Tag: parkrun tourist

Southampton parkrun in the sunshine (a revisit)

We were off to Southampton on the Friday afternoon, ahead of visiting family and going to the football on the Saturday. Originally I had hoped for a new parkrun event, as I’ve been to a fair few in the wider Southampton area (Southampton, Eastleigh, Bartley Park, Netley Abbey, Lee on the Solent, Itchen Valley, Winchester, Portsmouth Lakeside, Queen Elizabeth and even Isle of Wight)- I was hoping for Meon Valley parkrun as it looked lovely (along an old railway line) but the hotels near there turned out to be more expensive, and then we were needed in Southampton to pick up Andy’s aunt on the way to his grandma’s, so staying centrally made sense. I looked up my results and the only time I’d been to Southampton parkrun before was on NYE in 2016, so pretty much ten years ago. Predictably back then I got lost on the way, but also really loved going to such a busy event. This is all relative- back then there were 646 people taking part, and apparently the busiest one I had been to before that was 264 at Wimpole. They had a double funnel operating back then though, as someone behind me was given a card with a letter and sent to the other funnel. The course was definitely different as well, but according to my blog there was a winter and summer course- the one I did had two laps back then but I imagine with the even bigger numbers now they would keep to the pretty much one lap that they have now.

The start and finish areas (two bottom photos taken from the same spot but one pointing towards the pop up and start area, one towards the finish funnel), start sign, pop up and Poddington

So, onto the 2026 edition! As our hotel was about 2 miles away, it was perfect for a parkrun sandwich. Although I set off in the right direction, I got slightly lost but when I looked at the map I was on a road parallel to the road I was aiming for, so that was OK. The parkrun starts in the common, but the common is huge. They do direct you to head near to the Hawthorns centre, and as I entered the park at the south entrance I saw the “to the start” sign, however a few runners up ahead turned right at the next junction after this, so I followed them and ended up way over to the east of the park rather than in the centre where it starts. Never mind, I had plenty of time! The start/finish area is pretty huge as they are in the same field but a long way apart. The finish funnel is so long (I walked by it when I finished and it took 1 minute to walk the length of it), and next to it was a tarpaulin of trust so I left my bag there. The purple pop up was by the start area so I got a quick photo, but all the volunteers were meeting at the finish, so I hung around in the middle as I was not sure where the welcome would be- this turned out to be by the start so I had to jog over there quickly when it began! It turned out that there was also a tree trunk of trust by the start area, and this would be closer to the scanners so I could have left my bag there too.

First timers welcome and pop up photo

The volunteer explained the course and it sounded more like a one lap than a two lap. They did tell us about a hill that lasted 1km, that we would then get to run down (I think the other side of) and asked that we didn’t overtaken in the first km due to it being so busy. Soon after was the main briefing- I think this is the trouble with all huge events now, but despite the volunteers holding up the “quiet in the run brief” signs, there was so much chatting. At one point the RD asked everyone to poke the person next to them and remind them to be quiet- someone next to me did this to people I think they knew, but the people just carried on. I was close enough to hear most of the announcements, but it’s a shame people cannot listen for a few minutes- there could be safety issues to share (in fact there was one asking buggy runners to be careful as there had been many instances of buggies clipping the heels of other participants), but also there were some lovely milestones including a family where the dad was doing his 100th, the two kids were doing their 50th and they had also completed 50 junior parkruns. A local running club were also doing most of the volunteering but I could not catch who that was. They also mentioned pacers, so I tried to spot them in the crowd. I had looked up my previous time (30:22) so decided I should try and get a course pb and pacers are always helpful as I don’t like looking at my watch while I run.

Anyway, the briefing was brief and we started pretty promptly (there was a mobility scooter on the path so they let them go before starting everyone off), but as with any large event it was very stop-start. There didn’t seem to be any seeding (for example at Preston park they have little signs by the start area for sub 20, sub 25 etc) and I kept coming up behind walkers and people running at a slower pace, so it took a long time to settle into a rhythm as I felt like I was constantly changing my pace. I did overtake the walkers (when there was space to do so) as it felt like if I didn’t it would just cause more congestion.

Run briefing and then scenes from the parkrun- so many colourful tops stretched out ahead

It’s such a nice park- the paths are pretty wide but and you go past lots of variety- wildlife areas, wooded areas, open grassland, play parks… and it’s pretty flat. There was a slope you ran up (and here I ended up running faster as there was a dog on a waist harness that was all over the place and kept looking like it would trip people up- I don’t like running near to dogs either as I feel like I am being chased, so I put on a bit of a sprint to get past the dog so I could then relax a bit) thankfully it wasn’t too steep or too long.

