Author: Maria Runs

Thames Path, Woolwich parkrun

Originally Dad and I had planned this towards the end of last year, but a storm meant it was cancelled so we stayed closer to home. This time around the weather looked good (well, no storms) and so we were a go!

I picked up Dad and drove to St Albans station- there we got a fast train to Farringdon and changed to the Elizabeth Line, getting off at Woolwich. The connection at Farringdon was great, and so after getting the 7:13 train, we arrived in Woolwich at 8am. This turned out to be lucky as I went totally the wrong way out of the station, so we had nearly a mile warm up walking through Woolwich (which is very interesting) and along the Thames before finding the start area.

Can you spot me in the top left photo? Purple pop up and the finish line with the statues in the background.

Having seen loads of photos of the statues online, it was great to see them in person, although there was no sign (that I could find) telling me about the artist or the artwork.

The toilets were open at 8:30 (when we arrived at the finish area)- they were inside the large cafe and there were plenty of them. It didn’t seem a hugely busy parkrun (not compared to Tooting from the week before)- there were 224 participants that morning. We spent some time taking photos with the statues and sheltering from the wind, before the first timers welcome was at 8:45. We were then all walked to the start, which is maybe a 5 minute walk from the finish area, along the edge of the river. The parkrunners headed down the steps, whereas the RD and time keepers stood on a platform above, and this made for a great run briefing as the RD didn’t need to shout, and everyone could see and hear him.

This parkrun is famous for the spiral- a mount you run up in a spiral and then back down- it makes an excellent Strava map! It felt pretty flat apart from the spiral, and there were a few puddles to dodge along the first part, but nothing swampy (again, nothing like the huge puddle from Tooting last week!). It felt like we had hardly gone any distance when we approached the park with the spiral in it, and I happened to glance at my watch and see we had already gone over a mile. The course really seemed to fly by!

The start with the elevated bit for the RD, and then views of the spiral on the mound

It was such fun heading up the spiral and seeing runners above, either heading up, or seeing the faster runners fly back down towards us. I am sure on a clear day the views would have been spectacular, but on this grey day we couldn’t even see the tops of the tallest buildings. No matter, we loved it.

Check out the splits too- perfect royal flush negative splits right there!

Dad and me heading into the finish, pop up sign at the end, token and the view (and cool sign) from the spiral

I finished in exactly 29 minutes, my fastest time of the year so far, and also means I get a shout out on the vegan runners facebook post as they have all sorts of challenges and this is the “noughty step” (times ending in :00).

Avocado toast, views walking back to the station and the view inside the cafe

As soon as we finished we headed inside the cafe to warm up and dry off. I was super impressed with the prices- my avocado toast was £6 which is a bargain. Dad went for the plant based sausage sandwich, and when he ordered it they asked if he wanted plant based meat or mushroom- they recommended mushroom- we were both expecting a patty made with mushrooms, but instead his roll was filled with sliced sautéed mushrooms. He enjoyed it anyway, despite it not being what was expected. The cafe was cosy and had plenty of space for the parkrunners and others.

We walked the direct way back to the station (literally a few hundred metres) and again our trains on the way back lined up perfectly- as we were going down the stairs at Farringdon a train was pulling in, and it was a fast one to St Albans- couldn’t have planned it better!

We have already made plans to go back in the summer, and hopefully bring Mum along, as she would enjoy watching and chatting while we ran, and then we could have a walk around the Woolwich area after breakfast as there seems to be so much history and interesting buildings there. Such a good parkrun morning!

Before and after map- a nice big segment filled in there!

Stats: 390th parkrun

124th venue

And now I’m making a start on Lon-done, that was my 27th London venue (out of 65 currently but of course that’s going to keep going up)

My slightly zoomed out map showing more of the sections that need colouring in!

Do you have parkruns you’d love to revisit? This one was fab and as the journey was so good it’s definitely on the list to go back to.

Tooting Common parkrun

After realising how (relatively) simple it was to get to various London parkruns by train, and deciding to work on Lon-done, Tooting Common was on my radar. I’d previously been to Clapham Common whilst in London, and Tooting was the next stop down, so I had thought it might be left for when I was in London. However, Branka noticed that she had completed her 221st parkrun last weekend, and thought that doing her 222nd at Tooting would be a great idea. Holly and I were free for touring, so off we went!

It happened to be their 9th birthday too, so extra celebrations. I’d seen them post a photo of a huge puddle, so decided to pack spare shoes and socks for the journey home. I don’t mind getting wet feet while I run, but the thought of cold wet feet for the journey home was not appealing at all.

