parkrun tourism - Maria Runs

Peacehaven parkrun for my Brighton NENDY

I was down in Brighton for the half marathon weekend, and our hotel was less than a mile along the seafront to Hove Prom parkrun. However, when I put it in my planner on the 5k app, it said it was cancelled that day. (This turned out to be because the half marathon had a new start and finish area on Hove Lawns- Andy noticed this by chance as otherwise we could have easily turned up at the wrong place on Sunday!)

So, where to go? Preston Park was also within reach, but would have meant a longer walk there and back, and I was meant to be resting my legs ahead of the half marathon. I looked on the 5k app and noticed my Brighton NENDY was Peacehaven parkrun, 11km from Brighton city centre, and an easy looking bus ride away, so it was decided. Happily, an OH lady (Jan) had moved down to Brighton and said she would be there on Saturday morning too!

*Views from the coast at Peacehaven, the park (which had a parkrun symbol on it!), bus stop and the scene as you enter the park.*

The buses were every 20 mins or so on Saturday morning, so of course I didn’t get the latest bus, or the one before that, in case there were any issues or I missed one, so I ended up getting the bus at 7:45 which got me into Peacehaven at around 8:10. The weather was beautiful- frosty and bright, so I had a little detour down to the seafront before heading up to the park. I had left my sunglasses in the hotel as our room overlooked an atrium, and the weather app told me it was misty. It was definitely sunny so that helped with my decision to wear my sunglasses on the Sunday for the half.

It was very easy to to find from the main road, and as soon as you arrived in the park you could see the high viz, the finish funnel and lots of signs. Perfect. I got a selfie with the pop up, and then a local couple began chatting to me about parkrun tourism in general (seeing me take the photo made them assume I was a tourist). Soon after, Jan arrived, and then I also chatted to Nadiah who I follow on insta (Hoopy Vegan Runner).

*Pop up selfies and a picture with Jan, a view from the run and the first timers welcome sign*

The event had such a friendly vibe. I feel like I say this a lot, but honestly every person who spoke to me was so friendly (including the tail walker who was dressed head to toe in gold sparkly clothes as it was her 50th milestone the previous week, and she had ordered the outfit, only for it to arrive on Saturday afternoon, so she decided to wear it this week instead- fab), and it just had such community vibes. The new runners welcome was done jointly between an adult and child (the same child set the runners off and was also barcode scanning at the end), and the main briefing was filled with lots of personal touches, eg celebrating locals birthdays etc.

The route- start with the out and back, then do the loop, and repeat 3 times.

The route was lovely too. It was three laps, and each lap had an out and back section and then a loop, so you could often see lots of other participants at different places (which I love), it was pretty flat and all on paths apart from the finish funnel which was on grass (no mud though which was a welcome change from the past few weeks).

*Mid run views, my token and the fab way they collected their tokens!*

I ran with Jan and we had a lovely catch up, and before I knew it the three laps were over! I loved the way they collected their finish tokens- in repurposed charity collection tub.

I wanted to head back quickly and Jan kindly gave me a lift part of the way (she did offer for the whole way but I did not want her getting stuck in Brighton Saturday traffic)- this was perfect timing as when she dropped me off the bus was one minute away! I was back in Brighton by 10 and met up with Andy who had popped out to get us some breakfast.

All in all, a lovely parkrun morning. That was my 393rd parkrun, and 127th location, so of course here is the new map screenshot:

Before and after- running by the coast gives you a nice big section!

Walthamstow parkrun- travelling like Wombles!

Walthamstow parkrun has been my NENDY for absolutely ages, and this weekend was finally the week for me to visit.

Branka was free for touring and of course keen to visit another London (for Lon-done) parkrun, and although we looked at driving (it’s not far from Pymmes which I had driven to) the estimate was around an hour, and of course the journey back would probably be much longer. The train estimation was similar, so it was time for another train adventure.

As the trains on the closest line were running, it meant I could run from home to the station, rather than having to drive over to St Albans station. It also meant Branka could get the same train (as some from her come through the same line that I am on). It was a few stops to Finsbury Park on the overground, a few stops on the Victoria line (underground) to Walthamstow, and then back on the overground to Highams park, the closest station to the parkrun, and then a walk (wombling free).

The train connections were all great, with hardly any time waiting at any of the stations, after getting the train at 7:20 we were walking to the start at 8:10. It was about a mile away- the park was private and linked to the leisure centre so didn’t seem to have other entrances, just the main one by the car park. It was definitely easier than the stress of driving and navigating (there is a car park there so that would have been fine).

