Author: Maria Runs

Welwyn 10K and Ware 10K 2023

Last year I went to the Welwyn 10k for the first time, after having it recommended to me from some club mates. I did enjoy it, but it started in the middle of the day, on a super hot day, and was a very hilly route. This year it had relocated to Panshanger Park, so I was really happy to sign up. My original plan was to run there and back, but the cows were back which meant the direct route was out of question, and so it would mean quite a diversion. Thankfully a few of my club mates were going so I got picked up and we travelled together.

Before and after, plus a few views from the run.

It was such a baking hot day (I think still the hottest day of the year). We found some shade before the start but knew it would be a day to take it gently and enjoy the scenery. I ended up running with one of my club mates, chatting the whole way. I walked up the two big hills, made the most of the shade, had a drink at the water station and took a few photos. The route was a really good one, with the main two hills in the first 5k, and then the second 5k being mainly flat and then downhill to the finish. The scenery around there is always so good, and it went past some of the historic parts of the park such as the old orangery (from when there was a big house there) and the old oak tree, looping past the lakes, through ancient woodland and also past the new woodland (Queen’s Green Canopy) planted for the jubilee.

The medal was a wooden one with the old oak carved into it- really lovely. My time was 1:08:54, not bad on such a hot day.

At the finish area there were a few stands, including the fab Planted Coffee co- they are usually in Panshanger over the weekend and all their drinks and food are plant based. In the final mile the two of us were deciding what our cold drinks would be, and I went for the classic iced chai. We sat in the shade and chatted while we waited for other people to finish, get their bits from the car and get a drink. I bought a blueberry croissant too, but took that home as I didn’t fancy eating straight away, I think probably because of the heat.

Iced chai, blueberry croissant, dusty legs and the wooden medal.

I really enjoyed the route and I really hope that next year they keep the location and earlier start time. When I got home I had the most hilarious lines on my legs (see above)- all the dust sticking to the suncream on my legs made them so dark.

The following week was a bit stressful- I’d booked our car in for a service on the Monday, and it was meant to be ready to collect the same day, but it wasn’t. We didn’t get it back until Thursday in the end, so a combination of getting the bus, getting a lift from a friend and finally borrowing Andy’s parents car (as they were away) was how I sorted out commuting for the week. To reward ourselves we went out for dinner with some vouchers- I had miso ginger aubergine which was amazing, and then we had a nice walk around the park after.

(One day I had to get the bus into town so my reward was a chai latte from Pret).

The following week I had the Ware 10k (where? Yes, in Ware). This has been one of my favourite races for years- there is a 10 mile and 10K option, they do free kids races, it’s super relaxed with parking right by the start, you pick up your number on the morning, the club that organise it (Ware Joggers) are so friendly, there are loads of marshals and it’s just a great event. They raise money for the Herts Air Ambulance, and you get a nice t-shirt. I wore a previous one (the green one) as I really like the fit and fabric, so it’s good value.

Start arch, banana and medal at the finish, run scenes and the medal.

The 10 mile route is sort of two laps of the 10k (slightly different of course as that would make the 10 mile too long), and this year I decided that the 10k would be sensible as it was hot and I had not completed many long runs. One of my club mates was doing the 10 mile, so we met at the start and I cheered her off, as they started about 15 mins before the 10k race.

As always, I loved the route and run. They had changed the route to make it less hilly, but there are still some hills, although mainly in the first few miles, as the final section is back along the canal/river. They had a steel pan band playing, so after I finished I went around and watched them for a bit as I love that summery sound. My time was 1:01:32- much quicker than last week but it was much cooler so I was not surprised. But these races aren’t about times for me, they are about enjoying running somewhere else and supporting local causes.

On the way home I stopped off at Panshanger (I had to drive right past it) to get a drink and pastry (vanilla and hazelnut- so good).

Here’s to more local races with my lovely club mates!

Summer Song Season- 2023 edition

This time of year is just the best for outdoor music. Sometimes we head off to a festival, but this year we went to separate gigs instead.

First up, George Ezra in Bedford. This was a Friday night and just had such a great feel, relaxed and friendly (and the most little kids I’d ever seen at a concert). We just drove up after work and didn’t even get home too late either (although later than planned due to getting a long diversion after a road closure).

Saturday was another one, this time Pulp at Finsbury Park. I went to Jersey Farm parkrun in the morning with Dad, and then we went into London in the afternoon, of course visiting Bird and Blend (and a dinner at Leon- their vegan burger is so good). Pulp were supported by Wet Leg who were good too, and then Pulp were just brilliant- it had such a celebratory feel.

The following weekend on the Saturday we were back in London again, this time going to Wembley for Blur.

This was just amazing. Self Esteem was the support act, and she was brilliant, and then Blur were just fantastic, classic after classic. The only slightly disappointing thing for me was that I could not really see the stage- there were big screens and sometimes if the crowd parted in the right way I could glimpse one of them, but I like to actually see the stage, particularly when they have additional artists on stage (they had the London gospel choir for Tender). But anyway, it was such a great night.

