Tag: parkrun challenges

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?

Great Dunmow parkrun

Guess which song I had in my head all the way around this parkrun? Clue? Two women went to mow, went to Dunmow parkrun, two women, one woman and her koala top, went to Dunmow parkrun….

Did you get it?

Anyway, back to parkrunday. I picked up Branka and we drove to parkrun. It took just under an hour and was fairly simple (following the satnav and also a coach with Great Dunmow written on it- very handy to check we were in the right direction! We parked at the leisure centre (free) which was suggested on the course page. It was a huge car park and at 8:30 had plenty of spaces. When we returned it was more full but still fine. We then had a walk down to the start- the directions on the course page were very clear (at one point we had to walk for 635 metres) and we could see the parkrun through a gap in the hedge.

I had watched a little run through on You Tube of the route (Branka had sent me a link to Mark Runs), and I had noticed their huge pop up “Finish” sign. This was a parkrun with all the pop ups. They had their old large pop up, the new mini one (both with Start on one side and Great Dunmow on the other) and then a huge one with Start and Finish on each side. I’ve never seen one of these before- from some googling it looks as if they are older signs from before the event pop ups were introduced.

Start as seen from the road/ main briefing/ giant pop up and Christmas in July top!

I listened to the first timers welcome while Branka checked out the facilities, and then we listened to the main briefing. It was a really friendly event and even in those few minutes I chatted to a few people at the start. I had opted for trail shoes due to the terrain being mostly grass and unpaved paths. I think road shoes would have been OK in the summer on a dry day, but I prefer trail shoes if the ground is a bit uneven so it was the right choice for me here.

A few scenes from the run, including the pink flowers and marshal.

It wasn’t long before we were off. I decided to run and Branka was walking. It was a hot day so we did need to take it gently. I really enjoyed the route of this. It was two laps with the first lap being slightly longer, but after a few hundred metres I had no idea which way I was facing. I think I saw the same marshal twice as he must have gone through a gap in the hedge to direct further on, but I am not 100% sure on this. There was some shade on the course, and some lovely open wide sections where you could see runners in the distance. Parts were around playing fields, but other parts were through slightly less manicured parkland, with paths mown through the long grass. We ran alongside a little stream, there were huge tall pink wildflowers at points (matching perfectly the pink high viz of the volunteer stood by them) and even a twisty section through some woods where you had to watch for tree roots and long stinging nettles. I really enjoyed it. The wide open parks gave me vibes of Bury Fields, the laps, wooded section and friendliness made me think of Canons Park, and the mix of playing fields and more wild areas made me think of Pocket parkrun.

Here’s the route- I had no idea where I was most of the time but really loved it!

I was wearing my parkrun adventurers koala top, for Christmas in July, and in December and July they have an Ugly Christmas Singlet or Shirt day at parkrun, and this happened to be that day. I did get a few comments from marshals on the way around and had to explain “Christmas in July” as I ran past!

Finish area at the end/ my red face matching my red top about 10 minutes after I had finished!/ giant pop up and finish token

You can see above how much bigger the finish pop up is compared to the location pop up! As I was scanning, one of the people from the new runner briefing had scanned and was asking about what happened next, so I explained that he would get the text or email later on. I jokingly was offered a volunteer credit by one of the scanners! Once I had put my token away I walked over to find the toilets (very close to the start but in a separate building to the pavilion) and did some stretches. One of the timers then called me over as she wanted to know about my koala top, so we ended up chatting. Branka had checked our pop up photo en route and realised that it had missed off the bottom of the word, so we took a new version to make sure it was captured!

As you can almost see, the location was missed off the sign at first (below) so we took a new one after (above).

Breakfast- Branka had scrambled tofu and I had cinnamon roll pancakes

After chatting a little more to the timers, we headed back up to the car park, admiring many of the thatched cottages on the way. It is a very pretty part of the country. We then drove to Letchworth for brunch (I cannot resist a visit to Vutie Beets). Last time I could not decide between the cinnamon or fruit pancakes, and as I was deciding they ran out of the cinnamon ones, so I went for those this time. I was a bit worried the ice cream would give me a bit of a sugar coma (even if I go to the waffle house I don’t have ice cream- it seems a bit much usually)- but I think with the heat it was good to have something cool, plus it was not too big of a scoop. They were delicious anyway and I am very glad I had them.

If you were anywhere on social media at the weekend you would have seen that the 5k app was down. I had taken my screenshot of the “before” map on Friday, but had to wait for the update to be able to do the “after”. Great Dunmow has a nice big section on the map so it was very satisfying to see it.

I wasn’t sure how many of the Essex parkruns I’ve done, so I had a look on the excellent Blog 7t, and it turns out that Gunpowder, Harlow, Hatfield Forest (which is sadly now not on any more) and Roding Valley are also Essex, so I’ve done 5 of them. As it goes all the way to the coast I am not sure it’s realistic to aim to complete them all, but it’s fun to have a look at these challenges to see.

All in all, a great morning out.

Have you ever seen one of those huge pop ups before? Are you into collecting parkrun “sets”?

I did all the Brighton ones, and then looked at sort of doing the Southampton ones although it is less clear cut as to where the boundaries are for those ones. I did Herts and all the Beds ones, but other neighbouring counties go a bit far out so I don’t know how realistic they would be.

A panic jog to wonderful Southall parkrun

I’m not aiming for Lon-done because there are so many, but lots of my NENDY’s are now in London and so I am gradually making a dent in that section of the map.