*Fun with the pop up and selfie frame*– *that’s the sports centre and car park in the background too- it’s all right by the start so a very easy one to visit in that respect*

The team were so friendly when we arrived. We chatted to a fellow WMN pod fan (hi Gail) as this was her local one so we had messaged to say we were coming (and she was very helpful in confirming about which train station we needed to aim for), took some photos by the pop up (and found a selfie frame), left our bags by the tree of trust (rather than the tarpaulin) and then listened to the first timers welcome- they had a few brand new parkrunners as well as some tourists which is always nice to see.

More of the signs, the tree of trust and the view as we began heading up the slope

The main briefing was brilliant- the RD said something about being a headteacher and you could see why- he got his points across well (a few health and safety reminders) with humour and clarity, and everyone listened. Then it was time for us to begin.

The course is three laps and a tiny bit, as you start a bit before the finish funnel on your first lap. It’s all on grass, around the perimeter of sports fields, with a slope that felt more like a hill on each lap! I think had the terrain been easier (for example a tarmac path) it would not have felt hard, but the thick sticky mud was great at sapping the energy from your legs. I had worn trail shoes and was glad of it, although by my third lap they had filled up with mud so I was beginning to slip a little bit. There was a small hump (a reverse ditch as I call them- there is one at Oaklands too) and this was a bit tricky to navigate as the run went on too, but as we had been told, it was not pb conditions, so it was just a run to enjoy and go gently. I had spotted some of the signs when we arrived (like the “sprint finish starts here”) and enjoyed spotting them on the way around, and took a few photos. I ended up chatting to a couple of the marshals as I ran past too, explaining what I was doing, and then on the final lap continued the conversations with them. It was a really ultra friendly event. One huge bonus for me was that no dogs were allowed. I am not a pet person for many reasons, and I am very anxious around dogs off leads, especially ones that jump. I also really get frustrated at parkruns when you can’t hear the briefing because of dogs barking, and I have seen people being tripped (and near misses) so many times- it does surprise me that dogs are allowed at all at parkrun- so it was good to be able to run without having to worry about a dog leaping up at you or minding out for their leads etc.

*Some of their signs, views during the run and the little token sorting tree*

After finishing I chatted to a few of the volunteers and admired more of their signs and their little token sorting tree. They had a pb bell, and had even given out certificates to regular runners for their milestones. There were so many touches that made it seem such a welcoming event and a really clear community. I was glad I had packed spare socks and shoes as my feet were so muddy, so I changed those and put on my jumper. We had originally thought about combining it with a trip to Angel (Bird and Blend and vegan pastries) but Branka had to be back fairly soon so we walked back to the train station. We had seen these lovely mosaics on the platforms on the way, so stopped to admire them on the way back, as well as seeing this amazing owl painting on the side of a building on our way back to the station.

Beautiful mosaics, owl sculpture and painting

We didn’t have to wait long for the overground train, and then the underground was fine too, but as we got to the platform at Finsbury Park, the train we needed was just leaving (if only the screen had been a teeny bit quicker at scrolling past all the stations then we would have known it was one we could both get)- I am not one for leaping onto a train, especially there where some of them as non-stop to Stevenage. Anyway, this meant we had to get separate trains back, so we had just enough time to get a cup of tea from the kiosk on the platform before getting on our respective trains.

*My muddy shoes and leggings, token picture (somewhat lower number than last week at Battersea!), heading back from the train station and tea and snack on the train home*

So that was parkrun 392 for me, and my 126th venue. Of course I am gradually ticking off the London events, so that was my 29th London event.

And now, rather excitingly, I have a new NENDY of Hackney Marches. Coincidentally on the train we were looking at the overground lines and saw that Hackney is on one of those overground lines, and would involve a similar trip with a short underground journey and then an overground one out there, so it is yet another one that we can get to fairly easily. (Also, there is an amazing vegan bakery in Hackney- WAVE- so of course I am hoping to combine the two…)

Before and after map- hooray for new NENDY’s!

Another fun morning and of course, more parkrun tourism planned (some plans more concrete than others). Next up I have the Brighton half so we shall see if I manage a parkrun there, as Hove Prom is off on Saturday (would have been my nearest)- watch this space!

Battersea parkrun (not parkrace)

Just a note to say that a runner collapsed at this event, but the Battersea parkrun team posted on their facebook page later in the day to say that they were recovering in hospital, as well as huge thanks to the 4 doctors who stopped and helped them.