I was trying to spot the pacers and I think after about 1km I caught the 33 min pacer (there were little km markers by the side of the path). After about 3km the field thinned out enough that I felt like I could get into a rhythm rather than ducking and weaving and speeding up to overtake. I think around the 4km mark I caught up to the 30 min pacer, and he was absolutely brilliant. He had a little pack of runners with him and he was chatting to them, encouraging them on, and as we ran the final km he started a countdown-telling us we had 800m to go, that we should finish a bit under 30 mins, and really motivating everyone to dig deep. As I got to the finish they had just opened up the next section of the funnel (which I think had 3 or 4 lines rather than just a double funnel)- the person ahead of me kept running, as did the person behind me, so to stay in order we all ran the length of the funnel before finally being able to stop.

Super marshals, and the busy finish funnel

I saw 28-something so I was pretty confident of a course pb unless there was some error with processing the results. I then got to admire the funnel manager- it was such an impressive operation to see, although the number of people who could not follow the instruction of “keep walking, right hand out” was mind boggling. We had to stand there for a few minutes while the funnel next to us had their tokens, and even when they switched between funnels the next token person was ready and counted in before they then jumped into position. There were lots of funnel duckers too, so I saw quite a few people offering to take two tokens because a person in front had left. It’s so impressive that the time you get is even close to your watch time when you take into account all of this happening as well.

Celebrating a course pb! And token 554- this was the place I was credited with too which was very impressive with the amount of people takin part- 1100 that morning so I was pretty much exactly half way!

After I got scanned, I had to then go back along the funnel to get my bag (via a quick pop up pic to celebrate the probable course pb), and then returned back to the city centre (not getting lost- hooray!) where I’d arranged to meet Andy for breakfast at a fab vegan cafe (Cafe Thrive)- he had ordered as we didn’t have a lot of time- we shared scrambled tofu, hash browns and a breakfast bap, and bought a couple of peanut butter croissants to have later.

Heading back to breakfast

So of course, no voronoi update as I’d already been here but below is the course map. You started with a small anti-clockwise loop at the bottom, then headed up the east side of the common, back down the west side all the way to the bottom (where the water is) and then back past the start area into the finish area.

Below is the section of the run from 2016 (as I recorded it as one activity rather than 3 separate ones)- even the direction is different as the main loop here was clockwise. It’s very interesting to see how different routes can be created in the same space.

Another very enjoyable parkrun for my 443rd parkrun

What next? Well, hopefully some more tourism soon although a few things are up in the air right now. Hopefully enjoying more of this spring-like weather!

Barking parkrun- good things come from last minute plans

The original plan was for some tourism in the opposite direction, but on Friday night that plan was postponed, so Branka and I decided to head to Barking parkrun and work on Lon-done some more (and enjoy a mud free parkrun- after weeks at Letchworth and Stanborough we both wanted a mud-free run!).

With lots of London tourism, trains are preferable, particularly when travelling back as the roads just get so busy and you can just relax on a train. However, the train route to Barking wasn’t simple, involving 3 changes, and meant getting a train at about 6:45am. Andy suggested driving, and when I looked it was a 55 min drive, which isn’t too bad (and a lot quicker than the 2 hour train journey). The drive was fine and fairly quiet, and we parked up in the car park by the allotments (mentioned on the course page) just before 8:30, which gave us time to wander through the park, see the start area and find the toilets.

Pop up and photo frame fun- yes Poddington the Wonky Bear came too- we are wearing purple for IWD

The first timers welcome was really welcoming, and they explained the course really clearly. It’s two laps, and for each lap you ran along to the lake, next to the lake, then turned at the end and ran back along the lake on a slightly higher path, then did a lap of playing fields. As you run by the lake he challenged us to count the species of birds that we would see- saying their record was 17- I love touches like this and it made it feel very personal. They mentioned also there would be a 30 min pacer too. At the start we bumped into one of the parkrun huns (Lucy) who told us that they often call out your mile time and half way time, and as it’s a flat course and not too busy it was good for fast times. I had run quite quickly on the Friday club run, but decided to try and keep on front of the 30 min pacer and see how I went.

Scenes from the park- a grey day but a pretty park filled with daffodils and blossom on the trees.

Lucy was correct, it was not congested at all, and I found a pace pretty quickly. I was behind the 30 min pacer guy for a while, but at a mile my time called out to me was 9:04, and then at the halfway point was 14:04, so I worked out that if I kept pushing I would have a chance of getting under 28 mins. (For all my parkrun years apart from 2021 I’ve managed this, so it is in the back of my mind to every now and then make the most of a flat course to try and keep that record going). I don’t tend to look at my watch but I could feel I was running well, and at the final turn (where you can see the finish line straight ahead) I happened to glance and saw 26-something, but I had no idea whether I could run the final stretch in under a minute, so I just counted my steps in my head and went for it. A guy properly raced up behind me and we pretty much crossed the finish line together- he was a hair in front (we got identical times in the end) and when I stopped my watch it was sub 28 so I just had to keep my fingers crossed that the official time would show that too.

