Running - Maria Runs

Vitality 10K in London

A while back parkrun had race entries for this race that were far reduced from the advertised price, so I signed up through that way. Lots of the OH ladies had also signed up so it was going to be a lovely social event.

The night before the rain was hammering down, we had thunder and lightening, and I was really dreading it. I’d packed a complete change of clothes for the bag drop bag (you are given a clear plastic bag to use for the bag drop), but I knew there would be a lot of standing around first and didn’t want to be soaked before I even started. The pre event info even mentioned that if there was lightning, to keep moving and not to shelter under trees and something along the lines of “you will be used to being outside in all weathers for your training anyway”…

Andy dropped me off at the station rather than me running there as I didn’t want to get wet that early on, and I met some other club mates at the station. Thankfully by the time we came out of the tube station at Green Park, the rain had stopped. The bag drop was well organised- you had to stick your race number to it and they were putting them in order, which meant it was quick to collect at the end too.

Some of the OH ladies before the start (more kept on joining), in the start pen and then Nelson’s column.

I was in grey wave (number 4), so I was supposed to start running at 10:24 (very precise) and be in the start pen about 45 minutes before that. No-one else from the club was in my start pen, so I opted to drop back several pens so run with others rather than run alone. Of course time flies when you are chatting with others, and at least the rain held off, but we didn’t start running until close to 11am so it was a late start.

A few pics from the end/ with my medal

I ran with Anna, fellow OH lady and fellow Vegan Runner, so it was good to run together and chat (and then not chat so much later on when we were both struggling a bit more!). The route was good, starting by Buckingham Palace, going past Trafalgar Square and past Covent Garden before doubling back and heading back to the park. It was narrow though, and congested which I was surprised about as they seemed to be holding the pens back and really releasing people with big gaps between waves. There were people walking from the start which didn’t help too as it was trickier to overtake in some of the narrower places. It also got super humid- the sun even started to come out briefly and it was so warm. They did have a few showers for the runners to cool off in, but I didn’t fancy getting wet feet so I ran on the other side of the street for those parts. I did enjoy seeing the “just a parkrun to go” signs just before the 5k mark! I was not impressed with the water stations though- they had plastic bottles (a water company was sponsoring them) and most runners were taking a bottle, having one or two sips and then throwing it away. Maybe they will be recycled? But we all know reducing is better than recycling, and it just struck me as behind the times as most races seem to do paper cups where at least there is far less single use plastic. The entertainment was good with a steel pan band (classic), a drumming group and a brass band to name a few.

I was not running for time- we had estimated around an hour and in the end my time was 1:01:51 so I was pretty pleased with that.

The lovely Anna bought her photos and kindly sent them to me so here we are heading to the finish!

At the finish line you were given some water, we walked a bit further to get our medals and then you were directed right to get t-shirts or left if you didn’t ask for one. I opted for trees not tees so my number had “NO TSHIRT” in big writing on the front, which made me laugh each time I saw it. The t-shirts seemed good- you could choose your size and fit (eg M- loose fit, or M- fitted), but there was a spelling mistake (Vitalty not Vitality!)- not sure how that passed the proof reading?

Once we finished we met up with a few OH ladies in the finish area, more by the bag drop, and then more a little further into the event village. We had taken photos together at the start as people were doing different things after- I was planning on heading to Upper Street and so we knew we would not all manage to meet up after as well. We took a few photos together but then I saw Danny from With Me Now pod, so I started chatting to him- a short chat turned into a long chat about parkrun (as it does) and by the time I had finished most people had started to head home.

Post race drinks and food- tea from Pret (then I changed in their toilets), the most amazing pistachio pastry and more tea, then a PSL from Bird and Blend

Thankfully I’d packed a Clif bar in my bag as you were given no food at the finish (they did say this in the event guide but it was still not great), but I was still thirsty so I popped into the Pret to get a tea, and while in there changed my top in the toilets. I didn’t need to change my whole outfit in the end as it still wasn’t raining. I then got the tube to Highbury and Islington and walked along Upper Street to British Patagonia where I enjoyed a pot of tea and the most amazing pistachio pastry. It was heavenly. Then I popped to Bird and Blend to get an iced pumpkin tea latte for the walk back to the station, to get the train home. One thing I wished I’d done was bring a proper rucksack though- I just had the bag drop bag which was a huge plastic bag with drawstring straps- I could have fitted an actual rucksack inside it and then worn that once I’d finished. I was a bit fed up of lugging the bag around by that point as I could not easily wear it on my shoulders.

