning. 8:55 might be an acceptable time to turn up to your home run, where you know what’s going on, but for touristing… it’s not ideal.

We passed Cullompton (and the turning for Killerton), and the traffic certainly didn’t seem to be easing. We had to make a decision soon: did we keep on going past Exeter to Torbay, or turn off early to either Exeter Riverside or Exmouth? We hadn’t really fancied Exmouth initially, as being a “road” course, it was one we could easily do with buggies. But, we were getting really touch-and-go for Torbay, and didn’t fancy repeating Exeter Riverside.

And so, we arrived in Exmouth with plenty of time. Which was handy, as we drove around the block a couple of times while I got confused about where we should park. In the end, we got it about right, parking on the prom, just metres from the start/finish. It’s paid parking, but I seem to recall that it was pretty reasonable, even taking into account the extra hour’s cost to fit in breakfast!

After popping to the toilets (very conveniently located) and faffing around for a while, I realised that I should probably head off for a warm-up jog. I headed off west along the Esplanade, knowing that the course mostly went the other direction. I knew I didn’t have too much time, but for some reason, I just kept on going, and ended up clocking up 1.1 miles. Which is perfectly reasonable, except when you get back to the start and find that everyone else is already gathered up ready to go!

Having missed the new runners briefing, and apparently the normal briefing too, I was initially slightly disorientated, and couldn’t work out which end of the pack I should integrate myself into. It soon became apparent when I paid attention, and I snuck myself into the side. Unfortunately, poor preparation meant that a few things weren’t quite ideal. Firstly, I was wearing my new inov-8 Parkclaws. These light trail shoes had seemed ideal for the mixed terrain of Torbay Velopark, but for the 100% pavement course of Exmouth, they were less ideal. Unfortunately, they were the only shoe I’d brought with me. Well, other than my Primark rip-off Vans, and well, no. Secondly, I was still in two layers from my warm-up, and couldn’t see anywhere obvious to leave the outer layer. Thankfully, it was just my ’50’ top over my apricot vest, so it wasn’t like I was in a thick hoodie, but still.

Anyway, without much further ado, we were off. And I had no idea where we were going. Normally, before any parkrun (or race, or training run) I intensely study the route, the elevation, any slow bits on Strava that might be because of mud etc. However, as I’d been expecting to go somewhere else, and had missed the run briefing to boot, I really had no idea. Sure, I knew it went along the seafront, and went mostly east, but a little bit west too. But I didn’t know how many laps it was, or whether it was the same lap each time, or, well, anything useful.

Actually, a very simple course!

On the other hand, it didn’t make a huge difference; I wasn’t going to finish first, so obviously I could just follow those ahead of me. That said, I was still caught a bit by surprise at the sharp hairpin bend we had to negotiate almost straight away! They had pacers when we were there, so I decided to tuck in behind the group that had formed around the 20 minute pacer, and just see how long I could settle in there before I lost them. Even holding back behind that pack, I was cracking along at a fair pace; around six minute miles for the first quarter of a mile; far quicker than the 6:25 needed.

About three quarters of a mile in, we were directed around to the right of the lifeboat station. I fully expected this to be a turnaround point, but no, we kept on going. It was quickly becoming apparent that this was in fact a single lap course. Out-and-back east, followed by a small out-and-back west. Which was a shame for my spare layer of clothing that I was now wearing wrapped around my hand – I’d hoped to throw it somewhere as we looped for a second lap. Damn this missing the briefing thing.

All the way to the end of the esplanade, about one and a quarter miles, and we turned around a nice large circle – none of this tight corner around a cone nonsense here! (That was later, at the other end.) Heading back, we were directed around the other side of the lifeboat station (right again, of course). Being near a pacer, there was still a nice little pack of us, which was helping me to keep with a pace I hadn’t really expected to maintain. In fact, Exmouth parkrun was a rarity for me – a fast paced run in which I ran perfect negative progression. After 2.4 miles, we re-passed the start/finish area, and I was finally able to throw my spare layer of clothing at the RD (what else are they for, after all?) Unburdened, I headed off for the eastern spur of the run reinvigorated! Or something like that.

