Dad fancied some tourism, so I sent him a list of my ten NENDY’s and asked him to choose (apart from Walthamstow as Branka wants to go there and we should manage a joint trip at some point). He said Wormwood Scrubs had caught his eye, so that was decided!
My brother also wanted to come along, so we met at Dad’s at 7:30 for the journey that Google Maps said would be between 35-55 minutes. With that big variation, we wanted to leave lots of time free. I’d found in the parkrun tourist facebook group that there was free street parking, and the journey there was relatively straightforward with us getting to the parking spot at 8:15. We could take our time walking to the start, which is in the centre of the scrub land and not that obvious from the road. I had saved the location in my phone and we were following those directions but obviously it wants us to follow actual paths (or what it thinks are paths) and we ended up wandering through a few places that looked like they used to be paths, before coming out onto the open scrubland and seeing two other people dressed in running gear who pointed us in the right direction. I tracked it on Strava and the walk back (which was more direct) was 0.4 miles so it’s not far but it’s not right by the entrance either.
Walking to the start/ the misty buildings/ the start area with the flag and pop up
As we walked across it was drizzling a little and I was glad of my last minute decision to wear my hat. The tall buildings in the distance were fuzzy as the rain/cloud was so low, but later when it cleared up we could see them clearly.
Our “before” photos
Not long after arriving at the finish area and getting some photos the new runners welcome started. The RD was so positive and enthusiastic, and gave a great little speech about why the location was so unique- it hosts an area of SSI and animals including bats, snakes and lizards live there- very exciting indeed! I always forget we have snakes in the UK and it’s amazing to think that wildlife is clinging on in the centre of such a busy city.
Mid run views, bottom right is everyone walking to the start.
They then did the main briefing before we walked to the start- the course is just over two laps and although they all congregate at the finish area, they then walk back to the start position just before 9. The RD was very impressive in his briefing, naming all of the marshals in each spot and again talking a bit about how special the area was. He also mentioned that the old road running next to the park was part of the 1908 London Olympic marathon route, so that was quite cool to hear about while the Olympics were going on.
The route started on the green dot and was anticlockwise, so you did two laps and then the extra to where the finish is.
Suddenly we were off and both my dad and brother were ahead of me getting swept up in the faster runners! We did try to place ourselves further back but then some people who were walking were stood on the start line, and as it narrows quickly we didn’t want to get in the way, so my brother spent the whole run ahead of us whereas I managed to catch up to Dad and we then ran together. The course was really enjoyable- varied scenery with the scrubland, a little bit of wood, some Gaelic football pitches, and lots of twists and turns. The ground was rock had with big cracks in places, and a lot of it was single file running as the grass was long on either side (and we had been told that because it’s a nature reserve the landowners want to keep it that way). I was quite conscious of not twisting an ankle as a few times my foot would “give” a bit as I trod in an unseen hole, hidden by longer grass. It would be a proper cross country route in the winter but as we are used to both Panshanger and Jersey Farm which don’t really have paved paths, we enjoyed it. I had chosen to wear trail shoes which I think is a good option even in the summer due to the uneven ground.
We saw the RD a few times as we were running as he was walking parts of the course in the opposite direction, and he was so friendly each time, cheering us on and chatting to the marshals too. Again, an event with a really welcoming vibe.
The two and a bit laps whizzed by and soon we were being cheered on, being told we had 400m to go and then being cheered on again at the final corner.
Purple pop up picture post parkrun/ token photo
After scanning, we asked someone to take our post-parkrun photo (red faces all around) and then headed back to the car. We had thought we might get a drink from the cafe/ community centre, but it was at the other end of the park to where the car was, so in the end went straight back home where Mum cooked us pancakes (she is becoming an expert at vegan pancakes). Driving home we got to see a few places from Dad’s childhood including the street he lived in when he was born (briefly), the block of flats his uncle lived in and the school his cousins went to. That was unexpected and really added to the morning as well.
New section of the map has turned purple (which means I’ve been there)- I took the screenshot on the Friday in case the 5K app had problems again!
So that was my 370th parkrun, and event 117. Another London event ticked, although I don’t think I’l ever manage to visit them all.
To continue the parkrun theme, OH ladies had a volunteering takeover at juniors on the Sunday, with most of the roles being filled by our members. It was so lovely to see so many familiar faces and really felt like the good old days of EF parkrun, where you were guaranteed to know lots of people whenever you turned up.
When you are touring, what makes you choose a particular event?