So, all in all, a really enjoyable race made even better by all the OH ladies being there. I don’t think I’d pay full price as it is very expensive for a 10k, but if parkrun do the reduced entry cost again then I’d be tempted as it was a good route. I do prefer the smaller races where you turn up and run as opposed to the bigger ones where you wait around for ages, and I’m not keen on big crowds so this type of race isn’t my usual.

Have you done this race before? What sort of races do you like?

Osterley parkrun

Another weekend and another tourist trip with Branka and Holly! This time, we were heading to Osterley parkrun as Branka was celebrating her 200th parkrun! Arbitrary!

Holly picked us up on her way and drove us to the start- it’s a National Trust parkrun and despite it being in a residential area of London (near to Heathrow) as we drove up the driveway it felt like we could almost be at Wimpole- big fields full of cows surrounded by black railing fencing. The car park was a very short walk from the start, and the pop up sign was in the best location with the building right behind. The beautiful blue skies made it look even better!

The walk from the car park went around this lake, and this also ended up being on the parkrun course.

Branka has been teaching me how to line up selfies with the purple pop up so I had another go- I think I’m getting the hang of it!

We had plenty of time for photos, we listened to the first timers welcome and then it was suddenly really busy for the main briefing. The RD was doing that role for the first time and the tannoy system failed, so we couldn’t really tell what was being said, I could catch snippets- something about volunteers- let’s clap, something about the event number, let’s clap, some milestones being announced, let’s clap. And then we were off!

Holly and I ran together while Branka was run/walking. We chatted the whole way around (the best kind of parkrun!) and I really enjoyed the scenery- we ran past lakes, past fields, there was a small wooded section and then we were back running along next to the water heading to the house. It was two laps, and those laps flew by. Some of the paths at the start were fairly narrow, and they had warned us that it could be a bit congested at the start, but we didn’t have any trouble. I suppose you could be frustrated if you were aiming for a fast time. I don’t think we got lapped either which again surprised me. I like running past the start/finish area on a lapped course as you get some nice cheers from the volunteers and it adds to the friendly feeling of the event.

A few photos from the run, the finish area plus the token photo that I have to take!

When we finished we noticed Park Play being set up in the park (no relation to parkrun I don’t think but sounds similar as it’s 2 hours of free “play” (games) which you register for and then turn up)- nice to see the grounds being used in this way as well as for parkrun.

Of course we were also there to parkfaff! The best thing about National Trust places is their cafes, and this one had a cafe plus a little van doing takeaway hot drinks. They had lots of vegan options including vegan sausage sandwiches, brownies and flapjacks, but I opted for a scone and tea- classic. We sat outside for absolutely ages, it was wonderful.

Sitting outside the cafe, plus the picture of the three of us- Branka in her special With Me Now Arbitrary top.

After out lovely parkfaff, we headed back to the car (via the gift shop for Branka to get a stamp). I had tried to scan my membership card earlier for the parking, and the machine hadn’t worked, but as we got back to the car park someone else was using it and told us to try different buttons, so we did, and then got a ticket, so I’d try that tip again if I was somewhere else!

So that was event 120 for me, and my 374th parkrun. It will be my last touring for a while I think, as I might work on my single-ton at Panshanger for the next couple of weeks, and then I have a local one planned with Dad in October.

I’ll finish with the map! Not such a big area as last weekend but still satisfying to gradually fill in those gaps and join up different places.

The additional purple chunk is not that big but it all counts!

Have you heard of park play? I am pretty sure I have seen it in a local park but really assumed it was for kids or families so haven’t paid it much attention.

Bug Hunter Waters parkrun

I mean, with a name like that, who doesn’t want to go there?

Bug Hunter Waters is just outside Cambridge, so just about within driving distance. This was a fun little parkrun road trip, with me picking up Branka and meeting Holly and her friend Lou (and baby) there.

This is a relatively new parkrun, with my visit being the 12th event. That was the reason why we went that day, as Holly wanted to do event number 12, a fact she only remembered when they announced the number in the run brief!

