January parkrun touring- close to home

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.

2023 parkrun touring review

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.

Canons Park parkrun

Not to be confused with Cannon Hill in Birmingham (which I went to earlier this year), Canons Park is close to Stanmore, so when it was suggested by a club mate as a little road trip I decided to join in.

It was also Christmas in July, as celebrated by the parkrun adventurers pod, and a time to wear my ugly (not ugly) Christmas singlet. Normally I wear it in the winter over long sleeves, but it was actually OK wearing it on its own. I did suggest Christmas running gear but no-one else joined in- ah well!

Seriously- how cute is the koala design? It’s hugging a pineapple and even has on a little Santa hat. Adorable.

We arrived nice and early- one of our club members (Mel) was keen to run here as it was close to where she used to work, so she knew where there would be parking. We parked in the road right by the park entrance, but others parked in the tube car park and walked through, so I think there are lots of options. There was one toilet open before the start which a few people queued at.

There didn’t seem to be many people there even a quarter to, but by the time we’d taken photos by the sign and then listened to the wonderful new runners welcome (so very welcoming) there were more- around 150 I think.

The course was three laps, and lots of it was through woods so it would be good on a hotter day too, although a few roots to look out for as you came out (maybe harder to spot going into the glare of the sun). Three of us ended up running together which was lovely- it’s always nice to chat and run.

There wasn’t a cafe (it’s being renovated according to the course page) but the volunteers had tea and coffee at the finish, which was such a nice touch and meant that lots of people hung around at the end. We had chatted to a few tourists at the start (one of them had Panhanger as his NENDY so he was asking about it), and we chatted to more at the end. One person was very confused by my Christmas top- when I said it was Christmas in July, he said something about the football in Australia (women’s world cup) so I don’t think it was quite clear the link.

So that was my 103rd location and a very enjoyable one at that. After finishing it was time to head home and watch England’s first match, so a good start to the weekend all round.

Local parkruns including my first visit to Panshanger in 2023!

Handily Panshanger parkrun is around 2 miles from home, so if I do go there I can run/walk from home for a parkrun sandwich. I did get into doing this fairly regularly, but if Dad is around we tend to do Jersey Farm as it is less than a mile from theirs, and we’ve also been enjoying some tourism. Somehow I managed to go 6 months of 2023 without going to Panshanger at all.

I also went to Jersey Farm two weeks in a row (as Dad was around)- it’s on their summer course which I think technically is easier with less elevation, but I always find harder, maybe because I just run slower in the heat. It does look so pretty there with all the wildflowers at the moment.

Jersey Farm scenes- you can see the longer grass in the photo, and they had even mown around the flowers to leave them.

And another weekend at Jersey Farm- you can tell this was a while ago as I had on shorts so it was when we had the very hot spell around the end of June.

Once Dad was at Wimbledon I was back to deciding where I would go, and as I had to be home promptly, Panshanger seemed the best choice. Some of my club mates were running there too, so we met up at the start for a little catch up.

These are some photos of Panshanger park (and bottom left the view on my run there). It’s just such a beautiful park. When I arrived after running there, the start was slightly further down which meant the cow course. When the longhorn cattle as in one of the fields, they divert the course around the field, which means another hill (and a steep one at that). As I was running up the hill, a lady next to me was tripped over by a dog. The dog was on a lead and the owner was holding it, but the dog was running erratically and she really took a tumble. The guy with the dog was very friendly and apologetic (which dog owners often are after a dog had jumped up at you/ chased you etc I find), and luckily the lady seemed OK. I hope that she reported it as an incident, as I know parkrun are still looking into the impact of dogs at their events. I don’t mind dogs, but I am nervous of them off their leads, and it does surprise me that parkrun still allows them when their events are so busy.

Rain was forecast, but it stayed away during parkrun. I had to head home quickly as I needed to pick up my mum later on in the morning, and as I was around halfway home I got absolutely drenched in a sudden downpour, that ended as quickly as it started.

Then for some non-running news, I went to get my haircut. Now I don’t work on Mondays anymore I can get this sort of thing done in the week rather than the weekend, so it felt much more relaxed. I went for a cup of tea after in a little cafe (Herts Coffee Lab), did a few errands and then had time to chill in the garden.

(My hair will only look like this straight after the hairdresser has dried it- I cannot make it look that nice, so good to have a photo to prove that it can look good!)

My next post will be touring again, but this is the joy of parkrun to me- it can be whatever you want it to be- a solo run before heading back home, a social run with friends, a run exploring new places or a run in a familiar local park.

What do you like most about your local parkrun?

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?