Category: Travelling Tales

Brighton half is really one of my favourite races. I love any excuse to visit Brighton anyway, and the route by the sea is really pretty (although on a windy day it can of course be brutal). The crowd support is always great too- lots of people out supporting but not overwhelming.

Before (in the sunshine) and after parkrun (soaked through), pancakes and lovely Hove beach huts.

We headed down on the Friday night. After going to my running club’s Friday coffee run (I walked) I decided that I would do parkrun on the Saturday, but take it gently. Preston Park parkrun was slightly closer to the hotel, so I visited there for my 8th visit there. Although it’s not flat, it is a fast course but I started a long way back and tried to keep running steadily, finishing in 31:25. I started in bright sunshine but it tipped it down with rain on my last lap so I finished rather drenched. The sun at least came back out so I could head out for breakfast straight away (the recently discovered Nowhere Man does amazing vegan pancakes).

The rest of the day was a standard Brighton day (trying not to walk too much)- wandering down to Hove to see the beach huts and wandering around the shops, finishing with a pizza from Purezza as perfect pre-race food.

Bird and Blend visit of course, a walk to Hove, Purezza pizza

The weather had been forecast for wind and rain, so I was a bit apprehensive about that as I know I will heat up as I run, but being cold at the start is always really horrible, plus if you get wet it can be hard to warm up.

Smiling at the start, the guy with the surfboard and a few mid-race photos

Thankfully on the Sunday morning it actually started off as being sunny but cold. I was just happy that it was dry! Andy took my jacket for me at the last possible moment, and I kept my gloves with me along with a buff that I could put around my neck if needed rather than my wrist. I was really cold stood in the starting pen, and for some reason the race started late by around 10/15 minutes (something about waiting for the route to be clear)- they set off the wheelchair racers but then didn’t start any other waves for a while, and this didn’t help because I got quite cold and it took me a few miles to warm up again. I hadn’t any plans for specific times so I just wanted to run on feel, and managed to not look at my watch while I was running at all.

See below for the course- you start in the middle, head east along and up the coast, then back down to the centre, do a small loop past the pavilion and around a park, then west along the coast towards Hove, then finally east back to the centre again.

The wind was starting to pick up as we headed up the coast. The route then comes back down towards the city centre and of course you don’t feel the wind when it’s behind you (apart from blowing your hair in your face the whole time).

The section through the city was more sheltered and I enjoyed reading the signs, looking at all the charity vests and other runners. Once along the coast I could feel the wind buffeting us a bit more, already knowing that the final 3 miles heading back into the wind would be tough. At one point I was overtaken and swallowed up briefly by the 2 hour pacer group (I knew there was no way I’d manage that time but expected it to be ahead of me) and then later by a guy carrying a surfboard and wearing flip flops. Actual flip flops.

The rain still held off, and at around 10 miles the route turns back with the final 3 miles heading back along the coast, and I am not kidding when, as you turned, pretty much every runner groaned or said something about the wind. It was really strong and we were running right into it. Looking at my Strava was quite funny as all of my miles up to that point were 9:something, but that immediately dropped for the final few miles. This was head down and get it done. I also got really cold at that point- from being all sweaty from running, to being chilled by the wind was hard. I also had to stop and use the toilets- I thought I needed to go at the start but this is usually psychological and is fine when I run, but this time I still needed to go and would rather use the real toilets rather than the port-a-loos at the finish. It was also so nice to be briefly in the warm (well, sheltered from the wind), and even better, the water was warm! Just one mile to go (and a bit) after that!

It was tough running into the wind, and although I still enjoyed running by the sea, that last mile was just a get it done mile rather than an enjoyable one. I was very glad to finally reach the finish line and see a foil blanket as I was really cold by that point.

Mid run photo (smile to trick yourself into thinking it’s OK/ at the end with my coat

It’s then tricky as you have to try and get out of the finish area but the path next to it is really narrow. Andy had come to meet me (with my coat- hooray) but it probably took nearly half an hour to get out of the finish area and to the pier where he was. We had originally planned to stop for lunch but I was so cold I just wanted to get back to the hotel, so Andy went to get us some lunch (Oowee burgers and marmite waffle fries) and I went to get a mega latte from Bird and Blend on my way back. I realised that we didn’t even get a banana at the finish line- you did get a can of water (bonus for being recyclable) and a few bits in the goodie bag but the only vegan thing was a bag of energy chews so not really for after.

