Running - Maria Runs

Royal Parks Half marathon 2022

At the end of August, someone in my running club was keen to transfer their Royal Parks place to someone else, as they had a marathon the weekend before and the weekend after. I’ve applied for the ballot a few times, but never been successful, so I decided to go for it.

After and then before!

As it started at 9 (and there were possibly train strikes), we stayed in London the night before, so I did Panshanger parkrun first and then we headed into London in the afternoon.

Panshanger parkrun scenes

Hyde Park, Crosstown (one each for Saturday and one each for Sunday), steps and a pumpkin spice latte from Bird and Blend.

Of course we had to go to Crosstown- excitingly we went to the all-vegan one in Soho which meant I could choose from anything! Although it was sad news that they no longer do the Pip and Nut Almond Butter scroll one. We had to walk to the race village to pick up my race number, which apparently was posted (but in mid-November it has still not arrived). Between walking there, walking to Crosstown and walking to Bird and Blend I somehow managed 40,000 steps- possibly not ideal the day before a half!

The morning of the race was beautiful- cold but blue skies and no wind- perfect. The race village was really organised, and you only got into your starter pens a few minutes before the start- until then you were in the village and they called each colour pen. In my training I’d not run as many long runs as I would have liked, due to fitting the long runs around junior parkrun, so I was aiming for anything around 2 hour 15 mark. I ended up around the 2hr 10 pacer for most of the run, (although of course it’s chip time and I think they started behind me) so I was pleased with 2:15:29 as my final time. I only looked at my watch once at the half way point, and tried to run on feel. I took photos as I ran around, and really made the most of seeing all of the London landmarks. I really enjoyed the part in the park, even though it felt as if we looped back a lot, I liked looking out for runners going in the other direction.

I hadn’t sorted the app or anything, and Andy was going to meet me at the finish, so I put an air tag in my pocket so he could see where I was. This worked well until I got close to the finish area, as then it was so busy, none of the mobile networks were working. I managed to find him quickly.

I chose to have a tree planted instead of getting a finishers t-shirt, and we were quickly given water (in a can), a banana (hooray), medal (made of wood), a buff, a reusable bag (which I use loads as it folds up neatly into a pocket so is really handy) and a teddy, and then the t-shirt people were directed one way and the tree people another way. Later on I received an email with a photo of my sapling and the what three words showing where it is planted (somewhere in Scotland). I really loved that aspect and hope that more races follow that lead.

We paid £10 to get a late 2pm checkout (Premier Inn), so we headed back to the hotel and I had time for a shower before we checked out. Mildred’s was around the corner so we went there for lunch, although I ended up having their blueberry pancakes and a delicious carrot, apple and ginger juice. So good.

I think I spent the rest of the afternoon on the sofa catching up on Disney movies and Taskmaster! All in all a great weekend. I am not sure I’d do it again as it was expensive to stay in London, but I am so glad that I got to experience it one year.

parkwalking at parkrun!

As you know, I absolutely love parkrun and would really encourage anyone to go along. There is always a tail walker, so you will never finish last, but I think the worry of being near the back still puts people off.

Enter the parkwalk initiative! Initially for their birthday month of October, it now seems set to stay which I think is fantastic. I was at Panshanger a lot during September and October (3 in September and 2 in October) and on one of those days I volunteered at parkwalker. I ran there and back for my usual parkrun sandwich.

Moving my plait so you can see the writing on the back!

When I arrived it turned out I was the first person to put on the new blue bib! There was a prompt card to look at- basically my job was to walk around the course, chat to other walkers and stay ahead of the tail walker. Much easier than the tail walker role as at Panshanger the tail walker has a walkie-talkie and has to check in with the RD at various points and also collect up signs and cones.

A few of my club mates were doing the London marathon the day after, so they had come along to walk as well, and so it turned out to be a really great occasion.

I walked with one of my club mates (Nicola), while a few others walked a bit quicker ahead of us.

It helped that it was a gorgeous day, and Panshanger park was looking glorious in early autumnal sunshine. But it was wonderful to walk around and chat. We stayed fairly far ahead of the tail walker, getting to the end in 53 minutes with the tail walker finishing at 57 minutes. I think this would encourage people to walk, as we did not have the feeling that the event was being closed down as we passed.