Engineering works meant that the Hatfield line was out of action, although it meant a slightly easier train journey with only one change rather than two, so I drove to St Albans and met Branka and Holly on the train (they got on the same train at Luton)- we were glad that we had factored in extra time, as they managed to miss their train due to the platform being changed at the last minute- this has happened to me before at St Albans so I could very much sympathise.

Anyway, the journey to Streatham all went to plan- we had to change at Blackfriars (could also change at Farringdon)- this was the same platform and the train was a few minutes later- and then travel around 5 stops to Streatham. It was then about a mile walk to the start. The park is close to the train station but the parkrun starts at the opposite end of the park. As we walked through the park we took a little detour as the maps tried to guide us through a huge puddle. We didn’t think this could be part of the course as it seemed so narrow, and Tooting gets several hundred runners, but we were wrong!

We got there just as the first timers welcome was happening, so it was perfect! Branka had time to put on her tutu (of course she wore a tutu for her 222 run) and we left our bags on the tarpaulin of trust. We got a few photos by the purple pop up but it was busy and the main briefing was about to start so thought we’d do some more at the end.

The course starts close to the cafe- you immediately head out to the perimeter of the park, do 3 laps and then return to the start/finish area. On Strava it’s a very pleasing triangle shape:

(Also check out our splits- a fab royal flush negative split)

Train ticket/ pop up/ birthday hats, pre-parkrun pop up pic

I ran with Holly and we had a lovely chat on the way around. I can’t think of that many three lap courses, but I knew we’d be overtaken in our second lap by the front runners (by the way, the first finisher was female- girl power!) as if it’s a two lap course I’m doing well if I’m not lapped. As the laps were so short, we soon reached the huge puddle. It was deep and very long, then just as you thought it was over and you were out, more puddles would appear. I tried at first to keep my feet dry but it just wasn’t happening, so just had to tell myself that like a wet suit, my body would warm the wet water in my socks and I would be OK. Of course, by the time we reached the puddle in the second lap my feet just just warmed up, only for them to be plunged into cold water again. That lap had the added “fun” of being splashed by the faster runners as they ploughed through the puddles.

A few pics of parts of the puddle, finish line zig zag and post parkrun pop up

The course is flat and there were loads of cheery marshals en route- lots of had on party hats and one was celebrating her birthday too, although when we shouted “happy birthday” to her she said “you too”- probably thinking that we were celebrating Tooting parkrun’s birthday and not hers.

I had to stop and retie my shoelace at one point (even the double knot had worked it’s way undone), but other than that we kept running and it didn’t feel like long before we were heading into the finish funnel. They had a long zig zag on the grass, but despite us coming in during a bit of a rush, it kept moving and there wasn’t a traffic jam in there. A few minutes after we had finished when the rush had died down, they began taking down the zig zag to make the funnel shorter.

The parkrun cafe painting and the cafe, finish token and the three of us with the pop up (check out the pink tutu!)

After finishing, we took more photos and I changed my shoes and socks (not that easy to do while avoiding the muddy grass) and then we headed back to the train station (after initially going the wrong way out of the park as we got distracted while chatting…). We passed the cafe, which was a really pretty black and white building, and decided to get a hot drink to take with us. Inside the cafe was a lovely painting of the cafe- it was such a classic old style park cafe and was tiny compared to the number of runners (548 participants on that day). I’d packed a croissant in my bag to have on the way home so our parkfaff could happen on the train.

The ‘after’ and ‘before’ map (can’t switch them somehow)- a nice square filled in close to Richmond Park

The return journey was super easy- around a ten minute wait at Streatham for the train to Blackfriars, and then a 4 minute wait for the fast train back to St Albans. Of course we had a chat about our next touring plans, and checked out the 5k app as we were on the train- Brockwell was close to the train line that we were on so that’s on the list now (and it’s tarmac apparently so no wet feet either…).

So that was parkrun number 389, 123rd venue, and if I use the 5K app to track Lon-done it’s the 26th one (out of 65 on there but of course that number is going to keep on going up). Fingers crossed that the next few weeks are free from storms or engineering works so I can visit a few more new events.

2024 parkrun summary

First up, a big shout out to the 5K parkrunner app, and the google Chrome running challenges extension, as I love both of these for keeping track of challenges but also just total number of parkruns completed. I could spend ages looking at the map.

Of course I had plenty of revisits too including one of my fave events of Hove Prom in Brighton.

So, a belated 2024 recap. I completed 16 new parkrun events in 2024, which is in line with previous high years- those early years of touring were easier as I was visiting events in Herts, whereas now it is more reliant on a weekend somewhere else or travelling a bit further .