As I alluded to earlier, the turnaround point at this end was just a cone, but with the field spread out more than at the other end, it wasn’t an issue for me as a pinch point – had I been running with the buggy in the mid-field, it might have been a bit trickier. That turn comes at about 2.7 miles, so provides a nice mental point to start ramping things up a bit more for a quick finish. The course veers to the right to finish, but carries on a little further than the start line (this would have been nice to know in advance – if only I’d been around to hear any sort of briefing!!) I was chuffed with my time of 19:41, my second fastest parkrun ever!

Lolly did pretty well too, finishing in 29:27, her 10th different sub-30 parkrun course, also making it only the second course on which we had a sub-20/sub-30 pair. (Along with our home parkrun, Longrun Meadow.)

Not just a dull out and back… The wheel is more or less the start/finish area, which is a handy landmark on the run.

The course sounds a little dull; out and back along the prom. Similar to Seaton, but without the run on the pebble beach, and Minehead, but just one “lap”. In some ways, it is a bit dull. It’s flat, all pavement. But, of course, the views counteract that to an extent – Exmouth is a pretty bit of coast. It’s a much quicker course than Minehead, (Seaton is relatively slow because of the beach sections), but this might have a bit to do with the relative amount of wind at each. Despite having pretty big number when we were there (337), it didn’t feel too overcrowded, even with passing other runners on the prom.

After the run, the barcode scanning is (a little confusingly at first) in the cafe across the road from the finish. Although there were signs, I found them a bit unclear initially, and mostly worked it out by following other people! Of course, once we were in the cafe, it would have been rude not to stop for some breakfast too…

parkrun tourism: Lanhydrock parkrun

by Ben

When someone asks ‘Which parkrun is the prettiest / most scenic?’, Lanhydrock parkrun is invariably listed among the responses. It’s also a common reply to ‘Which parkrun is the toughest?’ Both of these seemed like good recommendations to me. In fact, Lanhydrock is probably the parkrun we’ve wanted to visit the most for almost as long as we’ve been touring.

I honestly have no idea if we could see this from the route…

We certainly had the weather for it – a gloriously sunny early May bank holiday weekend. We travelled down on Friday evening to stay in a holiday cottage on Bodmin Moor – a convenient 20 minute drive from Lanhydrock. Being National Trust members, we didn’t have to pay for parking, but I don’t think it’s too silly at £1 for an hour or £3 all day.

After the usual toilet stops on arrival, we made our way into the House grounds to find the start. It’s a bit of a walk from the car park to the start, so it’s certainly not a run I’d want to be running late for! As it was, even bimbling along we were there at about 8:45 – plenty of time. A brief course description in the new runners briefing was following by the standard briefing at the start line, and then we were off!

Gathering at the start.

And boy, were we off! A road downhill start meant that when I glanced at my watch about a quarter of a mile in, I was averaging about a 5:20/mile pace. Not sustainable! Despite the promise that the 1.5 miles were downhill (and the next 1.5 miles uphill), we hit a short incline after that first quarter of a mile, and things got a bit more sensible. For a little bit anyway. Well, until we hit the next downhill…

The course is well advertised as being ‘downhill for the first half, then uphill for the second half’. I was happy with this – I could take it easy early on, and then half plenty left in the tank for the climbing later. Unfortunately, an off-road descent is far too tempting for me to ‘take it easy’. My pace eased up: 7:00/mile, 6:10/mile, 5:03/mile, 4:31/mile(!). I was flying past people – and was also pretty certain that I was going to be pretty embarrassed later when they all came back past me again. Allegedly, this downhill was in a gorgeous wood with bluebells, but I’ll be completely honest and say that I was only watching my feet and the runners around me!