I was not sure where to go and Branka was free and fancied ticking off another London event, and suggested Southall. This wasn’t particularly on my radar, but I rewatched the With Me Now video and this made me really look forward to it.

Branka had booked a Just Park spot right by the park at 8:30, and picked me up just after 7:30 to give us loads of time to get there. All was going well and we were having a lovely catch up in the car, but then we ended up taking a wrong turn (all those roundabouts underneath underpasses are so confusing) and headed up the M1 for a bit. Thankfully there was a services that we could turn around in, but this meant we didn’t arrive at the parking space until 8:45. We were both happy to miss the first timers welcome, and though that 15 minutes would be plenty of time to get to the park. However, we had not banked on our sense of direction (or lack of). If you know me or have read this previously, you will probably know that I am not great with directions. Never mind, I’ve learnt how to use live view on Google Maps. Only for some reason the route took us in a bit of a circle, with us running up and down the same street and retracing our steps for a bit, even when Branka tried her apple maps. When we finally reached the park it was 9am and we could see the parkrun being started. Panic jog indeed!

A few photos taken as we walked around during the event.

However, this is an absolute parkrun gem, and as we got closer the marshals pointed us to the start, and told us we could catch up with the “person in orange” (tail walker)- we headed past the start/finish area and all the volunteers cheered us on. We were run/walking as Branka is recovering from an injury, and at one point were overtaken by another runner who was late to the start. We had probably gone around a km (we could always see the tail walker and were gradually catching her up) when she turned around and began walking back to us. The person who had overtaken us had told her, and she had come back for us. Honestly, it was such a kind gesture. We ended up chatting to her a fair bit on the way around too (hopefully she will come to Panshanger soon as it was on her list but she was put off by stories of how bad the parking can be)- she was so lovely as she chatted to us a lot but also chatted to the marshals, cheered on runners as they headed past and collected the cones etc on our final lap.

As well as the most wonderful tail walker (above), this event had such a welcoming team of volunteers. All of the marshals on the route were fantastic and there was lots of chat between participants and volunteers which added to the community feel.

When we finished we of course had the purple pop up sign photo (and were photo bombed by one of the volunteers), were offered chocolates, admired their token sorting board (below) and chatted to a few of the team. It was so wonderful.

As Branka had the parking space until 10:30, we had a wander around the park for a bit, visiting the globe sculpture and again chatted to a few locals walking through the park. The park itself is wonderful too- so varied with lots of wildflower areas, a community orchard, a recently re-created pond, some brilliant looking playgrounds for kids, outdoor fitness equipment – so much packed into a small area. Yes on paper it’s three laps of a small patch of greenery in a built up area, but it’s so much more than that.

Our journey home was more uneventful, just more catching up on parkrun plans as usual!

So, that was my 365th parkrun (one for every day of a year!), and my 115th different location, and ticked off another London event. There are so many that I only gained a small purple chunk on my map!

Before and after! Spot the difference…

Have you turned up late to a parkrun before? The only time this has happened to me before was when I was in Dublin and got lost, then got a taxi, and arrived at 9:40 when thankfully the briefing was still going on! I was cutting it close when I went to Southwark but I was there for the briefing so that was fine.

A Panshanger parkrun sandwich before The Foo Fighters!

That says it all really! I wanted to keep to a local parkrun because we were off to London later on, and as I am working on my single-ton (100 at one event), I opted for a parkrun sandwich to Panshanger. It’s an OK distance to run (a little over 2 miles each day) and it’s nice to do a little further on a Saturday. If I go to Jersey Farm we’d have the walk there and back, but I’ve not been there for ages, so have usually been driving to parkruns instead.

It was slightly overcast but I decided on sunglasses as it was meant to be sunny later. I should have worn a visor too though.

OH ladies selfie and then views on the parkrun route

The run there is mainly through fields and woods so it’s a lovely peaceful start to the day. Once I was at Panshanger I met up with a few fellow OH ladies and we had a little catch up. Most of them were walking but I was going to run slowly so headed off at the start.

The run was enjoyable but uneventful- I took a fair few photos on the way around as the park is just so pretty. At one point the view in front of me was half blue skies and half dark grey clouds- a sign of things to come!

Token and purple pop up sign

Once I had finished and scanned, I spent a few minutes looking at the people scanning in their 250 tops- they just looked a bit different to my top but I can’t put my finger on why. I am not sure if mine has just faded over time, or the fabric is slightly different. The sky was getting darker so I started running home, and when I was in the woods it absolutely bucketed it down- the trees offered a little shelter but not much. By the time I was out of the woods and in the fields, it had stopped raining so I think I had timed it pretty well.

Later in the day we headed into London to see the Foo Fighters. We ended up driving as the part of the train line we needed was closed for engineering works, and the drive took ages and we were at a standstill for so long. They were at the Olympic Park so we parked at Westfield. I was surprised at how busy it was there- we ended up getting a quick sandwich in Starbucks for dinner (and shared a Crosstown doughnut) and then had to make our way to the stadium.

Heading to the stadium, earplugs and crosstown

The concert was brilliant, and I tried out loop earplugs for the first time. I had begun noticing more ringing in my ears after going to see various bands, and when we saw Ash in that tiny venue we were so close to the speakers and I was actually a bit worried about causing damage. I was so impressed with how well they worked- at one point I inched them out a bit to hear the difference, and it really dulled the extra sounds so you could hear the actual music better.

Views from the concert- loved it!

So, that was parkrun number 364, and my 96th at Panshanger. That single-ton is getting closer!