Another weekend and another visit to a London parkrun with Branka and Holly! This had been in the diary for a while as Holly wanted event number 16. It was half term and we had tickets for an exhibition on Saturday afternoon, so Andy booked us a hotel and I went into London straight from work on Friday evening.

The hotel was fairly close to Embankment tube station (on the Northern line- the line needed for Battersea) so it was a nice warm up on Saturday morning. The train didn’t take long, and I arrived on the tube ahead of Branka and Holly (who travelled in that morning) so I waited for them at the station. The walk to the start (1.3 miles on Strava) so we were glad of arriving with plenty of time.

Tube station/ finish cones out/ huge tarpaulin of trust and the view of the old power station from the tube station

The start and finish are in different places, with everyone leaving their bags on the biggest tarpaulin of trust that I’d ever seen! It was super busy with tourists taking photos- I even saw parkrun Karen (from Insta) again- we were waiting around to see where the first timers welcome would be, and I noticed people heading away from the finish area. We decided to follow them- lucky that we did as it turned out everyone was walking to the start. They walk you around in a loop, so that the first people to begin walking end up first on the start line. It definitely had the feel of a race rather than a parkrun, with huge groups of people warming up, loads of runners in club vests and loads of secondary school age kids looking like serious runners. I felt very nervous, as if I was about to do a race, whereas I don’t usually feel this way at a parkrun.

We couldn’t even hear the main briefing as we were so far back, but luckily Branka had checked the course page and reminded us that it was two laps! People started moving so the parkrun had begun!

I tried hard to run fast but didn’t look at my watch at all, just wanting to run on feel- I am really impressed with those splits as it was a perfect royal flush negative split.

The course is basically two anti-clockwise laps of the park, it’s flat and fairly wide (it’s a road, like Finsbury Park), although we had to keep left as there were plenty of runners out in the park heading in the opposite direction. It took a while to find my speed, and I kept having to overtake runners and then settle into a pace once there was space. I still felt very nervous and it wasn’t until the second lap that I felt more relaxed and as if I was at a parkrun. I saw the first finisher head into the funnel as I began my second lap- he was way ahead of the next few runners- very impressive. It does seem to attract the faster runners- there were nearly 200 who ran under 20 minutes (out of 1159 in total)!

The avenues of trees in the park/ the tourist board/ the front of the start line with loads of club runners/ pots set out for the tokens

I knew they had a multiple funnel system, and as I headed into the finish on my second lap I could see two funnels being closed off, and they were sending us over to the left of the funnels. Everyone bunched up and they asked us to try and keep in order after we had all spread out. I chatted to a guy who had finished just ahead of me- my watch had said 27:55 so I was really pleased to have managed such a fast time, and didn’t mind waiting in the funnel for a bit. I think after around 10 minutes they moved us up a bit, and we realised that in the funnel on our right, a runner had collapsed and was receiving medical treatment from a paramedic, with an ambulance coming too. I was trying not to look- mainly because if it was me I would not want people staring at me, but also if I do look I know it would upset me, but the guy I was chatting to was giving me a bit of a running commentary on how the collapsed guy was doing. I was very relieved when our row was finally moved on and I could meet up with Holly and Branka. Holly had finished a bit behind me but her funnel had been cleared ahead of me, so we knew our times would be messed up a bit of course. The team had posted that results would be delayed (understandably) and that they might not be correct, and I was expecting a 59:59 for everyone. I had token 711 and my watch had said 27:55, but when the results came through my token was 801 and my time was 28:49 (with Holly being ahead of me in the results on 775) but the team had warned us and I was just happy to get any time. It’s now set as my course pb so I shall just have to go back.

After we finished, we took a few photos by the pop up and then headed out of the park and over to the converted power station building- it’s now a huge shopping centre with restaurants, cafes, a cinema, bowling alley and all sorts of other things. Holly had seen a picture of the pancakes at Where the Pancakes Are and they cater for all sorts of dietary requirements, so we headed there for breakfast.

I had pineapple and coconut pancakes with lime syrup- good to have something more unusual rather than the standard berries and syrup combo. Then it was time to head back to the train and continue our weekend in London (F1 exhibition, and then later on we went back to Battersea as they had a light instillation- see below for a few pics)

So, Battersea parkrun- definitely one to visit as it has very different vibes to smaller parkruns, and as it’s so flat it is a great one for trying to blast out a fast time (even with the congestion at the start).