The course kicks back gently uphill for a short while before the end of the first mile, and then is mostly flat, with a slight drop for the next three-quarters of a mile, as it loops along the River Fowey. And then the climbing starts. We’d dropped about 300 ft from the start line to the river, and most of that needed to be made back up again. (Lanhydrock is actually a net downhill course, as the start line is uphill from the finish line. It doesn’t feel it.)

The uphills definitely lived up to their billing. A gentle initial climb gets harder when the course turns up along ‘The Avenue’, one of the driveways up to the house. Some respite (though it isn’t flat) is provided as you cut diagonally across a field, but the subsequent scramble up through the woods more than makes up for it. I dropped down to a walk for a while, and was far from the only one to do so – in fact I was still making up ground on those around me while doing so. The course returns to the garden drives with a short bit of climbing to do, before the final push downhill to finish.

Done.

I measured the course slightly short (4.88 km), but the twisting and turning through the woods was probably not tracked properly by GPS. It would be an odd course to be short, given they have the flexibility to move both the start and the finish.

It was refreshing to run a one-lap course; the last parkrun I ran that was a single lap was Moors Valley back in July. Of course, for my parents and the children spectating, it was less ideal! The route was nice and varied, and allegedly very scenic, though as I mentioned earlier, I don’t appear to have noticed. (Lolly took a bit longer than me, and reassures me that it was, in fact, very pretty.)

After the run, it was off to the Stables Cafe for breakfast, our daughter’s favourite part of parkrun tourism!

parkrun tourism: Minehead parkrun

by Lolly

I don’t have the best record at actually writing blog posts lately. My last 2 parkrun tourism posts are part-finished drafts (one of which I’m still hoping to finish, the other I’m hoping to re-visit soon), and the many ups and downs my running has taken over the last few months have been left undescribed. Minehead parkrun, though, I’m determined to write up now. If for no other reason than we didn’t write it up last time.

When planning our weekend of running, the idea of combining me doing a parkrun and Ben getting an interesting long run from the same location seemed a winner. Minehead was therefore an obvious choice. As the weekend approach, the weather saw our local Longrun Meadow advertised as a splash run for diehards only, and I began to worry about stormy winds.

Minehead parkrun is based on the prom at, you guessed it, Minehead. This was actually my second visit, as we went in the summer of 2016 not long after it had started. The event was plagued with teething issues, which we decided made a write up unfair, so I was keen to see how things were doing now.

The run is entirely based on the tarmac prom, and the route differs slightly to my first visit. Starting at the clock tower you head West (which due to the coast shape is also North in places) for about a third of a mile. The turn around point is a small path loop, so feels very natural. You then run back past the start and on for another quarter mile, before turning round a cone on a wide path. Back to the start, the route then repeats in full and then finishes with just the first out and back. So 2 full laps and 1 half laps up and down the prom.

Sounds simple doesn’t it? Particularly on nice easy tarmac. Well, half of it was pretty easy. It was just the small matter of an Easterly wind. You know, on the coast. Running East into an East wind is not the easiest thing. What makes it even better is when there is sand on the path ready to be blown in your face. From speaking to one of the local runners, part of the reason for the course alteration was to reduce the distance running by the sand, so I am at least thankful for that!

Taken by Ben, from the comfort of the car.

This was a bit of a strange run for me personally. My last run had been 3 weeks previously at Burnham, when I’d gone all out to aim for (and manage to beat!) a target time. With no training in between and tough conditions it was never going to be perfect. But I’m really pleased to have averaged 10 minute miles. And the advantage of returning somewhere that I last visited 2 months pregnant is that I got my first course PB since New Year’s Day 2016.