The website directs you to park at the park and ride, although I used the postcode and got us slightly lost. I was following the park and ride signs, but they were a bit sporadic and so I turned off (where google maps told me to) and we ended up in a section of the housing estate. Thankfully we turned around and although the maps were not loading we saw a park and ride bus and followed that until we saw signs again (we were only about 2 minutes away). There was a parkrun car park marshal directing us to a section of the park and ride car park, there were toilets by the bus stop, and then it was around a km walk along a path which was part of the route, to get to the start. Very easy to find.

It reminded me a lot of Great Denham, with the parkrun course right by a new housing estate. The lake made it very scenic, and it was a very flat course too. It was narrow in places, and we were warned to slow down at certain pinch points on the course.

The start line by the water, some of the houses and of course the pop up. Branka and I were accidently twinning with our black shorts and green tops!

We took the obligatory pop up photos (Branka is teaching me how to line up the sign in my selfies too!), listened to the first timers welcome and then the main run briefing which was hilarious as the RD had managed to fit in a lot of Oasis quotes (they were off the previous Saturday for something else but he mentioned that everyone was trying to get Oasis tickets that morning instead).

Then we walked to the start. As it was narrow, they asked people to seed themselves which I always think works well but I ended up being a bit too far back- it’s always hard to tell!

A few photos taken while running, plus the token and solo pop up photo

I was going to run, Branka was run/walking intervals and Holly and Lou were walking so we spread out, and then we were off. It is two laps, with a sort of out and back section and then a lap of the lake. I really enjoyed the scenery, although at the moment there isn’t much shade so on a sunny day it would be quite tough in that respect. There were 249 parkrunners that day and it felt quite busy due to the paths being narrow in places, but it did thin out. I didn’t get lapped which surprised me, I thought I would at the end of my first lap. I did pass Holly and Lou walking towards the end of my second lap but by then there were not that many people running around me so it was fine to have people passing at that point.

Once I finished I made sure I stretched and had some water, and then not long after Branka finished. I really liked their token sorting board (see photo below)- I do love it when you visit different parkruns and they have their own way of doing things.

We walked to the cafe (of course we ended up getting lost going there too) and found a table so that Holly and Lou could join us when they finished. The cafe was really nice (Northstowe Tap & Social), with lots of outdoor seating. They had the most enormous pastries that I have ever seen, but the only vegan option was banana bread (which was tasty- I had packed an emergency cereal bar in case they didn’t do anything), and of course oat milk for tea. We sat in the sunshine for ages- I regretted leaving my sunglasses in the car as it was quite overcast during parkrun but the cloud really burned away after.

Banana bread and Earl Grey with oat milk, the token sorting board and the finish area by the water

So that was location 119 for me, and my 373rd parkrun in total. I’ve not been to many Cambridgeshire events, just Pocket and Wimpole before this one. It did get me a nice big purple chunk on the Voronoi map!

Before the after- look at that big purple chunk!

How do you choose new events to visit?

Futakotamagawa parkrun, Tokyo, Japan

Japan has been on our list of places we’d love to go for a while, and once we booked flights I had said to Andy that I wanted to do one parkrun while we were away. We were away for 3 Saturdays, but the middle Saturday was already taken with Ghibli Park, so I had two others to play with. Thankfully Plan A worked out well, as the parkrun I was planning on visiting went ahead- they were cancelling if the heat index was forecast to be too high. Just the 33C before 8am!

For this part of the holiday we stayed in Shibuya (by the famous crossing) and Futakotamagawa parkrun was about a 20 minute train journey with no changes, so this looked to be the simplest one. I was quite anxious the night before about navigating on my own, as we had only arrived a few days before, and then this was not helped by an earthquake alert on our phones and then an actual earthquake. Anyway, to the morning…

Due to jet lag and feeling stressed I was awake before my 6am alarm, took my time getting ready (lots of suncream) and I packed a bottle of water with a rehydration tab in it, plus a t-shirt to change into for the journey back. Our hotel was a short walk from the train station, but the station itself is huge so I allowed plenty of time to get to the platform (there are just so many). Google Maps was a great help as it tells you the end station, direction, platform number and time of departure so you know you are on the correct train, and then once on the train the screens show the stations clearly in English, so the journey was all good.

I’d watched their You Tube video of how to walk to the start from the station, as the construction work around the river was ongoing, but as I walked I met one of the volunteers, who walked with me and another tourist, and we also saw a volunteer at one point (in front of the bike shop) directing us to the cut through to the river, so no worries about getting lost.