(For interest the numbers are 14 in 2023, 14 in 2022, 5 in 2021, 3 in 2020, 16 in 2019, 17 in 2018, 22 in 2017, 10 in 2016, 2 in 2015, 1 in 2014 and 1 in 2013- my first event)

I did 46 parkruns in the year which equals my highest years of 2019 and 2022. I don’t think I will ever get the 50 as we’re always going to have a weekend in a non-parkrun country at some point each year. I volunteered 21 times- mostly at junior parkrun but with a few 5k events thrown in there too.

Notable achievements- Stay in Beds challenge completed (all the parkruns in Bedfordshire)- achieved at Great Denham last April

350th parkrun- celebrated at Lee on the Solent in March

German flag claimed- at Dietenbach in May:

(This had been a long time coming because we went to Berlin in 2018, and were meant to be flying out there on the Friday night, but our flight was cancelled and we travelled on the Sunday instead, so of course I couldn’t parkrun then. This trip was combined with a trip to the Europa-Park theme park so we were close by)

Japan flag claimed- at Futakotamagawa in August:

(We had three Saturdays in Japan but due to travelling and logistics I managed one while I was out there, but it was perfect and I am very proud of myself for navigating the trains on my way there by myself as I am not the best at navigating and get very anxious- not helped by an earthquake warning on our phones the night before…)

Single-ton (100 run/walks at the same location) achieved at Panshanger on their 10th birthday:

Deciding to make a dent in Lon-done after having visited lots of London events – in 2024 I went to Hampstead Heath, Pymmes, Gladstone, Harrow, Southall, Wormwood Scrubs, Osterley and Morden which (I think?) all count towards Lon-done. Getting into more tourism with Branka and Holly has been great fun too, as well as tourism with my dad.

National Trust parkruns are excellent for post-parkrun parkfaffing too- a scone and a pot of tea? Perfect.

I’ve also had a lovely time volunteering at Birchwood Juniors since they launched. I feel like it is my volunteering home now as I know more of the team.

Basic total stats at the end of 2024 – 386 parkruns completed, 96 volunteer occasions, 121 different events overall

So what next for 2025? More tourism of course! V100 is on the cards soon, and later on I’ll be celebrating my (arbitrary) 400th parkrun! Oaklands College launched in January so I’m looking forward to revisiting that event (I think I could run there from my parents too so that will be something good to explore as I like a parkrun sandwich). I am also hoping for a new flag, or at least a new event outside of the UK, but we shall see how plans go for that as nothing has been properly arranged yet.

What are you looking forward to in 2025?

Oaklands College parkrun- marshalling then running

In January, a new parkrun launched in St Albans. I know one of the RD’s so had offered to marshal on their first event, as the date had been leaked online (this seems to happen to lots of parkruns now) and the team were worried about the event being swamped. However, the first event was cancelled due to ice, and as they emailed to ask if volunteers could be there the following week instead, I was happy to help.

Dad came back and even took the selfie- his skills are improving too! My view of the start (I guessed 18- runners, it was just under 250 in the end), views from my spot, and of course a pic with the pop up

Do you think the course looks like a dog?

The course looks very confusing on paper- it’s two laps but one lap has an out and back section, and you pass various points from different directions so I would not know how to run it on my own without signs and marshals. Luckily they walked us to our marshal points on the first event as I would have had no idea!

I was at a marshal point with another member of OH ladies (hi Mel)- we had a bit of a complicated cross over point with runners approaching from two directions and needing to be sent in different ways too, but we worked it out. Once the event is established and most people know where they are going it will be easier too.

Lots of familiar faces were at the first event, including my dad and brother, and I always enjoy marshalling and cheering people on as they pass. It was a bit of an overcast day and sooooo cold- I had wrapped up warmly but my feet were freezing when we finished.

The following week I decided to run at Oaklands College, as Dad wanted to stay local so I thought I’d give it a go and see the whole course as I’d only seen the section that I’d been marshalling on.

A few OH ladies at the start, some of the mid run views, and the finish funnel

Parking is available on site, and when I’d volunteered I had been directed to a small car park right by the start, but this week I went to the normal car park (still only a minute away from the start)- it had signs up with ways to pay, but I could not get the QR code to scan or the website to work, and then someone told me it was free until February. So be aware! (Not that I mind paying but there were no machines so it was app or website only…)

The start/finish is right by the old mansion house, so it’s a nice backdrop to the purple pop up. The week I ran it was cold but glorious sunshine. People were pouring in from the car park- the first week there were around 240 participants and I guessed there were 450 this week- so many tourists with the cow buffs and hats from far flung running clubs. I spoke to one person in the car park who had some from Harlow (not too far) but basically told me he was ticking it off as quickly as possible and didn’t seem that interested in the event at all. There was a big queue for the purple pop up and it felt like a weird atmosphere with lots of people who were not going to be coming here regularly, but then once I saw people I knew (lots of OH ladies and other local runners) it felt more like a normal parkrun morning.