I have seen some negative comments online regarding the time that volunteers will be out for, but as the park walkers need to keep ahead of the tail walker I don’t think this will be an issue. The more we can encourage people to be active and enjoy outdoor spaces, the better.

Have you taken part in parkwalk?

Harlow parkrun

During September I was mainly visiting Panshanger parkrun due to various factors (Dad being away so not visiting Jersey Farm, not having the car so needing to go to one I can get to on foot), but I also fancied a bit of tourism. I know I won’t be getting to my Cowell (100 different events) this year, but I am inching closer.

I was looking on the 5K app (now that the tourist tool seems to be gone) and noticed Harlow parkrun (not to be confused with Harrow parkrun). It isn’t new, but for some reason I had not scrolled in that direction before. It was around a 25 min drive so one weekend in September I headed off on a solo tourist trip.

It was very easy to find following the course page directions. The car park was right by the start- the car park is in a dip and the park is sort of around and above it, so I headed up and out (with the exit on my right) and saw the parkrun sign straight away. I was there fairly early so did a short warm up run but as it’s quite twisty I ended up going back on myself a bit.

The course sounded a little confusing, but it is basically two non identical laps, with the second lap being slightly shorter (and avoiding “the hill” of the golf course section (which isn’t in their winter course- a course that seemingly the regulars prefer). There was an out and back lollipop section too, but really just think of it as two laps. It was well signed and with lots of marshals.

It was a really good day weather wise- the beginning of autumn, so I took it fairly steadily and stopped for photos as I ran around. I can’t believe that I’d not been there before, as I think it’s been going on for a similar amount of time to Panshanger. Of course being able to run to a local one is fab, but this was a short drive.

So, my 88th venue visited. Slowly getting closer to the big 100 venues!

Stevenage 10K 2022

My Dad was quite keen to run another 10K race, as he had not run one since before lockdown. I looked around for a local race and found the Stevenage 10k, one neither of us had done before. It was on a weekend that we could both manage, so I signed us up as his birthday present.

It was a low key club run event- turn up in the morning and pick up your number, parking right by the race start, a little cake stand and coffee van in the field and free kids races too. Perfect. My mum came along too- they picked me up and then we headed up there.

Before and after, and my vegan cupcake!

Dad said to me that he had three aims- to finish, to run the whole way and to finish in under an hour. In the end we managed the first 2, but came in just over the hour (1 hour and 46 seconds). I was keeping an eye on my watch and we stopped for the water station half way around. There was a fairly long hill that neither of us was expecting, (from mile 4 to mile 5, so a mile of uphill) and I know our pace slowed there. But really we enjoyed running the whole thing together. Mum was there at the finish, we picked up our free cake (they had a selection of vegan cakes and bless my mum, she had gone to ask the person at the stand what the vegan options were for me while we were running) and headed home where we had tea and chatted together for ages. It was such a nice morning. Those local races are my favourite, and to be able to run with my dad is just so special.

What type of races do you like? Does anyone in your family run with you?

Clermont Waterfront parkrun- reclaiming my USA flag!

Back in 2015 I ran at Crissy Fields parkrun in San Francisco (my first parkrun tourism as I’d only run at St Albans and Panshanger before then), but sadly it has since closed, and this meant that on the fab parkrun challenges chrome extension I lost my USA flag, as only current events show there.

I’ve wanted to run at Clermont Waterfront for years, but have never managed to sort the logistics (our last 2 Florida holidays were for one week and so the only Saturday was the Saturday that we were leaving, and one of those was spent with us taking part in a Run Disney event). But this time, it all worked out! We flew into Tampa on the Tuesday morning, and had a hire car for the first week, and Andy had agreed to drive me.

So, logistics first. There’s not public transport available, and it was around a 35/40 minute drive from where we were staying (just to the west of the WDW gates). WDW covers a huge area so depending on where you are staying it could take much longer. I had looked at ubers before, but I don’t have roaming so would not be able to get one for the way back. Car seems to be the only real way of getting there. It starts at 7:30am due to the heat, so something else to remember!