For the antidote of being in loud and crowded spaces, on the Sunday we went for a walk around Panshanger, getting a matcha from the coffee van for the walk (and for the energy after all those late nights!). Then time to watch Disney You Tube videos (with my Orange Bird mug)!

Do you like going to see live bands?

Dunstable Downs to celebrate a 100th parkrun

Someone in my club (Helen) had chosen to celebrate her 100th parkrun at Dunstable Downs, and of course I was happy to tour. I’d been there once before, on 2nd March 2019 (for my 58th different location), so I was looking forward to the beautiful views.

It was an overcast day, but the views across the downs were still stunning. It’s on National Trust property, so if you are a member, remember to bring your card for free parking (as you need to scan your card in the payment machines). I left my bag in the boot as the car park is very close to the start, but there was a “tarpaulin of trust” so you could have left bags at the start/finish area also.

The route starts off fairly hilly, with a steep drop down the side of the hill before heading steeply back up again towards the start/finish area. You then head off along the side of the hill, still with some undulations but I think the worst is out of the way at the start. It’s one lap and there are just gorgeous views the whole way around.

The cafe had vegan options clearly marked, so I went for a scone and jam, plus Earl Grey tea of course. It rained a bit when we had finished, but the cafe inside had loads of tables so there were no worries about space. It’s a good one for a celebration because they tend to have a small turnout and the cafe is spacious.

I couldn’t hang about for long as I had to get back to meet a friend in town, and then had a massage appointment after that- a busy Saturday for me!

On the Sunday I went along to the club run- the first I’d been to one of those for ages. We met at Hatfield station and at the end ran through some underpasses with this wonderful artwork (the bird and butterfly above)- I love things like this.

Where do you like to have milestone celebrations? I feel like I always say this, but since Ellenbrook Fields is no more, I don’t feel like I have a proper home event, so I like to be a tourist for milestones.

Lordship Recreation Ground parkrun and a vegan market visit

Lordship Rec has been on my list since it started, as it’s fairly close by in North London, and accessible by underground. I had looked into it before but rail strikes meant I went to Grovelands, and postponed this visit.

After achieving my Cowell (100 events) in Norway, this was my 101st event. I drove to Oakwood tube station (there is on street parking not far from the station) and then got the Piccadilly Line to Turnpike Lane, where it was less than a mile to walk. Now, that might sound simple, but I get lost very easily. However, Andy had pointed out to me that within Google Maps there is now a Live View within Google maps- if you press it and hold up your phone, it inserts large arrows (and writing that says “this way”) so you can easily see which way to start walking. This is an actual game changer (see below for a couple of screenshots)- so often I walk the wrong way for a bit, and it takes a while for the maps to update. It really meant the walk/run was so simple and I got there with plenty of time to spare and no stress.

I was there for event 33, along with lots of 500 clubbers- the most I’d seen in one place I think. There were only 131 participants on that day, so it’s a nice manageable size too.

The start line is in a slightly different place to where everyone meets- there is a little lake/pond, with the start line shaded on one side, and then the meeting place (with the flag) on the other side, outside the community centre. The park is quite small so I don’t think you would have trouble finding the start. I saw lots of the high viz signs as soon as I got in there, as the route goes right around the perimeter of the park.

It was a baking hot day, even stood in the shade on the start line I already felt too hot, so knew I needed to take it gently.

The route is three laps of the park, it’s pretty flat so could be very fast on a cooler day. There was little shade, and in the final lap I stopped and walked for a bit as I felt like I was really pushing myself.

The park itself is great, packed with facilities such as a skate park, pump track, splash pool, playground, community centre…. the list goes on. Before the start I was looking in the pond and a dog walker started chatting to me, pointing out the turtles, and then asking about the runners as he had seen them from his window. I did tell him about how there were always walkers and tail walkers as he said he would never run, so you never know, he might get involved.

As I finished I had to go and stand in the shade for a bit to feel OK, and then I scanned. There was a lady talking to the scanner who had not printed out her barcode, so she was about to walk away, but I asked her if she had registered, thinking there was a way for me to find her barcode on the 5k app, but when she pulled up her email and I showed her the link to click on, she got it up on her phone- phew! I am still so annoyed about my friend who came with me once (literally the week before they accepted phone barcodes)- she hadn’t printed it out and they would not scan her (well, one scanner was about to and then another one came over and told them not to)- I am sure this is one reason why she hasn’t been back. Anyway, I digress. This parkrun had such a strong community feel, the park was full of facilities and the route was all paved and pretty flat. Lots of ticks all round.

After finishing running, I headed back to the tube and then drove to Hatfield House as the vegan market was there. I was hoping to bump into some Herts VR’s, but I didn’t see any of them there. I did get the biggest iced chai, but there wasn’t really anything breakfasty, so after buying a few bits (the vegan honey was the main reason I went there as I had bought some before and ran out) I came home as by that point I was very very hungry and needed breakfast (well, lunch by that point!).