First timers and volunteers photo, and a photo by the artwork under the bridge (no purple pop ups here)

(I used a Suica card, which is a bit like a travel card but you get the app and save it in your apple wallet- you then don’t even need to unlock your phone as you go through the barriers, you just tap your phone on the barrier and it pops up on the screen that you have an active journey and the total amount of Yen on your card)

I was there with plenty of time (around 7:30 for the 8am start) so I chatted with some other runners- one guy had on a Dunstable running top and this is just up the road from where I live, so we chatted for a while. He was intrigued as to how I would get on a as a vegan in Japan (as I had on my VR visor)- he was vegan but was not going to be for his trip. This was only a few days in to the trip but it had been fine until then, and we were there for 3 weeks and didn’t have any issues.

Anyway, back to parkrun. They did the welcome in both English and Japanese, and took a photo of all of us before the main briefing which again was in English and Japanese. We also got interviewed by one of the volunteers- I thought he was taking our photo but then he asked us about our home parkruns, and if you follow them on facebook there is a link to their You Tube (the channel I’d used to see how to get there from the station) and a lovely cringey bit of video of me saying that I was not travelling with the two people I was chatting to, and that Panshanger is my home event.

Heading to the start and then a few mid run scenes.

The route seemed fairly simple- along a path, two laps around playing fields, back along the path, a little out and back section next to some tennis courts and then back to the bridge for the finish. Sounds a little complicated but it was simple and there were lots of cones, arrows and volunteers out.

I really enjoyed the course too- in one direction you could see back to Tokyo and the skyscrapers, but we ran alongside a nature reserve so you could hear the circardas (which was the soundtrack to our whole Japan trip) and I saw loads of swallows and little wagtail birds. There were people paying baseball and tennis, one part of the park had these small man-made boulders which might be for dog agility? Not sure. The volunteers were all so wonderful, cheering us all on. I was still trying to be confident in saying thank-you in Japanese (“arigatou gozaimasu” as just arigatou is a bit too informal) but I waved and smiled and clapped as I passed each one and they were all fantastic at cheering back. It was a real mix of Japanese locals and ex-pats who were on the team, participating and volunteering, and of course a few tourists as well as local first timers.

There was not much shade out there- just this small section (below) under the large tree, so it was quite brutal, but I loved it. I did stop and walk a few times to try to cool down, but also I didn’t want to take too long to finish as then I would be out in the sun for longer.

They also took photos of us and these were on facebook so I have a couple of me out on the course too which is always a real bonus.

They had a tail walker and a few walkers and run/walkers as well as runners, so I felt confident taking my time and trying not to overheat, although I did get a bit carried away in the final finish stretch and felt a bit dizzy when I stopped. I was wearing my Ellenbrook Fields vest and one of the scanners asked me about it as he knew of it, and I think I answered him quickly and then had to apologise and say I needed to get my water as I felt not great at that point, but I did soon recover once I had cooled down.

Red and sweaty face after I had finished, and my token, plus views of the bridge and river.

I cooled down in the shade for a bit before walking back to the train station. I changed into a clean t-shirt as I didn’t want to be all sweaty on the train back. The journey back was fine- I didn’t need maps to get me back to the station as I just retraced my steps and it was simple enough, and the train back was fine as that station only had one line and Google Maps made it very clear which platform I needed, but back at Shibuya I came out of a different entrance (there are so many) so when I was back at street level I realised I was quite a few blocks away from where I needed to be, but then I had my bearings and could get back to the hotel fine, it just took a bit longer! Andy had popped down to Starbucks and got me a blueberry bagel (plant based and delicious) and made me a cup of tea plus another water with a rehydration tab as the aim was to have as much liquid as possible!

Walking back to the station by the river/ changed to a dry top/ back at the hotel/ the train station by parkrun.

I loved getting the results email as it’s all in Japanese! I can see my time (32:57) and if I click to translate I can get more (eg I was 62/76 people).

Of course I had to check the 5K app and now I’ve got a little purple chunk in Tokyo, and a Japanese flag!

I am so glad I got to go along to this parkrun- the experience was really special, every volunteer was so welcoming and friendly (we experienced this with Japan as a whole- everywhere we went the people were wonderful), so thanks to everyone there!

So, my 9th country and again just a really special place to visit.