Medal, marmite waffle fries and mega latte (vegan version)

After lunch (and a shower) we popped out for a little walk but it hammered it down so I was even more glad that the rain had held off until after the race had ended.

The most delicious croissant for Monday breakfast, a little walk, topping up tins of tea and a movie once home.

On Monday we popped out for breakfast before heading home- it was really good not to rush back on Sunday afternoon. As always, a great weekend where we packed a lot in over the few days.

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!

As mentioned previously, we had a weekend in London and so of course I had a look to see if I could visit a new parkrun. I’ve been to some of the most central ones, and not knowing the underground map it took a bit of time looking at course pages to see one that I could get to via the tube. I settled on Clapham Common as I could get to it from the Northern Line to Clapham Common station (although afterwards someone let me know that Clapham South was nearer the start/finish area and on the same line). After briefly going the wrong way to the tube (Borough station is not that near to Borough market it seems) I got there with plenty of time to spare, and was happy when I came out of the station and saw the Caution Runners signs very quickly. However the actual start area was nearly a mile from the station, right on the other side of the park. There were loads of runners heading in that general direction, but I was glad I’d left plenty of time as I got there just in time for the new runners welcome. This was delivered in a very entertaining way, with an interactive element- the volunteer would say “we have two laps. How many laps?” and we would all have to say “two” etc.

They asked people to line up in order of finish times, although there were not actual signs (Preston Park in Brighton have signs out in the start area which is very helpful), but then when the RD spoke I could not hear them at all- there was so much chatting and despite several runners shouting “quiet” people were just not paying attention. In the new runners welcome they had warned us of roots and low hanging branches, so I was glad I’d listened as I could not hear the main briefing at all.

The course is two laps of the perimeter of the park- very flat but as it was so busy (and with tree roots) not one to aim for a fast time I don’t think. I was there to enjoy the experience, but I think if I was aiming for a faster time I would have been quite stressed as it didn’t even thin out on my second lap. At times it felt like runners were making up their own routes across the park- there would be 4 or 5 paths being created by runners rather than everyone following one path, and I had no idea if I was on the correct one or not! You can sort of see this in the photo above- there are runners to the far left of where I was running, and two other paths on the right of me, as well as the one I was on at that point.

I didn’t get lapped but I did hear the first finisher head in just as I started my second lap. As I got to the finish line, the funnel was full and backing out onto the course (again, I don’t mind this but if you were aiming for a certain time it could be a bit frustrating). I was very surprised that they didn’t have a double funnel, as other events with similar amounts of participants do. On the week I was there, they had just under a thousand people taking part (and if you added in the nearly 50 volunteers, it would have been over a thousand). The funnel was out, back and out again. The guy in front of me tried to let me go in front of him, as it turned out he was with the guy behind me. I just said something about keeping in order, but then as they chatted I realised that it was their first one, so I explained how the barcodes and tokens worked. They then could see why I needed to keep in order. We had a nice chat about the various London parkruns that they could head to in the ten minutes ish that we were in the funnel for!

I did like their token sorting buckets, clearly labelled for each lot of 100 tokens.

Zig zag finish funnel, token sorting and of course the purple sign picture.

I couldn’t hang around after as I needed to get back for the hotel breakfast. We then had a busy day in London, walking all the way to Camden (8 miles), having a late lunch/early dinner at Purezza and going to see the moon exhibition in Southwark Cathedral.

The cup again makes an appearance at Bird and Blend- one day a pumpkin spiced latte and one day an Earl Grey Creme latte (basically a London Fog).

(Not the best vegan options in the hotel so when we saw that Buns from Home did a vegan cinnamon bun I got one to supplement my fruit and yoghurt).

Seeing the moon, and total step count from Saturday!

This summer we were off to Florida with Andy’s family- there were ten of us in total (including 3 kids) and it was a fantastic, but very different holiday to usual. We were away for several Saturdays, but only had a car for a couple of them. Andy had agreed to drive me to the parkrun once, and so I got to return to Clermont Waterfront parkrun (as I had been there last summer too).

