Walthamstow parkrun- travelling like Wombles!

Walthamstow parkrun has been my NENDY for absolutely ages, and this weekend was finally the week for me to visit.

Branka was free for touring and of course keen to visit another London (for Lon-done) parkrun, and although we looked at driving (it’s not far from Pymmes which I had driven to) the estimate was around an hour, and of course the journey back would probably be much longer. The train estimation was similar, so it was time for another train adventure.

As the trains on the closest line were running, it meant I could run from home to the station, rather than having to drive over to St Albans station. It also meant Branka could get the same train (as some from her come through the same line that I am on). It was a few stops to Finsbury Park on the overground, a few stops on the Victoria line (underground) to Walthamstow, and then back on the overground to Highams park, the closest station to the parkrun, and then a walk (wombling free).

The train connections were all great, with hardly any time waiting at any of the stations, after getting the train at 7:20 we were walking to the start at 8:10. It was about a mile away- the park was private and linked to the leisure centre so didn’t seem to have other entrances, just the main one by the car park. It was definitely easier than the stress of driving and navigating (there is a car park there so that would have been fine).

The team were so friendly when we arrived. We chatted to a fellow WMN pod fan (hi Gail) as this was her local one so we had messaged to say we were coming (and she was very helpful in confirming about which train station we needed to aim for), took some photos by the pop up (and found a selfie frame), left our bags by the tree of trust (rather than the tarpaulin) and then listened to the first timers welcome- they had a few brand new parkrunners as well as some tourists which is always nice to see.

More of the signs, the tree of trust and the view as we began heading up the slope

The main briefing was brilliant- the RD said something about being a headteacher and you could see why- he got his points across well (a few health and safety reminders) with humour and clarity, and everyone listened. Then it was time for us to begin.

The course is three laps and a tiny bit, as you start a bit before the finish funnel on your first lap. It’s all on grass, around the perimeter of sports fields, with a slope that felt more like a hill on each lap! I think had the terrain been easier (for example a tarmac path) it would not have felt hard, but the thick sticky mud was great at sapping the energy from your legs. I had worn trail shoes and was glad of it, although by my third lap they had filled up with mud so I was beginning to slip a little bit. There was a small hump (a reverse ditch as I call them- there is one at Oaklands too) and this was a bit tricky to navigate as the run went on too, but as we had been told, it was not pb conditions, so it was just a run to enjoy and go gently. I had spotted some of the signs when we arrived (like the “sprint finish starts here”) and enjoyed spotting them on the way around, and took a few photos. I ended up chatting to a couple of the marshals as I ran past too, explaining what I was doing, and then on the final lap continued the conversations with them. It was a really ultra friendly event. One huge bonus for me was that no dogs were allowed. I am not a pet person for many reasons, and I am very anxious around dogs off leads, especially ones that jump. I also really get frustrated at parkruns when you can’t hear the briefing because of dogs barking, and I have seen people being tripped (and near misses) so many times- it does surprise me that dogs are allowed at all at parkrun- so it was good to be able to run without having to worry about a dog leaping up at you or minding out for their leads etc.

After finishing I chatted to a few of the volunteers and admired more of their signs and their little token sorting tree. They had a pb bell, and had even given out certificates to regular runners for their milestones. There were so many touches that made it seem such a welcoming event and a really clear community. I was glad I had packed spare socks and shoes as my feet were so muddy, so I changed those and put on my jumper. We had originally thought about combining it with a trip to Angel (Bird and Blend and vegan pastries) but Branka had to be back fairly soon so we walked back to the train station. We had seen these lovely mosaics on the platforms on the way, so stopped to admire them on the way back, as well as seeing this amazing owl painting on the side of a building on our way back to the station.

Beautiful mosaics, owl sculpture and painting

We didn’t have to wait long for the overground train, and then the underground was fine too, but as we got to the platform at Finsbury Park, the train we needed was just leaving (if only the screen had been a teeny bit quicker at scrolling past all the stations then we would have known it was one we could both get)- I am not one for leaping onto a train, especially there where some of them as non-stop to Stevenage. Anyway, this meant we had to get separate trains back, so we had just enough time to get a cup of tea from the kiosk on the platform before getting on our respective trains.

So that was parkrun 392 for me, and my 126th venue. Of course I am gradually ticking off the London events, so that was my 29th London event.

And now, rather excitingly, I have a new NENDY of Hackney Marches. Coincidentally on the train we were looking at the overground lines and saw that Hackney is on one of those overground lines, and would involve a similar trip with a short underground journey and then an overground one out there, so it is yet another one that we can get to fairly easily. (Also, there is an amazing vegan bakery in Hackney- WAVE- so of course I am hoping to combine the two…)

Before and after map- hooray for new NENDY’s!

Another fun morning and of course, more parkrun tourism planned (some plans more concrete than others). Next up I have the Brighton half so we shall see if I manage a parkrun there, as Hove Prom is off on Saturday (would have been my nearest)- watch this space!