As you may well know, I will never pass up an opportunity to go to Brighton, so when Holly said that she wanted to celebrate her Cowell (100 different parkrun events) in Preston Park in Brighton, I was very happy to tag along.
Holly and Branka had the Friday off, so headed down in the day – they were staying at a different hotel to me so I would meet them in the morning. Andy got the train from home, and I drove from work (as work is close to the M25 so I am part of the way there). Of course Friday traffic wasn’t great but I got in around 7pm, so time for us to order a pizza (Purezza- so good) and then enjoy a breezy walk by the sea.
The weather had been to hot locally, but in Brighton there was a lovely cool breeze so it was actually really enjoyable to cool down for a bit.
In the morning I jogged the mile from our hotel to Preston Park, arriving just after Holly and Branka. We had all worn our 100 milestones shirts in celebration!
Pop up photos, chatting, first timers welcome and before we knew it, it was 9! I decided to line up around the 28 minute mark as it’s a fast course, and I was pleased to finish in 28:12.
That was my 9th time there and just as enjoyable- it is a busy course now but the paths are wide and you don’t have a long time with runners passing you on their final laps.
We didn’t chat for too long after finishing, as I had an 11 o’clock check out and wanted to have a shower before we met for brunch. I had a bit of a dramatic jog back, as I passed a domestic disturbance outside some flats (with a lady and two kids shouting and crying that this guy in their flats had tried to hit her)- I ended up calling the non-emergency police number as I was not sure if she was on the phone to the police at that time too- it turned out not so then police were dispatched- I was glad I had called but it did make for a bit of a panic jog back to the hotel when I finally got off the phone. In the end I got back at 10:30 so I didn’t have long to shower and pack!
Then the three of us met up in Bill’s for brunch, where I found that they do vegan pancakes so of course that is what I had. We spent ages chatting about parkrun (and life, parkrun adventurer style), as always so good to spend time together catching up and making plans.
Holly and Branka were getting a train back after lunch, whereas I was staying all day, so after a little wander around the shops they headed off and I met up with Andy for our typical Brighton Saturday- a walk by the beach towards Hove, Bird and Blend visits and dinner at Oowee before driving back home.
What a fab 24 hours in Brighton!
Next weekend is a non-parkrun weekend as I am off to DLP, but after that I have a few more bits of touring to fit in before the summer holidays.
