According to my facebook memories, the start of February half term seems to be a traditional weekend for me to have some solo parkrun tourism. This time last year I went to Highbury Fields for the fun and madness of 5 laps (and of course a visit to Bird and Blend after), but with the trains having engineering works a trip into London wasn’t so easy this year. In the end I decided to brave the drive to Pymmes parkrun. It’s been my NENDY (nearest event not done yet) for ages, so it felt like a good a time as any to head there.
It’s only a 40 minute drive away, and fairly straightforward, mainly on the A10, but there is no car park, only street parking (which I worry about), and the added complication is that it is close to Spurs so on match days the streets have restrictions. Looking at the signs on google maps this seemed to be from noon onwards (and that was correct when I was there too). A friend did suggest Just Park (which she had used) but I wasn’t organised enough to sort that. Luckily as I got closer to the park I was driving down some residential roads and found a space (in fact I found two but decided to move it from the first one as it was a bit further away and there was a guy hanging about on the corner who I am sure was fine but made me feel a little nervous) on Sweet Briar Grove and close to Park Lane, so basically the north-western corner of the park. It drizzled as I drove there, but when I got out of the car to jog to the start it had cleared up, and the weather was actually pretty good for running- no wind and not too cold.
The scenes in the park before parkrun started- I found the Pymmes sign and then later on found the purple pop up!
I had a little wander around the park, looking at some of the regeneration that was going on. There were some wildlife area and a reclaimed wetlands section. It reminded me a lot of Lordship Rec with all the houses so close to the parkrun, and a really nice community feel, as well as more variety in that park than you might expect from a city centre one.
The first timers welcome was so friendly and informative, even warning us of the ground next to the CCTV poles, as the ground by them had sunk a little. The main briefing was equally welcoming, and it wasn’t long before we walked to the start (the main briefing was midway between the start and end- you can see on the map below that they are very close together and you could pretty much see one from the other). I left my jacket on the tarpaulin of trust, and then got very excited by the size of the cones that marked the start area (they were tiny!).
See how tiny they are? Over my shoulder in the top left pic you can see the teeny cones and the normal ones. One by my shoe for comparison, plus the main briefing (bottom right) and a photo taken mid run.
The route is very compact- just under 3 laps of the park. It’s also pretty flat, with a little slope as you head up towards the finish area (next to that little pond at the very bottom) but that really is minimal. I wasn’t planning on going particularly fast but I did end up with my fastest time of the year with 28:04- I think I’d like to revisit at some point and have a go at a faster time. It wasn’t busy (139 runners on that day) and there was no mud, plenty of space even when being lapped by the front runners, so would be pretty ideal and quicker compared to my local ones.
When I finished I chatted to a few people- one of the scanners was really friendly and wanted a chat, and then a tourist who saw my Ellenbrook Fields top had a chat, before I headed home. I also got a proper photo with the sign, which had been moved from the start line to the central area where the main briefing was. I do love the little chats you end up doing by the sign, offering to take a photo in exchange for someone taking a photo of you. I got to hear about some parkruns in Kent – the seafront ones appeal definitely, as I really like Hove Prom. Once home I made pancakes for breakfast and watched With Me Now.
NENDY ticked off, and 107th different event (and parkrun 347 too- closing in on 350!). Happy half term!
At the end of January I was off to my first new event of 2024. My friend Branka was off there and had offered to pick me up, so of course I was very happy to join in.
I was treated to a gorgeous sunrise while I got ready, and even when we had arrived there, the skies were so wintery with that low light you only get at this time of year. The ground was frosty in places, with a few icy puddles.
Pink and purple skies, top right the winter skies at the start area, and then all the people on the start line!
The parking was on East Heath Road, and be warned, there were no parking machines and I had wrongly assumed that I could pay using my phone- nope! Thankfully there was enough internet so I could download the parking app and sort it that way. We paid for 2 hours, having arrived at 8:30, which was the right amount of time for us to not rush after, however had we wanted to stay for longer, it was something like £7 per hour after the first two hours, so London prices!
We walked uphill from the car park, and this gave us a flavour of what the route would be like- it was quite steep!
The course was essentially a lollipop shape- you started at the top of a hill, ran down the hill, completed two undulating laps past the ponds and health land, and then ran back up the hill to the start/finish.
Even at 8:45 it didn’t seem very busy, and we couldn’t even see the purple sign, but just before 9 there were suddenly people everywhere! The start is very narrow and I was not in a rush. The path was also a bit uneven (covered with big stones and lumps of broken brick) so I was taking it gently, not wishing to fall over. I was glad I had worn my trail shoes as the thicker soles help on that sort of uneven ground too. We had been warned about some ice near the ponds, and there was a lot more ice than expected- I walked across those icy bits because I think I would have slipped if I had tried to run. But that was fine – it’s not a pb course so I was happy to take it gently and take lots of photos.
