This was originally meant to be Branka’s 300th parkrun, but due to factors it was her 299th- we had still decided on that date to celebrate, so happy arbitrary 299th!
Branka drove to me, then I drove the remaining hour, and Holly met us there. Handily someone in the UK parkrun tourists facebook page had posted a pin to where the entrance to the car park was, and this was very useful as it is a university campus so I am not sure if all the roads were open on a Saturday. We turned in and saw the car park marshals directing us, and then saw Holly’s car- perfect!
There were toilets in a building by the car park (next to some huge greenhouses) and then clear signs to the start which was just on the other side of the car park.
Poddington and the pop up/ the start sign/ big greenhouses in the car park/ all three plus the pop up
We took our time taking some photos with the lovely wildflower background (it was a very scenic location for a pop up) and then listened to the first timers welcome where we found out it was their winter course as an event was being set up on the summer course. There was a tarpaulin of trust, so I left my bag there so I would have my water as soon as I finished (although it was very close so leaving things in the car would have been fine).
Off we go/ solo pop up pic
The RD did the briefing in the same place, and then walked everyone down to the start, asking people to seed themselves (faster runners to hang back so they’d end up at the front). Then we were off.
It was a hot day, and there was not much shade. I ran with Holly and we enjoyed the out and back nature of it, saying hi to Branka as we passed a few times. They asked us to keep left, and in a few places had small rubber circles on the floor to divide the two directions which everyone adhered to.
The views of the countryside were lovely, but we did have some farmyard smells (as there was a field full of cows that we ran past). I was surprised to see a few dogs out (on the parkrun) as there wasn’t much shade but also the terrain was mainly hard paths rather than softer (and cooler) grass.
Runners out ahead/ hi Branka/ views from the course
It was a bit of a shame that we didn’t get to do the summer course as running by a lake sounds cooler, even if it was just as warm. At the second turnaround point we both felt really warm, so I was glad of the final turn as we headed towards the finish. Holly put on a proper sprint as she noticed we were close to 30 mins (and she managed it bang on 30!) and I was very glad of my water being close to hand when I finished.
Turning/ Holly doing a sprint finish/ blurry token
The course- out and back twice, then a little way along the path back to where the pop up was:
Also how impressive is that pacing? The perfect royal flush negative split.
After finishing we couldn’t hang around for long, so after changing into a non-sweaty top it was back into the car for the drive home. There wasn’t a cafe there, so we would have had to drive into the village to see what was there.
Voronoi update:
A nice big chunk! That was parkrun 458 and location 160
So what next? Hopefully a parkrun on holiday so long as the weather cooperatives, and then perhaps some London tourism in the summer- tourism is much more appealing when you are getting up in the light. I also saw something about London transport being capped at a lower fare for the summer, so that’s something to look into.