I’ll be honest, I was surprised how much I enjoyed this run. The course is much improved for the small tweak, and though for me it will never match the scenery of Seaton it is definitely a more accessible prom event. The pre-run briefing was spot on, particularly in the conditions. And the volunteers were absolute legends, particularly the marshal at the turn around point who was somehow still smiling and cheering in the wind. Minehead parkrun has definitely made the leap to my recommend list.

parkrun tourism: Yeovil Montacute parkrun – B course

by Ben

As “parkrun tourism” goes, this is a bit different to usual. I actually first visited Yeovil Montacute parkrun back in October 2014, which you can read about here. I returned again in October 2016, when they reversed the course to celebrate the clocks going back an hour. (Or something like that). I meant to visit again last winter, when they moved to their B course, but I didn’t make it. I thought I’d missed my opportunity again this year, but then an opening sprung up, and off to Ham Hill we ventured…

Yeovil Montacute parkrun has suffered over the winter. They have managed just two runs in November, three in December, and only one in January. The “A” course winds it way around the grounds of Montacute House, a lovely National Trust property near Yeovil. Being a completely grass course, it can get waterlogged and chewed up through the winter, and so the parkrun moves to the nearby Ham Hill Country Park for January and February.

Ham Hill itself isn’t immune from waterlogging – a similar grassy terrain, the course can get pretty muddy, and on the morning there was a warning of mud on the event Facebook page. But who doesn’t like a bit of mud?

Walk to the start.

We arrived in plenty of time, and had no problem finding somewhere to park. The toilets were conveniently located on the walk to the start, which was signed from the car park. The path to the start was quite muddy in places, but once we got out onto the fields near the start, it firmed up a bit. Normally, I like to do a warm-up before parkrun, but we’d timed things such that there wasn’t really enough time. We either arrived too late for the new runners briefing, or there simply wasn’t one; I’m not sure which. Still, the main briefing was more than sufficient, and frankly, I know the main parkrun guidelines, and I’m not quick enough to have to worry about the route – I can just follow whoever is in front of me!

With little fanfare, we were sent on our way – and I made my first mistake of the morning. A wide start meant that I was in the second row, and I stupidly stayed on the shoulders of the front-runners. After a few hundred metres, I glanced at my watch and assumed it wasn’t tracking me properly, or maybe I had left my pace in kilometres – it was reading 5:50 – FAR too fast.

After about half a kilometre, I had managed to pull my pace back, letting what felt like half the field stream past me. Despite this, I recorded a 4:10 opening kilometre, which given the terrain, a slight incline, and my current fitness level, was still too fast. The second kilometre finished off the climb before dropping back down the other side, and I was still letting people past as I ran a more reasonable 4:27.

Despite the warnings, the course was firm underfoot throughout, and actually really nice to run on. The third kilometre finished off the lap, and as you dropped back down hill slightly, you had good visibility of the route ahead. By this point, I’d fallen to the right part of the field for my pace, and a 4:20 kilometre was about right. Climbing back up the hill for the entire fourth kilometre, I passed a runner – the only change of position I had for the entire second lap!

I glanced at my watch a short while later and was slightly confused by the distance it was showing – it didn’t quite add up to me. As I got closer and closer to the finish, it became more and more clear that the course was over-distance. Not uncommon for “B” courses, as if it was quicker than the “A” course, then you might set a PB that you couldn’t beat on the main course. That said, it soon became clear that this wasn’t a slight extension; in the end the course measured in on my Garmin as 5.5 km!

I’d intentionally “raced” this parkrun – due to my ankle injury, I haven’t raced since the start of August last year, and with a few coming up, I wanted some practice. The fast start was a reminder that it is easy to get carried away early on, and will definitely be something I keep in mind over the next few weeks. After that I was relatively happy with my “race craft”. I didn’t have much to do, and maybe I let myself get more isolated that was ideal, but generally after the quick start I kept a pretty even pace (considering the profile) and was able to push myself throughout. On a proper length course, I’d have got about 22:07, which isn’t unreasonable for that route with my current fitness, though it does show that I have a way to go yet before I have a shot at setting any new PBs.

I’d really recommend this course – while I love the main course at Montacute house, this is certainly no disappoint in comparison. The terrain and undulations are pretty similar between the two, giving the same feel. It clearly isn’t a course you’re likely to PB on, given the length, but given that it is a trail course anyway, that really doesn’t matter.

All done!