Sunrise on arrival and the flags at the finish funnel

The directions on the website were excellent. I had read that they had two different routes, and was slightly worried after reading a post on the UK parkrun tourist facebook page where the people ended up on the wrong side of the lake, but I needn’t have worried. They use the same car park for both routes, and the Lake Hiawatha Preserve car park was easy to find via google maps. We double checked that the route matched up with their directions (West on HWY 50/ Turn right onto 12th Street) and all was good. I wanted to get there in plenty of time, so we left at around 6.30am and arrived just after 7am, as the sun was rising over the lake. Beautiful.

With regards to facilities, there was a big car park opposite the start, and just down from the start was a block containing toilets, as well as drinking water fountains. These blocks were repeated along the lake shore too.

There were no worries about finding the start- I could see the parkrun flag from the turning into the car park and the finish funnel had already been set up, decorated with flags from all over the world.

Run briefing, sign on the path and a few views from the start

So, onto the morning! As the sun was just coming up, we walked to the lake to watch it (and look for alligators), and then I wandered over to the start area. I chatted to a few people who turned out to be locals, and then listened to the new runners welcome. It was a simple out and back route, with a downward slope before the turnaround point to help you work out where it would be.

I decided to have a quick dash to the toilets before it started, as I had more water than usual before we left (because it was just so hot and humid there)- at around 7:23 am I was deciding if I had enough time, but the blocks were so close and no queues so it was all fine and I was back before the main briefing started.

It was lovely to have lots of tourists as it felt like a holiday event, but equally there were lots of locals there too- a nice balance. There were lots of runners from the Clermont triathlon club and from Clermont runners listed on the results. Fun fact- someone in my running club did a triathlon there. I asked her about alligators and she said that they had put food on the bank on the other side to tempt them over, and also there were trained marksmen in boats while they swam (a few km- not just a dash in the water either)- I do not think that would convince me!

Leading up to this, we’d been in Florida for a few days but I am not sure how well I ever adjust to the heat. It was mid to high 30’s with such high humidity (average is 80% but it had been much higher that week) that I knew I just had to run gently to finish it. This was a run to enjoy the scenery and not a run to go for a specific time. One of the regular runners asked me if I had run in Florida before- I think they were worried about Brits abroad struggling and underestimating the heat/ humidity combo.

Anyway, we were soon off and I was just loving the scenery. Running by water is always fantastic, and this was no different. The path was wide, with 4 lanes marked on it- the outside two for walkers/runners and the inside two for cyclists. It was busy with other people as well as parkrunners, but it soon thinned out.

Look how beautiful!

I kept the steady pace, and took a few photos while I was running. The path started off being shady, but then the trees disappeared and I was thankful of my sunglasses (and wishing I’d remembered my visor). I didn’t see any marshals on the way, and at one point felt slightly lost as there were a few paths to choose from, with runners and walkers on all of them. I chose to keep closest to the lake, which turned out to be correct, and I soon saw the 2 mile sign pointed in the opposite direction so I knew I was still in the correct place. There was a marshal at the turnaround point (a very enthusiastic one it must be said) and there were more signs on the way back. Near to the part where I nearly got lost was a sign with an arrow showing parkrunners to go straight one. I could have done with that on the way!

As it was an out and back, lots of the faster runners were heading back before I reached the turnaround point, and lots of them were waving and being very friendly – it had a good atmosphere. I was feeling the humidity by that point so made myself stop and take a few photos every now and then. I didn’t want to get to the point where I just wanted it to be over, because I’d looked forward to it for so long.

Coming towards the finish funnel was brilliant, as lots of people who had finished were hanging about and cheering the runners in. There was a board to hold (rather than a selfie frame) saying “I completed Clermont Waterfront parkrun”- I took the photo for someone else and then asked if the next person would take mine for me- it turned into a little queue!

So, that was my 87th different location, parkrun number 282, and as mentioned previously, I have reclaimed my USA flag!

I was absolutely drenched in sweat- I’ve never seen my top so wet through. I had worn a buff on my wrist which I used to frequently wipe my face, but I had to sit on it on the car journey back! My time was 33:58, which for a flat course is on the slow side for me, but I think I was sensible because I was not used to running in that heat. We had packed some rehydration tabs to take with us anyway, so I’d put one in a bottle of water and put that in the car so I could drink it on the way back to the hotel.

Do you have any parkruns on your bucket list?