Wormwood Scrubs parkrun

Dad fancied some tourism, so I sent him a list of my ten NENDY’s and asked him to choose (apart from Walthamstow as Branka wants to go there and we should manage a joint trip at some point). He said Wormwood Scrubs had caught his eye, so that was decided!

My brother also wanted to come along, so we met at Dad’s at 7:30 for the journey that Google Maps said would be between 35-55 minutes. With that big variation, we wanted to leave lots of time free. I’d found in the parkrun tourist facebook group that there was free street parking, and the journey there was relatively straightforward with us getting to the parking spot at 8:15. We could take our time walking to the start, which is in the centre of the scrub land and not that obvious from the road. I had saved the location in my phone and we were following those directions but obviously it wants us to follow actual paths (or what it thinks are paths) and we ended up wandering through a few places that looked like they used to be paths, before coming out onto the open scrubland and seeing two other people dressed in running gear who pointed us in the right direction. I tracked it on Strava and the walk back (which was more direct) was 0.4 miles so it’s not far but it’s not right by the entrance either.

Walking to the start/ the misty buildings/ the start area with the flag and pop up

As we walked across it was drizzling a little and I was glad of my last minute decision to wear my hat. The tall buildings in the distance were fuzzy as the rain/cloud was so low, but later when it cleared up we could see them clearly.

Our “before” photos

Not long after arriving at the finish area and getting some photos the new runners welcome started. The RD was so positive and enthusiastic, and gave a great little speech about why the location was so unique- it hosts an area of SSI and animals including bats, snakes and lizards live there- very exciting indeed! I always forget we have snakes in the UK and it’s amazing to think that wildlife is clinging on in the centre of such a busy city.

Mid run views, bottom right is everyone walking to the start.

They then did the main briefing before we walked to the start- the course is just over two laps and although they all congregate at the finish area, they then walk back to the start position just before 9. The RD was very impressive in his briefing, naming all of the marshals in each spot and again talking a bit about how special the area was. He also mentioned that the old road running next to the park was part of the 1908 London Olympic marathon route, so that was quite cool to hear about while the Olympics were going on.

The route started on the green dot and was anticlockwise, so you did two laps and then the extra to where the finish is.

Suddenly we were off and both my dad and brother were ahead of me getting swept up in the faster runners! We did try to place ourselves further back but then some people who were walking were stood on the start line, and as it narrows quickly we didn’t want to get in the way, so my brother spent the whole run ahead of us whereas I managed to catch up to Dad and we then ran together. The course was really enjoyable- varied scenery with the scrubland, a little bit of wood, some Gaelic football pitches, and lots of twists and turns. The ground was rock had with big cracks in places, and a lot of it was single file running as the grass was long on either side (and we had been told that because it’s a nature reserve the landowners want to keep it that way). I was quite conscious of not twisting an ankle as a few times my foot would “give” a bit as I trod in an unseen hole, hidden by longer grass. It would be a proper cross country route in the winter but as we are used to both Panshanger and Jersey Farm which don’t really have paved paths, we enjoyed it. I had chosen to wear trail shoes which I think is a good option even in the summer due to the uneven ground.

We saw the RD a few times as we were running as he was walking parts of the course in the opposite direction, and he was so friendly each time, cheering us on and chatting to the marshals too. Again, an event with a really welcoming vibe.

The two and a bit laps whizzed by and soon we were being cheered on, being told we had 400m to go and then being cheered on again at the final corner.

Purple pop up picture post parkrun/ token photo

After scanning, we asked someone to take our post-parkrun photo (red faces all around) and then headed back to the car. We had thought we might get a drink from the cafe/ community centre, but it was at the other end of the park to where the car was, so in the end went straight back home where Mum cooked us pancakes (she is becoming an expert at vegan pancakes). Driving home we got to see a few places from Dad’s childhood including the street he lived in when he was born (briefly), the block of flats his uncle lived in and the school his cousins went to. That was unexpected and really added to the morning as well.

New section of the map has turned purple (which means I’ve been there)- I took the screenshot on the Friday in case the 5K app had problems again!

So that was my 370th parkrun, and event 117. Another London event ticked, although I don’t think I’l ever manage to visit them all.

To continue the parkrun theme, OH ladies had a volunteering takeover at juniors on the Sunday, with most of the roles being filled by our members. It was so lovely to see so many familiar faces and really felt like the good old days of EF parkrun, where you were guaranteed to know lots of people whenever you turned up.

When you are touring, what makes you choose a particular event?