Lolly had a fabulous run, getting her fastest paced parkrun since child number two arrived, despite the course being harder than some of those we’ve run recently. We’re planning some flatter “road” courses over the next few weeks, so it’ll be exciting to see what she’s capable of! For me, I’m contemplating a slightly mad return to racing with a weekend double – the Minehead Running Club “Hills to Coast Relay” on the Saturday, followed by the Babcary 7.5 mile road race on Sunday (see last year’s blog post.)

parkrun tourism: Shepton Mallet parkrun

by Ben

At around 9 am on New Year’s Day, we had no plans to parkrun. Long ago, we’d been talking about doing a double, but neither of us were in any state of running fitness to complete 10k in one day. We had discussed the possibility of going down to Killerton for Lolly to repeat at 9:30, but we never really got our stuff together in time for it.

At around 9:05; I mentioned the possibility that maybe we could both run at Shepton Mallet – a buggy each. Shepton Mallet parkrun is about a 55-minute drive from us and was starting at 10:30. Making the decision, more or less out of the blue, to go just 85 minutes beforehand probably wouldn’t be too unreasonable for most parkrun tourists. But when you have to pack not only yourselves and your running gear, but also two small children, two buggies, changing gear for the youngest of the two, and all the other ancillary rubbish that goes with small children, it really was a crazy decision.

But then, that’s probably what we do best.

Somehow, we managed to get ready in pretty much 15 minutes, thanks mostly to the fact that our 4-year-old daughter decided she would put clothes on – if that decision had gone the other way, we might still now be trying to wheedle with her.

As we got closer to Shepton Mallet… it started to rain. Just another thing to make the experience a little bit more stressful! We arrived to pretty light rain, in which I had to try and remember how the rain-covers for each of the two buggies worked (differently, of course!) By the time I had got both children into their buggies, the eldest had decided that she would like to go home now, thank you. Well, of course she did!

We hadn’t really done much research on the course: we knew it was three-laps, allowed buggies, and was mostly tarmac. We rushed down to the start, and more or less only just got in place at the back of the crowd in time to begin…

A blurry two buggy start.

… Which turned out to be less than ideal. The course started by winding its way along a narrow path, including a corkscrew-esque uphill hairpin bend. Throughout most of the course, it is run on narrow tarmac paths with grass either side. Running with a buggy, this was a bit of a nightmare when starting from the back – I got out onto the grass early to pass a few people, but it was seriously slippy. If I have one recommendation for this parkrun, it is to make sure you start according to pace!

Still, after continuing up the hill a bit further, we went along a short (10 metres maybe?) muddy, tree-root riddled section, and then were on a nice wide path. Or at least, it seemed nice and wide, until someone yelled: “lead runners coming!” So, the bit where I said I hadn’t done much research on the course? Yeah, hadn’t realised that there was a really long out-and-back. So now, while trying to pass people, I’m also having to try and stay out of the way of the quicker runners coming back the other way.

Out-and-back stint navigated, we dropped back down the hill, quite sharply, and ran next to the pond for a few metres. It’s probably pretty scenic most of the time, but by now it as pretty much torrential rain. My daughter kept trying to talk to me through the rain-cover, but I frankly couldn’t hear a thing, so I just kept saying “Yeah” from time to time, and crossed my fingers that I wasn’t agreeing to anything too expensive. Not that I could actually cross my fingers, as they were numb with the wet and cold.

Another climb followed, up towards the car park we’d arrived from, before the course dropped back down to the start/finish area, past a little shelter full of huddled, cheering spectators. And repeat. And repeat.

As usual, I was able to make better headway through the field as it spread out, but the out-and-back section was even trickier second time around, as I was trying to pass people, while being wary of runners coming the other way (some of whom were trying to pass each other) and also paying attention to those lead runners who were by now lapping me. So just the potential for three abreast each way. On a path wide enough for… well, three.