Did I get sub 28? A finish area pop up picture and the list of my best parkrun times

I was very happy when I got the text- 27:50 was my official time- hooray!

After finishing I ended up chatting to a few fellow vegan runners (I had forgotten I had my buff on so wondered how they knew!), and then chatted to parkrun hun Lucy for a bit before Branka finished. The vibe of this parkrun was so friendly- people were hanging about and chatting, the finish set up was a bit like Ellenbrook Fields with a long straight line to the finish and loads of people hanging around by the finish to cheer in other people. I am very glad we went there- a really friendly and local vibe, fast and no mud!

Token and the back of the “half way” sign which reads “If you’re reading this message your eyesight is great but you are running in the wrong direction!”/ Community Orchard seen on the way out

We decided to head back to the car so walked back through the park- I noticed a community orchard sign which is such a lovely idea (it even said to please just take fruit for yourself and leave some for other people and for wildlife). The journey back still took under an hour so I was home by 11am which isn’t bad really considering how long journeys can take.

Since the 5k app updated and is now the parkrun official app, the colours on the map have changed and now it looks like someone has spilled weak orange squash all over my map:

Voronoi update

So that was parkrun 441, event 151 and currently 39/65 London events (current open ones- eg I have been to Victoria Dock but now that is closed).

Next up is a local one to celebrate a friend’s 350th, and then hopefully a new (to me) one in the Southampton area.

Holywell King George V Playing Fields parkrun (Watford)

A new fairly local parkrun popped up recently (in Watford), and to fit in with when my dad was around, we decided to go for event 5. Happily Branka and Holly could make that date too (and possibly one of them wanted an event 5 for Wilson Index reasons?), and lots of OH ladies were keen to come along too, as well as Rory making the trip around. As I’d been to a couple of new events recently (Crystal Palace and Greenwich Peninsula), this meant that Holywell parkrun would be my 150th different event. Is that a Cowell cow?

So, onto the morning. Dad drove and I was quite glad of that as it’s quite central in Watford- I’ve not driven around the ring road in Watford for many years- and the route took us right next to the Watford football ground which again I’ve not been to in years (we used to go there quite a lot)- I got to see the Graham Taylor statue outside the ground as well as the large mural. It was very Watford FC themed as I noticed when we drove out of the car park that the arch that you drove under had a mural with players from the past on it.

Holywell parkrun ( I will call it this as in the first timers welcome the volunteer said “Welcome to Holywell King George V playing fields- it’s a long name so we just call it Holywell”) is very close to both Cassiobury and South Oxhey (both are 1.2 miles away according to the home page). There was a car park that we were directed into by marshals- as the car park had no markings they definitely needed the marshals to make the best of the space. We got there at about 8:40 and there was still plenty of space but I imagine it filled up fairly quickly.

OH ladies crew and Poddington the Wonky Bear

From the car park you could see arrows set out for the course, and a short walk from the car park took us to the start area, outside the Watford Cycle Hub.

Three Peas crew and extended parkrun friends

Here we took many pop up photos (although my dad was missing from all the start photos as he went to use the toilets and ended up in a very long queue as there were only 3 cubicles working- something to consider for the future), and then after hearing the first timers welcome, I walked around to the finish area (again about 2 min walk away) to leave my bag on the tarpaulin of trust. By the time I walked back to the start, the main briefing was going ahead and after looking around for my dad, he managed to find me as the RD said “go”!

The course was described as nearly 4 laps of playing fields on silt/gravel paths. Two of my running club friends had volunteered here previously, so I had asked them what shoes would be best, and they thought road shoes would be OK. To be fair they had marshalled so had not seen the whole course, only a section of the path. However, I would have been happier in trail shoes as some of the path was muddy or puddly, and in some places it was so narrow you ended up on the grass and in mud. It’s pretty flat with a few slopes, so I think it would be a fast course once it’s a bit firmer.

I ran with Dad and we pretty much chatted our way around which always helps to pass the time too. I didn’t find the laps too repetitive, but I can see that you might if you were on your own. As each lap went through two different playing field sections, your view changed a lot (unlike York racecourse where you just see the same view the entire time). The part between the finish and start area was a wooded section with a bit of a twist so your view changed and you couldn’t see the playing fields. You also passed a very cool “mini road” for kids to ride bikes on, which had junctions, markings and even little pretend EV charging points. It was really good to see. At one point I ran past someone with With Me Now gear on, so I called “Dolly or Bev” to them and then had to explain to my dad later on about that and the “arbitrary” reply that I received! It didn’t have too many people there- 209 participants on that morning- and although it felt busy with the laps it didn’t feel too congested.