Sunday was time to marshal at junior parkrun, again in the sunshine. I was glad of the shade of the big tree as I could wait there before they started running. Once home I got to try out my newest vegan purchase on a homemade açai bowl. Perfect in the hot weather.

I was thinking about my preference for touring – driving or public transport (and this was a combination). I get anxious when driving somewhere new, so I like the trains or undergrounds as then I don’t need to stress about getting lost while driving, or getting stuck in traffic, but of course with trains you can have cancellations etc. I will count myself lucky that I have so many parkruns that are within travelling distance.

Do you have lots of parkruns near to you, or do you need to make more of a day of it if travelling? Do you prefer public transport or driving?

Norway 2023

Following on from parkrun in Oslo, we had another day there before picking up a hire car and doing a little road trip. We spent Saturday in Oslo.

We hired e-scooters for a bit (something I would not wish to repeat- they were OK when there were cycle lanes but I was not a fan of being on the roads, especially with the trams)- this was mainly so we could get to Handbakt, a bakery selling lots of vegan goodies (including school bread which I’ve not had since going vegan).

We wandered around the palace gardens, walked up the opera house (it has a sloped roof so you can walk up it), found a cool sculpture park where all the sculptures had been designed by children, and went to Nordvegan for dinner. We shared a salad bowl (you picked mains and toppings etc) and lasagne, and then carrot cake after.

On the Sunday we got the train back to the airport to collect our hire car, and then we were off on our road trip- one night in each place. We went to Voss, then stayed in a mountain lodge on the way to Fjellstove where we had a little self catering place too, then to Alesund, then a hotel on Geiranger Fjord, the Friday night in Lillehammer before driving back to Oslo on the Saturday. There was amazing scenery the entire time- we stopped the car so many times to hop out and take photos. We also had places to stop at including a wooden stave church, walks to glaciers, amazing waterfalls and even a skywalk with public toilets that had windows so you could look out across the fjord as you used the facilities!

When in towns, vegan food options were easy to find, but we had a couple of days where most places were shut due to Whitsun (late May Bank Holiday) so we ended up with a supermarket picnic one day. I got quite good at using the breakfast buffets and sorting a vegan breakfast- they all had allergens clearly marked so I could easily see if the bread was OK. Rye bread with fruity jam and lots of fresh fruit tended to be what I went for, plus cups of tea of course. I was amused by the sizes of the cups as they got smaller and smaller as the holiday went on (we even started with teapots)- seems such a waste of teabags having to brew such a small cup as I am going to brew multiple ones, whereas with a big cup I’m just using one.

The drives often went through long tunnels (up to 25km long) and some even had roundabouts in them. They also had sections of coloured lights to help keep drivers alert- such a good idea.

And yes, one place had whole avocados at the breakfast buffet so of course I made myself avo on bread for breakfast!

The overlook on the top right picture looked down onto a tiny town- it had a glass floor section and I wasn’t keen at standing on it. One couple were having wedding photos there- a very spectacular place for them. The bottom right is the view from the public toilets there- the cubicles had windows that looked down onto the fjord- amazing.

We did some walks to see some glaciers. Both so interesting, but also really worrying as they had markers to show where the glaciers were even ten years ago- climate change is having such a huge impact in places like this. A good reason to swap your dairy milk for plant based milk if I ever heard one.

This was a national park we stayed in for one night, Briksdalsbreen, and once the day trippers had headed off on their coaches back to their cruise ships, we pretty much had the place to ourselves. We walked up in the evening, as it was light so late (basically it didn’t actually get dark, so even at 11pm it was still pretty light)- in the daytime there are queues for this swing as it’s a social media moment, but there was no-one else around so of course I had a go!

In Alesund we found a gorgeous cafe (but more of a coffee bar with a proper food menu) for dinner, and lots of places had vegan brownies so I did treat myself one day. Here’s the comically tiny tea cup (I mean, the teabag barely fit in it) and also each time we had to get a ferry, the satnav would just show the route going into the water! The ferries were great- the hire car had a tag (a bit like the tag you can get for the French toll roads), so no need for tickets, the charges were just added to your bill. You just joined the queue and every 20 mins ish a ferry would turn up, you’d drive on (toilets on board were handy during longer road trip sections) and then drive off once you reached the other side.

Another tiny tea cup.

Scenes from the boat tour we did of the Geiranger fjord. It was amazing, and definitely lived up to all expectations.

Then we walked up to a waterfall at the edge of the fjord for more amazing views. I was not a fan of the big cruise ships dominating the scenery though.

On our drive back through the mountains to Lillehammer- loads more snow, snow covered lakes, just beautiful and felt like we were at the top of the world.

Olympic ring spotting in Lillehammer- a lovely walk down to the lake and around the town.

So, there was have it. A wonderful week away with just beautiful scenery at every turn.