Having started as the fourth of five buggies (Lolly being the fifth), I somehow made it through the finish as the first buggy, though it involved something of a quick final half a lap! I was slightly surprised halfway through the second lap to hear a cheer of “Go on Ben.” After checking a couple of times that I wasn’t wearing anything with my name on it, I paid more attention and realised that it was Joanne, who I know from Twitter, and I’d met before at her home event of Kingsway.

The finish funnel was pretty narrow – I’m not sure that a double buggy would have fit down it at all, and I had to slow quite dramatically and basically walk over the finish line – but this might have been forced on them by the wet conditions making the grass so muddy. Despite the weather, the support from the marshals and other supporters around the course was superb. After finishing, we hung around just ahead of the finish funnel to wait for Lolly – though I did get told off by a passer-by for asking my daughter if she “could see Mummy yet” – less of the “yet” apparently!

This photo really doesn’t convey quite how soaked through we were…

Due to the weather, no one was hanging around for a chat, and we proved no exception: after getting a photo by the pond, we got back to the car as quickly as we could.

I always find parkrun on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day to be a little bit special. The atmosphere is different to a normal parkrun – there seems to be an even greater sense of community than usual. (And there is usually quite a lot anyway.) I think it probably comes from the fact that we all feel a little loony for being out running when most other people (even more than usual) are doing anything but.

Now… where’s next?

parkrun at home: Longrun Meadow parkrun

by Lolly

The time had come for something both familiar and a little bit new – running at my home parkrun of Longrun Meadow. I’d last run there on Christmas Eve, splashing in every puddle on the course before starting my running maternity leave. As it happens, that was the last day that the old anti-clockwise course was used. Hence the new-to-me part.

Longrun Meadow parkrun is based in Taunton, in a green area that you may be able to guess the name of. Taunton has excellent travel links and so the parkrun is easy to get to. For us, the journey is typically a mile’s walk along the river. Today we were running a little late though (shocking how that happens with 2 small children!) and drove over. There’s parking available by Castle School, and quite a few people also park at Tesco. It’s also an easy cycle and doable walk from either the train station or the middle of town.

Once you enter the meadow from either Castle School direction or French Weir park it’s pretty obvious where you’re heading, due to the very visible Oak Barn. Those requiring pre-run facilities should head to the COACH building in French Weir park. Hoodies and water bottles are typically left on the various tables and benches in the barn.

The barn really is easy to spot!

I’ll be honest, I didn’t hear much of the run briefing today. There’s no megaphone and so you have to make sure to stand very close in to the barn to hear. A combination of handing over children to Ben, and chatting to club friend Eliza, meant that I was too far back. Still, it was pretty obvious when we needed to make our way to the start line. Something that I have only seen at Longrun Meadow, which may throw regular tourists a little, is that the first timers’ briefing is held AFTER the main briefing, once returning runners have been sent to the start.

There are two routes to the cycle path start – one follows the path and one cuts across the grass. If you’re at the faster end, cut across the grass otherwise you’ll get stuck too far back. I obviously opted for following the path. As with most path starts, those towards the back are a little distance from the start line, but as long as you’re in roughly the right place it’s fine. I was very pleased to hear the air horn that marked the start (so many starts can’t be heard at the back) and we were quickly off.

Other than the disorientation of going the ‘wrong’ way, the first thing I noticed was that I’d started my watch as a normal run, rather than the 3 min run/1 min walk workout I was supposed to select. My immediate thought was that this was a sign I should run the whole thing. Very quickly followed by remembering I am trying to re-build my body, not nuke it. So manual intervals it would have to be.

Starting out with friends

After the short section on tarmac (during which I waved to Ben and the children), the surface changes to the gravel path surface that makes up most of the course. We slowed dramatically to go over a narrow bridge (which is currently missing a fence on one side and so I’m guessing this was slower than normal). Soon after, there’s a quick dodge left and then right through some big gates. These are open first lap to avoid another bottleneck point.