One thing to mention, and I had read this on the excellent Blog 7t, but there are a lot of dogs there. And I mean a LOT. As someone who is a little nervous around dogs off their leads, I was not keen on this aspect of the route- Hampstead Heath must attract loads of people with dogs off leads. At one point a massive dog hurtled down the hill towards me, and because it was uphill of me it just seemed so much bigger than me. The owner did call out to the dog but I just stopped and waited for it to go past.
A few photos taken mid-run- I particularly loved the bottom right one- you run along the ridge and then down, and if you looked back you could see the silhouettes of other runners at the top of the ridge. I was token 463 but actually had position 423 so I think they must have dropped a bunch of tokens- it happens!
Once finished and scanned I noticed that the purple sign had been put up, so I asked someone to take my photo- you have to commemorate these trips with a purple pop up picture. Anyway, soon the event team started packing things away, but I knew Branka (my friend, who was walking it) would want a photo, so I thought I would delay them by getting my photo taken again (I’d put my hoodie on by this point). While I was hovering by the sign, lots of people kept asking me to take their photos, so I think I must have taken pictures for about 8 people! The RD came to take it down and I explained that my friend was still on the course and would like a photo with it, so he asked me if she could take the sign down (as he found it tricky), and he then left it up so she could have a picture with it too.
That did make me feel a bit sad though- had we walked together then the sign would have been gone, and I know it’s not the actual point, but it’s a shame if the sign is there only for the runners or people near the front, and not for everyone.
My two pop up photos.
After we had taken some photos we went looking for a toilet as someone had told us there was one further up, but we didn’t find it. Anyway, a fun morning chatting all things parkrun on the journey there and back.
Event number 106 for me, and my first new parkrun of 2024. Here’s to some more tourism this year!
Of course my first parkrun back after having a holiday was going to Jersey Farm and running with my dad. I’d been away for all the extra parkrundays over the holidays, so I was really looking forward to getting back to one.
I nearly forgot my barcode, and had to run back inside and could only find this one! Whoops!
Jersey Farm was actually not too muddy, as it had rained a lot in the week. There was one big puddle but actually if you stepped gently the water didn’t even go over the top of your shoe, so it was OK. We ran together and after finishing, walked back to the big puddle so I could get a picture in it.
The puddles and then a cup of tea to warm up after.
There were two girls trying to pick their way around the outside, and I did try and show them that the middle was actually better as it wasn’t that deep, compared to the squelchy mud around the outside, but they weren’t convinced!
The following week we had been asked to wear red for Comic Relief (and donate some money too- I even got an email from Sir Lenny Henry thanking me for the donation). I was keen to visit somewhere else, so in the end we opted for Aldenham. We’d been there once before, back in 2016, and on that day there were only 25 runners, I finished 16th with my dad and brother 10th and 14th! They were all runners too, with the final person coming in at 36 minutes! How things have changed. Two of my friends were parkwalking, and of course they have the tail walker role too.
Views of the lake (?) and the fab keyring for completing the 12 days of Christmas challenge with my running club.
It was a cold morning and I rally didn’t want to take my jacket off at the start area. Usually I wear gloves in the winter and my hands warm up quickly, and I would tend to take the gloves off after the first lap of a two lap route, but this time they stayed on the entire time.
My nails matched my tribesport top but that was being covered with the red top for Comic Relief anyway.
The route is two laps of the water (reservoir/lake?), very flat but lots of tree roots to look out for. I managed a course pb which was quite unexpected and nice to see in the text, this time 56th out of 110 runners- slightly more than last time! It’s a pretty route, but you have to pay to park (although there is a reduced rate for parkrunners) and I wonder if this puts people off.
Beautiful sunrise at home and then on my way to Panshanger plus all the ice.
For the third weekend I was off to Panshanger. One of my aims is to get to 100 runs at Panshanger (a single-ton)- I started the year on 90 and so this was my 91st run at Panshanger. Even though it’s my closest, I don’t run there as much as if my parents are about I’ll head over to JF, however they were away so I opted for a parkrun sandwich. I wore all green in celebration for a club mate who was doing her 250th parkrun, but in South Africa so it was being with her in spirit. There were huge frozen puddles near the end of the course but you could easily avoid them and the going was pretty good. An enjoyable run chatting to someone who recognised me from Instagram (hi Sam) but I was pretty cold by the time I got home!
I also marshalled at a couple of junior parkrun events over the course of the month, always a fun thing to join in with on a Sunday.
One Sunday above and another Sunday below!
My final January parkrun was a brand new to me event so I’ll save that for another time.
How has your January been? It seems like parkruns are getting a big boost in numbers at the moment.