I have to say that I loved the “beware of the swamp” sign!

I had been warned to wear trail shoes when marshalling, so of course I wore them for running, but according to my dad it was way muddier this week! The course is varied- you run around a rugby pitch (despite them saying in the run brief to keep off the rugby pitches the poor marshals were having to shout at so many people who were ignoring this request), on some hard paths, through a little wooded area and over a little hump (the reverse of a ditch if you can picture that), then you had a long out and back section on a stony path, before repeating the rugby pitches and woods again. For the finish funnel you run past the funnel, around some trees and then loop back into a hard path so it was quite nice to have a strong finish. You end up right by the mansion house again, and the scanners were right in front- all very easy to find.

After finishing we stayed around and chatted to people as they finished- one of my friends had nearly lost a shoe in the deep mud, and I had seen that happen to someone as we ran too. It was a proper quagmire in places!

Muddy legs and shoes at the finish!

Dad had cycled so he headed off once he started getting cold, and I hung around a bit longer, enjoying chatting to people as they finished. As I was stood by the purple pop up I ended taking lots of photos for various people so I asked for one in return- I was a bit miffed that they could not manage to frame the photo properly- I made sure that in all the photos I took the mansion house was in the background with the blue sky- it’s not that hard people!

How to take it with the sky vs how the photo was taken for me!

I was doubting my estimate of 450, but it was getting closer and closer. Apparently they only had 448 tokens (must be to do with how many are on each sheet?) so they had some paper tokens, and they needed one as the final total was 449! It’s crazy that event 2 was so busy.

I do think it will be lovely in the summer as it’s lots of grass, it’s varied, fairly flat and there is some shade- it reminded me a bit of Great Dunmow but slightly less wild. Anyway, I was glad to have given the course a go, and very glad I had on my trail shoes!

A new hole appeared in my map but it was quickly filled!

That was location 122 for me, my first new location in 2025, and my run number 388.

Up next? Hopefully a bit more touring!

Festive Five 2024

This is one of my favourite races of the year, and somehow I didn’t even do a post about it!

The Garden City Joggers put this event on each year- it’s a five mile race consisting of two laps around the centre of town- all on pavements but with marshals at all the road crossing points. It’s the type of low key event I love, where you collect your number on the day, and it just had friendly vibes. Loads of people dress in festive gear, lots of the marshals do as well, and it’s just good fun.

The weekend that it took place on in 2024 had big storms everywhere, with lots of parkruns called off the day before, so rather than running there and getting drenched, I took up my friends offer of a lift (she lives around the corner from me and we often share lifts for parkruns or club runs). Thankfully it didn’t rain before the start, although it did rain a bit while we were running.

I absolutely love seeing people run in inflatable outfits- no idea why it amuses me so much but seeing the inflatable Santa run past us in the road just really tickled me.

Before, during and after

I ran with Nicola and we just had a great time- no worrying about times, just enjoying all the festive outfits and wishing all the marshals a happy Christmas. Thankfully it didn’t rain too hard, but there were some huge puddles that I didn’t expect and that you couldn’t avoid so I got very cold wet feet. The rest of me warmed up, as you can see I ended up taking my jacket off.

I tried to get some photos and selfies with the inflatable guys!

At the finish we were given a little selection box- in previous years there has been a vegan option but sadly not this year (so that was donated to the food bank collection at the parkrun the following Saturday), however we had our OH ladies Christmas brunch so post-race treats would soon be coming.

As we had a bit of time in between the race ending and the brunch booking, Nicola kindly offered for a group of us to pop back to her office (in the town centre) so we could get changed in the warm and dry, and even made us cups of tea. I had packed a complete change of clothes, but had forgotten about shoes, so I had to put on my soggy cold trainers as we headed out for brunch.

OH ladies having brunch (I am very hidden on the left in that photo), oat matcha latte, pancakes and my With Me Now Christmas jumper (which is always fun to try and explain- “Maria I didn’t know you liked cats?” ” No, I don’t like cats, but there is this podcast…”)

Brunch was fab- so nice to catch up with everyone, enjoy some food (I had vegan pancakes, tea and then a matcha latte) and chat about our Christmas plans. I really love this tradition.

Do you have any running club Christmas traditions? I always love festive parkruns too.