Before and after for the 5k app map– another nice big gap filled in

That was my 391st parkrun and my 125th parkrun venue, and my 28th London parkrun.

Thames Path, Woolwich parkrun

Originally Dad and I had planned this towards the end of last year, but a storm meant it was cancelled so we stayed closer to home. This time around the weather looked good (well, no storms) and so we were a go!

I picked up Dad and drove to St Albans station- there we got a fast train to Farringdon and changed to the Elizabeth Line, getting off at Woolwich. The connection at Farringdon was great, and so after getting the 7:13 train, we arrived in Woolwich at 8am. This turned out to be lucky as I went totally the wrong way out of the station, so we had nearly a mile warm up walking through Woolwich (which is very interesting) and along the Thames before finding the start area.

*Can you spot me in the top left photo? Purple pop up and the finish line with the statues in the background.*

Having seen loads of photos of the statues online, it was great to see them in person, although there was no sign (that I could find) telling me about the artist or the artwork.

The toilets were open at 8:30 (when we arrived at the finish area)- they were inside the large cafe and there were plenty of them. It didn’t seem a hugely busy parkrun (not compared to Tooting from the week before)- there were 224 participants that morning. We spent some time taking photos with the statues and sheltering from the wind, before the first timers welcome was at 8:45. We were then all walked to the start, which is maybe a 5 minute walk from the finish area, along the edge of the river. The parkrunners headed down the steps, whereas the RD and time keepers stood on a platform above, and this made for a great run briefing as the RD didn’t need to shout, and everyone could see and hear him.

This parkrun is famous for the spiral- a mount you run up in a spiral and then back down- it makes an excellent Strava map! It felt pretty flat apart from the spiral, and there were a few puddles to dodge along the first part, but nothing swampy (again, nothing like the huge puddle from Tooting last week!). It felt like we had hardly gone any distance when we approached the park with the spiral in it, and I happened to glance at my watch and see we had already gone over a mile. The course really seemed to fly by!

*The start with the elevated bit for the RD, and then views of the spiral on the mound*

It was such fun heading up the spiral and seeing runners above, either heading up, or seeing the faster runners fly back down towards us. I am sure on a clear day the views would have been spectacular, but on this grey day we couldn’t even see the tops of the tallest buildings. No matter, we loved it.

Check out the splits too- perfect royal flush negative splits right there!

*Dad and me heading into the finish, pop up sign at the end, token and the view (and cool sign) from the spiral*

I finished in exactly 29 minutes, my fastest time of the year so far, and also means I get a shout out on the vegan runners facebook post as they have all sorts of challenges and this is the “noughty step” (times ending in :00).

*Avocado toast, views walking back to the station and the view inside the cafe*

As soon as we finished we headed inside the cafe to warm up and dry off. I was super impressed with the prices- my avocado toast was £6 which is a bargain. Dad went for the plant based sausage sandwich, and when he ordered it they asked if he wanted plant based meat or mushroom- they recommended mushroom- we were both expecting a patty made with mushrooms, but instead his roll was filled with sliced sautéed mushrooms. He enjoyed it anyway, despite it not being what was expected. The cafe was cosy and had plenty of space for the parkrunners and others.

We walked the direct way back to the station (literally a few hundred metres) and again our trains on the way back lined up perfectly- as we were going down the stairs at Farringdon a train was pulling in, and it was a fast one to St Albans- couldn’t have planned it better!

We have already made plans to go back in the summer, and hopefully bring Mum along, as she would enjoy watching and chatting while we ran, and then we could have a walk around the Woolwich area after breakfast as there seems to be so much history and interesting buildings there. Such a good parkrun morning!

Before and after map- a nice big segment filled in there!

Stats: 390th parkrun

124th venue

And now I’m making a start on Lon-done, that was my 27th London venue (out of 65 currently but of course that’s going to keep going up)

My slightly zoomed out map showing more of the sections that need colouring in!

Do you have parkruns you’d love to revisit? This one was fab and as the journey was so good it’s definitely on the list to go back to.

Tooting Common parkrun

After realising how (relatively) simple it was to get to various London parkruns by train, and deciding to work on Lon-done, Tooting Common was on my radar. I’d previously been to Clapham Common whilst in London, and Tooting was the next stop down, so I had thought it might be left for when I was in London. However, Branka noticed that she had completed her 221st parkrun last weekend, and thought that doing her 222nd at Tooting would be a great idea. Holly and I were free for touring, so off we went!