At the start of 2023 I had a few parkrun plans- a weekend in Birmingham, a trip to Norway and popping down to Southampton, and I was aiming for my Cowell (100 different events), but I was still surprised when looking at my stats that I had been to 14 new events over the year. I felt like that deserved a post summing them all up.
January took me to Church Mead in Amersham- this was my 300th parkrun and so I had chosen a new event for Dad to visit with me. This was one of the nearest events that neither of us had been to, and right on the edge of an acceptable distance to travel on the day (rather than being somewhere for a different reason and then doing a parkrun there). It’s a very hilly two lap course through fields, up into a wooded area and then down the other side of the steep hill. Small and friendly. It was pouring with rain when we visited but it was definitely memorable!
At the end of January we had a Friday night in Southampton, and so I went to Itchen Valley on the Saturday to get my name badge (as I need two I’s and only had one so far). This was an amazing frosty morning- the ground was frozen solid and it was a day to slow down and not twist an ankle. The course was very twisty and I’d have no idea if I had to do a freedom run there. It was good fun, and I’d happily revisit if I was in the area again, although there are still others in the Southampton area that I have not visited yet.
In February I started working on completing the parkruns on the train line from Hatfield into London, having previously been to Ally Pally, Finsbury Park and Oak Hill. This was the turn of Highbury Fields, a bit of an iconic one as it’s 5 (five) laps! When I got there I could not believe that a parkrun would fit in the park as it was a tiny green space, but the parkrun route runs around the perimeter of the park which made the difference. There was 403 runners on the day that I was there but it was actually OK and didn’t feel too busy, and I managed to count the laps OK (of course I can check on my watch as I run too). This had the bonus of being within walking distance to Bird and Blend so I could head there for a latte before getting the train home.
The following week I went to Grovelands with a last minute change of plans. I was going to head to Lordship Rec which involved driving to a tube station, and then getting the underground in, but then there were train issues and I realised that Grovelands was close to the tube I was originally going to head to, so I just drove there. I had an eventful drive as my phone lost the maps signal for a while and I didn’t notice for a while- it was stuck on “turn left in 1.2 miles” for ages before I realised, but thankfully I’d left enough time to still be on time. Grovelands had a brilliant marshal who was giving everyone advice on their running style (I had to keep my elbows tucked under my shoulders rather than swinging them out) which was memorable.
In April we were heading to Birmingham for a comedy show on the Friday night so I ran to Cannon Hill on the Saturday morning. I really like combining parkrun with other things rather than just going somewhere for the parkrun alone. This was an enjoyable route around a pretty city centre park with a lake, a river, bandstand and other park items, fairly flat and fast, and busy with 668 runners! The finish funnel totally backed up while I was there, luckily not in a rush to get back to check out!
We also had a weekend in Bakewell for my birthday, and so I went to Monsal Trail which had been on my list for a while. It’s an out and back along an old railway line, slightly downhill on the way out and then gently uphill on the way back. It was running distance from the centre of Bakewell but the way I went not all of the roads had pavements so would probably have to go the longer way next time and avoid those roads. Later we hired bikes and cycled the other way along the railway line, again great to visit the area and spend time there rather than just travel to parkrun and go home.
For a belated birthday celebration my Dad, Mum and brother let me choose a parkrun for us to go to and have breakfast together after, so I chose Pocket as it had been recommended by someone from my running club (although it turned out that she actually recommended Peter Pan parkrun, but they all begin with P which is a recipe for things getting muddled)- also St Neots had a vegan cafe (now vegetarian) which we visited after for breakfast. I really enjoyed Pocket- it reminded me of Ellenbrook Fields as it was flat but on open grassland close to housing estates, you ran past little streams and it was more “wild” than a manicured city centre park.
I had decided by then that I could complete my Cowell in Norway, but to make this happen I needed to visit one more event before that trip. Dad had been to Sunny Hill (in north London) and enjoyed it, so we travelled there (again with Mum and my brother too) in May and enjoyed breakfast after. It sort of lived up to the name, although should have been Sunny Hills not Sunny Hill, as there is more than one (and it’s two laps). Amazing views from the top, and a fantastic cafe for breakfast after.
Then I got to achieve my Cowell in Norway at the beautiful Ekebergsletta. I had been lucky enough to visit another parkrun in Oslo back in 2019 as we went to Oslo for the Christmas markets, but there are 3 there so I could choose another one. This one actually was easy to get to from the city centre (using the excellent Ruter app) by getting a bus to the top of the hill. Andy came with me to the start and then watched the run, and then we walked around the park after. In November it had been covered in deep snow so it was great to revisit in warmer weather. He hired a scooter to get back and I ran behind him (rather than get the bus back).
In June I headed to Lordship Rec, after first looking into this much earlier in the year. I drove to a tube station, got the underground a few stops and then walk/ran around a mile to the start. It was a baking hot day and the course was flat and fast but with little shade I really struggled at the end. It had a great community feel to it, and random people in the park were stopping and asking about it too, so it felt like it would grow and really involve the local community.