The path then opens up a bit for a nice straight section, at the end of which you turn left and the surface changes to bark. Congestion struck again here as the usable space was only about 2 people wide, and a few times I found myself behind a pair running together. The annoying thing with run/walking is that you can sometimes struggle to overtake the same people on multiple occasions. The surface changes back to the gravel path but the width stays pretty similar for the other 2.5 sides of the square that take you almost back to the end of the straight bit.

A left turn takes you onto the beginning of a more twisty-turny section, and my favourite bit of the course. This is the bit most prone to puddles! There were a few good ones today, but sadly I was wearing my road shoes (the rest of the course was in good condition) and so didn’t splash. The path opens back up a little and then, after a bridge by a hedge, you suddenly find yourself back near the barn.

Excited that I hadn’t been lapped, I made my way through the best supported section (as basically everyone that isn’t a marshal is hanging round the barn area). A very small up takes you back onto the tarmac cycle path to start lap 2. Which is much the same as lap 1, but less congested and finishes earlier.

I was unsure how I’d find the 3/1 run/walk, but it went pretty well. I was careful not to push too hard and so managed to keep enough in the tank for a faster finish, which is a very satisfying way to end a parkrun.

Strong enough to finish on one leg

After getting my finishing token I was at the back of a big queue, as the funnel continues for most of the way to the barcode scanners. I opted to duck out of this to get water, although one well-meaning volunteer did tell me I should stay in order (which, if you haven’t got your finish token yet, you really must). After rehydrating and chatting to a few people, Lani helped me get scanned and then insisted we head off to the swings (apparently she’d been asking for quite some time…).

The adjacent French Weir park has great playparks for children big and small, and we also paid a visit to The Weir cafe in COACH for some much-needed refreshment.

This has been the weirdest parkrun post for me to write, as it’s completely different talking about an event I’ve run 45 times and attended many more. For example, I know that some Run Directors aren’t hampered by the lack of megaphone. I know that I preferred the course the old way round, but I also know that the congestion used to be horrendous. When you visit different parkruns you get a snapshot of how they are on that day for your pace. Over time you inevitably start comparing your home event to the best bits of all the others you’ve visited.

But I’m lucky that my home event has an interesting enough course, and a dedicated core team that really believe in it. I’m also lucky to live in the heart of a region with truly beautiful and varied events to visit. The question is, where to next?

Photo credits to Kevin Dunn, via Facebook.

parkrun tourism: Mile End parkrun

by Ben

A child-free trip to London for the athletics seemed like an ideal opportunity for our next round of parkrun tourism, after a visit to Moors Valley a couple of weeks ago. For us Somerset folk, it is always a surprise to find public transport that is frequent, easy to use and even relatively punctual!

London parkrun tourists – you don’t know how lucky you are!

Of course, that public transport provides its own problems – from our hotel in Tower Hill, there were A LOT of parkruns within easy range. The parkrun tourist tool revealed that there were 32 parkruns within 10 miles, and all the top 50 were within 13.4 miles. To put that into some perspective, our second closest from Taunton is 15 miles away…

There were some tempting options: Bushy, obviously, but that was the 49th closest, and looked like a bit of a pain to get to by public transport from where we were. Valentines, a chance to get the letter ‘V’ if we were considering some alphabet tourism, but that’s not our focus right now. Ally Pally, one we’d heard positive things about. But ultimately, the decision came down to two things: (1) how easily we could get there (and back to Paddington after) using the underground, and (2) the availability of lockers and showers. That more or less left us with Mile End or Burgess, and ultimately, the course looked a bit nicer and Mile End.

All of this meant that at half past 7 on Saturday morning, rather than having a nice lie-in after a pretty late night cheering Mo, we were on our way back to Aldgate station. A short hop around to Liverpool Street, then a slightly (but not much) longer trip on the Central line to Mile End station, where we were surprised by a shout of “Cow cowls! We’re off to Wanstead.” It was the mother of the cow cowl herself, Kathy. Unfortunately, we were denied the chance at any conversation due to our opposite trajectories! From the station, we were practically there, with just a short walk through the park required to reach the start.

A pretty little park.