It happened to be their 9th birthday too, so extra celebrations. I’d seen them post a photo of a huge puddle, so decided to pack spare shoes and socks for the journey home. I don’t mind getting wet feet while I run, but the thought of cold wet feet for the journey home was not appealing at all.

Engineering works meant that the Hatfield line was out of action, although it meant a slightly easier train journey with only one change rather than two, so I drove to St Albans and met Branka and Holly on the train (they got on the same train at Luton)- we were glad that we had factored in extra time, as they managed to miss their train due to the platform being changed at the last minute- this has happened to me before at St Albans so I could very much sympathise.

Anyway, the journey to Streatham all went to plan- we had to change at Blackfriars (could also change at Farringdon)- this was the same platform and the train was a few minutes later- and then travel around 5 stops to Streatham. It was then about a mile walk to the start. The park is close to the train station but the parkrun starts at the opposite end of the park. As we walked through the park we took a little detour as the maps tried to guide us through a huge puddle. We didn’t think this could be part of the course as it seemed so narrow, and Tooting gets several hundred runners, but we were wrong!

We got there just as the first timers welcome was happening, so it was perfect! Branka had time to put on her tutu (of course she wore a tutu for her 222 run) and we left our bags on the tarpaulin of trust. We got a few photos by the purple pop up but it was busy and the main briefing was about to start so thought we’d do some more at the end.

The course starts close to the cafe- you immediately head out to the perimeter of the park, do 3 laps and then return to the start/finish area. On Strava it’s a very pleasing triangle shape:

(Also check out our splits- a fab royal flush negative split)

*Train ticket/ pop up/ birthday hats, pre-parkrun pop up pic*

I ran with Holly and we had a lovely chat on the way around. I can’t think of that many three lap courses, but I knew we’d be overtaken in our second lap by the front runners (by the way, the first finisher was female- girl power!) as if it’s a two lap course I’m doing well if I’m not lapped. As the laps were so short, we soon reached the huge puddle. It was deep and very long, then just as you thought it was over and you were out, more puddles would appear. I tried at first to keep my feet dry but it just wasn’t happening, so just had to tell myself that like a wet suit, my body would warm the wet water in my socks and I would be OK. Of course, by the time we reached the puddle in the second lap my feet just just warmed up, only for them to be plunged into cold water again. That lap had the added “fun” of being splashed by the faster runners as they ploughed through the puddles.

A few pics of parts of the puddle, finish line zig zag and post parkrun pop up

The course is flat and there were loads of cheery marshals en route- lots of had on party hats and one was celebrating her birthday too, although when we shouted “happy birthday” to her she said “you too”- probably thinking that we were celebrating Tooting parkrun’s birthday and not hers.

I had to stop and retie my shoelace at one point (even the double knot had worked it’s way undone), but other than that we kept running and it didn’t feel like long before we were heading into the finish funnel. They had a long zig zag on the grass, but despite us coming in during a bit of a rush, it kept moving and there wasn’t a traffic jam in there. A few minutes after we had finished when the rush had died down, they began taking down the zig zag to make the funnel shorter.

*The parkrun cafe painting and the cafe, finish token and the three of us with the pop up (check out the pink tutu!)*

After finishing, we took more photos and I changed my shoes and socks (not that easy to do while avoiding the muddy grass) and then we headed back to the train station (after initially going the wrong way out of the park as we got distracted while chatting…). We passed the cafe, which was a really pretty black and white building, and decided to get a hot drink to take with us. Inside the cafe was a lovely painting of the cafe- it was such a classic old style park cafe and was tiny compared to the number of runners (548 participants on that day). I’d packed a croissant in my bag to have on the way home so our parkfaff could happen on the train.

The ‘after’ and ‘before’ map (can’t switch them somehow)- a nice square filled in close to Richmond Park

The return journey was super easy- around a ten minute wait at Streatham for the train to Blackfriars, and then a 4 minute wait for the fast train back to St Albans. Of course we had a chat about our next touring plans, and checked out the 5k app as we were on the train- Brockwell was close to the train line that we were on so that’s on the list now (and it’s tarmac apparently so no wet feet either…).

So that was parkrun number 389, 123rd venue, and if I use the 5K app to track Lon-done it’s the 26th one (out of 65 on there but of course that number is going to keep on going up). Fingers crossed that the next few weeks are free from storms or engineering works so I can visit a few more new events.