In July I had added a challenge to the 5K app to complete all the parkruns in Bedfordshire, as several members of my running club had done this. One that I needed was Bedford so I headed up there to run it. There happened to be a meet up of Vegan Cambridgeshire runners, although we had the craziest rainstorm so I didn’t hang about after. It’s a flat fast course with parking right by it, so I am sure I will revisit at some point.
Later in July one of my club mates arranged a little trip to Canons Park (not to be confused with Cannon Hill which I’d been to earlier in the year)- close to us on the outskirts of London. This was a real gem- there’s no cafe but they provide tea and coffee at the finish, it really felt like such a great community. The course was good too, two varied laps around the park and through some woods. (I’m wearing my parkrun adventurers Christmas top for Christmas in July).
In the summer we were in Florida and I revisited Clermont Waterfront parkrun. Although it wasn’t a new parkrun, they were on their B course (which lead to me being totally panicked on the drive there with me thinking I’d somehow missed the start as I could see loads of runners on the path by the lake- Andy noticed they had race bibs on which calmed me a bit) so it was a new course for me to run. This was two laps through some woods (the shade was much appreciated) rather than out and back by the lake. I somehow managed to get lost on the second lap, and the people following me didn’t know the way either, so we had a bit of back tracking before we found some runners again. Still I managed a course pb which shows how tough the one in the full sun was!
In October we had a weekend in London for our wedding anniversary, and so the closest that I’d not done (and that I could work out how to get to ) was Clapham Common. I’d heard that this was busy and was keen to go there, but it was totally nuts. I don’t know how else to describe it. There were 974 runners on the day I did it, and it felt like lots of people there were new to parkrun in general. It was two flat laps around the park, but people just seemed to make up their own routes- at one point I was running and I think there were 4 other paths being followed by runners on the left and right of me. It still felt congested on the second lap, and they didn’t even have a double funnel so of course the funnel backed out at the finish line. The person who did the new runners welcome was lovely, but in the finish funnel a guy being polite offered for me to go ahead, as I’d finished between him and his friend. I mentioned staying in order, and it turned out he had no idea how the finish funnel worked. I explained the whole token, time keeping thing, and all was good, but it did make me think about how parkrun need to make this a bit clearer and more obvious, rather than just “no funnel ducking” chanting at the start, or someone shouting at you to stay in order in the funnel. I appreciate it is very frustrating for the volunteers when people don’t stay in order, but parkrun could do more to explain how it works I think, to make it easier on event teams. I also do not know why they don’t insist on double funnels after events get to a certain size. Anyway, I enjoyed it but was recommended Tooting Common (one more stop on the same underground line) and I think next time I’m in London I will aim for there.
My final parkrun tourism of the year was in November, to Roding Valley. Again, my club mate had arranged a visit, and so I went along with her. Originally there were loads of us going but there was atrocious weather and in the end only 3 of us went along! It was absolutely tipping it down with torrential rain, and their A course was flooded so we were on the B+ course (not sure how it was different to the regular B course). This was two laps, first out and back along a field (all good), but then close to the river and around the edge of a flooded field, and finally through a huge patch of flooded path- up to my knees at one point! It was fun but you did feel a bit mad running in those conditions!
I finished the year on 340 runs exactly, which was pretty satisfying, so 40 parkruns completed over the year.
My brother doesn’t parkrun much due to working or playing football, but in November he was free so we met at my parents house and walked around to Jersey Farm.
It was the most beautiful autumnal day with bright sunshine. It also happened to be Jersey Farm’s birthday, so lots of people were dressed in animal costumes (farm themed).
Animal costumes, finish token, by the sign in the sunshine and some of the OH ladies plus my brother.
A few OH ladies were there too, so of course we had the traditional start line selfie (Emily is an expert at the selfies) before heading off on our own. I did run most of it with my brother but he had to stop and retie a lace so we didn’t run the whole way together. It was such a beautiful day, and afterwards we walked back and Mum cooked us breakfast. Definitely a huge bonus of a local parkrun!
Junior parkrun marshal in a birthday hat, view from my marshal spot and the 7 balloon.
The next morning I was volunteering at Beehive juniors, and when I got there it turned out it was their 7th birthday so they had hats for all the volunteers to wear. Lots of OH ladies were volunteering so it was good to chat and catch up briefly at the start.
I was meeting a parkrun friend (Branka) there too- we both volunteered and then went to parkfaff in a cafe in town after.
Mince pie slice and tea, and the two of us in our hats!
We went to one of the Herts Coffee Labs and they did a vegan mince pie slice so of course I had to sample it- it was delicious! We had such a long parkfaff it got to midday before we realised the time!