Their facebook page said they would be on the alternative course for that Saturday, but it started in the same place, Lake Hiawatha Preserve which is to the west of Lake Minneola. They start at 7:30am (sensible due to the heat and humidity) and it was around a 45 minute drive away, so we were in the car at 6:30. The main course is an out and back along the waterfront by the lake, on fantastic foot and cycle paths. As we drove alongside there at around 7:10, there were loads of runners out. I had an absolute panic that I had missed the start, worried that they had changed to 7am rather than 7:30, and worried that we had got up early and driven all that way for nothing. Andy noticed that they had bibs on, as I frantically googled the course to confirm the 7:30am start time. It turned out that I did not need to panic, because there was a triathlon taking place on their normal route (hence the alternative course) and so all the runners we could see were doing the triathlon. Panic over. I had time once we had parked to run over to the toilet block, before heading to the start area. They even had helpful signs at the normal start/finish place, directing you over the road, back through the car park and to the alternative start/finish area. (You could see this from the car park, but it was very helpful nonetheless).

Views of the waterfront at sunrise, the park map and the helpful sign showing parkrunners where to go.

The alternative course was two (and a little bit) laps under trees and on trails. You had to watch out for tree roots as they were plentiful, but the route was fairly flat and the paths were packed firmly so it was a nice surface to run on. The shade was very much appreciated- Orlando was having it’s hottest week since records began, being in the low thirties as soon as the sun was up and with the crazy high humidity it was pretty tough to be outside.

Before running, after the panic! And the walk to the lake.

They only had two marshals out on the course- both near the start/finish area making sure people didn’t trip on the edges of the paths. The rest of the course was marked with little flags (the small flags on little wires that are often used on building sites), and it was fairly busy with 143 runners that day. It’s well established (and had celebrated it’s 10th birthday a few weeks prior to my visit), so I thought I could keep the person ahead in sight and be OK. The first lap went fine, and then partway through the second route I realised that I hadn’t seen any of the little flags for a while. The person up ahead had pulled away from me and was not in my view, so I stopped and started to retrace my steps. Two people who were behind me (using my tactic of following the person in front) asked me what I was doing, so I explained that I’d not seen the flags and thought I’d gone wrong. They retraced their steps with me, but another runner ran past in our original direction, indicating that we were on the right track. We then followed him for a bit, before deciding to go back to the last place we’d seen the flags. Thankfully it wasn’t far before I could see runners looping around, but in looking at my Strava after, had I continued I am not sure I would have rejoined the route.

With the flag at the start area, and all the flags in the finish funnel and my token.

As I was coming towards the finish, another runner asked me where to go- she was a bit confused by them telling us to pass the finish line 3 times (as it was two full loops and a bit, and you started a bit further back from the finish, passing it after a few minutes- see the map below). I explained to her to run to the marshal, follow the path around and then go through the finish, and she then put on an amazing sprint to speed ahead of me at the finish funnel! Looking on the results it was her first ever parkrun so I hope she enjoyed it and returns. As I ran through the finish funnel, the lady giving out the tokens asked me where Ellenbrook Fields was (I was wearing my EF vest) and I said Hertfordshire. “Ooh, posh” she replied in a Yorkshire accent, and I realised that I’d spoken to her last year too! I mentioned it to her and she laughed (last year she had asked me and I’d said near London, which usually seems to be enough info for Americans, but she was an ex pat and wanted more info). A bit of a coincidence but also lovely to see that it is a proper community and not just full of tourists.

Even with the getting lost, I somehow managed a course pb of 32:47 (vs 33:58 in 2022). I think the shade really helped! Also, this was a couple of weeks into our holiday and I’d been running regularly around the hotel grounds, so was a bit more acclimatised to running in the humidity, as opposed to last year where it was our first Saturday and I’d not run at all there.

My full up wrist with Garmin, parkrun barcode and Magic Band (needed to unlock the hotel room), flags at the finish funnel and a sweaty face after running!

After finishing, I took a few photos and then walked back to the car to find Andy. I cannot convey how sweaty I got running in that humidity- even my legs were pouring with sweat! Thankfully we had brought a towel for me to sit on (last year I sat on my buff in the car on the way back which didn’t do much!). We always pack little rehydration tabs to take with us to Florida, and I’d added one to some water to take with me, so as Andy drove back I drank it up and gradually cooled down.

Another enjoyable parkrun morning, and with the early start it meant being back super early for a shower and breakfast.