At first glance, the course didn’t look too inspiring – two laps, each an out-and-back with a little loop at the end. But after reading a couple of blogs, it sounded an attractive prospect, a pretty park with some… undulations. The advertised lockers were in the leisure centre right by the start, and after getting some change from the coffee guy, we stowed our bags, and were ready to go. Well, once I’d done my warm-up, anyway.

Unsurprisingly, given the World Championships, there were A LOT of tourists. In fact, 123 of the 317 runners were first-timers. There were also 27 ‘unknowns’, so almost half of the runners that scanned in were there for the first time! Despite that, 317 runners isn’t a huge increase for Mile End; they regularly get over 200, and have had over 300 runners a few times already this year. The two briefings, (new runners and pre-run) were both delivered a little quietly – a loudspeaker should be on the Christmas list here, I think!

With little fanfare, just a 3-2-1, we were on our way. And boy, was it a fast start! In what turned out to be a pretty fast field, I got lulled into haring off far too quickly, especially given that the first undulation appears pretty soon into the course. Half a kilometre in, the course rises again, more significantly, over Green Bridge. This was added into the park in 1999 to link the north and south sections that were split by the A11 – but rather than just add a footbridge to connect the two, they built a wide bridge that maintains the grass and foliage of the park. All of which meant that as far as I was concerned, going along at somewhere around my 5k PB pace, I was just going up a hill in a park.

A lollipop – with a slightly odd stick!

Shortly after the bridge, the course curves around to the right, to begin a loop which took the route alongside the Regent’s Canal for a short spell. As we headed back to rejoin the simple out-and-back, I was initially a bit confused by seeing other runners, as I’d forgotten about the loop, had been expecting a specific turnaround point, and assumed they were all ahead of me!

The first mile finished just before we crossed back over Green Bridge towards the southern end of the park again, and we continued through the trees on the gently curving path to the leisure centre. A single blue cone was positioned for us all to turnaround at this end, and head back out for another lap. Lolly and I had joked about who would get back first – me having finished, or her having completed her first lap, and as I ran the second circuit, this served as one of a few diversions from the struggle to maintain my pace. I was hoping for a sub-20 minute time, although a race on Wednesday, a general lack of sleep, and almost 30,000 steps the day before weren’t in my favour…

As it was, the undulating course suited me, and although Lolly just about managed to beat me (alright, by a fair bit, actually), I finished well under 20 minutes to record my second-fastest parkrun time ever. This probably isn’t a traditional PB course, but I tend to run well on courses with some undulation – my quickest overall time is at Shrewsbury, another one with some bumps.

After a sip of water, I jogged back out for a bit of a cool down, and to find Lolly. This also allowed me to enjoy the park a little bit more for its beauty, rather than just its firm paths! Jogging along gently, I was able to notice the fountain, and appreciate the trees, shrubs and general greenery. Lolly is still adopting a 2:1 run/walk strategy as she returns to running post-pregnancy, and amazingly, her time at Mile End was exactly the same as that a few weeks earlier at Moors Valley. I’ve told her that I’ll be very disappointed if she doesn’t exactly equal it next time out too!

Two sweaty runners – we were so glad for the showers!

Refreshed after the showers, we headed back across London just in time to catch the 11:35 out of Paddington back to Somerset – by which time we were well ready for our breakfast!!

So, what to say about the parkrun in general? The volunteers were all cheerful and helpful, as usual. The course was far nicer than the rather bland course description would suggest – the canal section breaks it up nicely, and the winding path and hills prevent it from being too monotonous. It’s an absolute doddle to get to using the tube, and is within Zones 1-2, which keep it cheap too. There is a coffee van at the course, and there looked to be a couple of cafes nearby too, though we didn’t sample either. The lockers and showers were vital to us, and the leisure centre staff didn’t seem at all bothered by the number of people using them (which isn’t always the case!)

Would I go back again? Well, no – but only because if I’m in London again, there are so, so, so many parkruns that I haven’t done there yet.