Tarpaulin of Trust and the finish funnel/ photos taken mid run

Anyway, we kept a pretty good pace (in fact the good old Marathon Talk royal flush negative split was achieved- each mile being faster than the previous one) and after hoping to go sub 30 (after being bang on 30 at Greenwich last week) I was really pleased to get in under 29 mins with a time of 28:51. All that marathon training had meant I had slowed right down, and although I do not focus on times, it’s nice to have a faster one every now and then.

I also really loved being there with lots of people I knew- it was fun to spot people at the finish and chat to lots of friends- definitely a great morning.

My muddy trainers at the end and my finish token

After finishing, we stayed and chatted to people at the finish. We even saw Aqasa (check out his blog- Nuhorizons.uk) who Branka, Holly and I had met at Peckham Rye parkrun back in September last year.

Three Peas with Aqasa/ pop up pic with my dad at the end

We couldn’t stay too long as we had to get back for breakfast (my mum is excellent at making vegan pancakes) before Dad dropped me home, as he was coming back to Watford for the match later. But I am sure I will be back- especially if I am after a flatter route (and one that is less busy than Cassiobury).

Dad, Rory and me with the pop up at the end, and the teapot that my mum gave me for breakfast!

So that was parkrun 439, location 150, and of course Queen of Herts completed yet again.

Holywell parkrun isn’t on the 5k app yet, but it is on the parkrunner app (the black and white one)- the “before” showed it in yellow as it was my NENDY- you can see how close it is to the other Watford parkruns when you look at the map:

Up next? I have no concrete plans, although the three peas do have some pencilled in plans coming up, and I have a trip to Southampton next month so hopefully I can visit a new one in that area too.

Greenwich Peninsula parkrun

The quest for Lon-done continues!

On Friday night we were in London seeing Hercules with family, and had planned to go back in on Saturday for some exhibitions at the British Museum, so after seeing that hotels were reasonably priced, stayed in London for Friday night, which of course for me means a parkrun!

I was aiming for Greenwich Peninsula- Branka had already been here so we wouldn’t tour there together, and it’s probably the most central one left that I’ve not been to. However the forecast looked below freezing, and I had seen that they had cancelled once earlier in the year when it was icy, so I was keeping my fingers crossed.

Anyway, all was well, and I got the Jubilee line there from Southwark, arriving at North Greenwich station at about 8:15am. I had allowed plenty of time as on a few previous London trips even going through the train station has taken a while (going to Burgess I spent so long in London Bridge station getting to the tube that I nearly missed the start of parkrun), and although it looked close at the other end I didn’t know how easy it would be to find once there. In the end the train journey was meant to take 20 mins but I am sure it wasn’t that long, and the parkrun start was so close to the tube station, although I was following google maps which was going to take me around the houses a bit, but I happened to glance to the right and saw the big red sculpture that I recognised from all the pop up signs.

After having so many rainy and cloudy days recently, it was amazing to have such blue skies, but it was so cold- my hands were freezing even with my gloves on (not fun taking them off to take photos).

I think I arrived just in time as there was one person by the sign who took a photo for me, but once I moved away the queue built up and did not go away until the main briefing! There were loads of tourist tops, people with Lon-done t-shirts and so I chatted to a few parkrunners (it took my mind off the cold too!). One person was very taken by my Wonky Bear, and at least this time I could explain it (whereas last week a person took a photo and before I could explain they had walked away). I wandered down to the river to take some photos and admire some of the sculptures.

The blue skies were amazing!

We had the first timers welcome before the main briefing, where the RD explained that there was work going on on the path which meant that the start was narrower than usual. He tried to seed the start, but when he said “any sub 16 runners” a lot of people laughed, so he replied with “well you laugh but some people are that quick!” I waited for the 30 min group to be announced but really I should have gone a little sooner as I was behind quite a few walkers (and not speed walkers, normal pace walkers). There was a place for bags under a little shelter against a wall, so I had taken my jacket off at the last possible moment!

Views from the run as well as the funnel queue at the end

I really enjoyed this- it’s basically an out and back (although you start in the middle- if you looked at it from above you go right, u-turn, back past the finish, u-turn again, back past the finish and then a bit further before the final u-turn) you run past the O2 and then in the other direction have views out to the Thames Barrier. There were various sculptures to see, and loads of tourists arriving for the O2 which made it feel very central to London rather than being in a suburb which they often are.

Just look at the map- very central:

You can see from my pacing that I was stuck for a while behind people not at my pace- I do not mind really but it wasn’t easy to run in a rhythm as there was a lot of stop-starting (people ahead avoiding puddles for example), and as it was narrow and for the most part you had people heading back towards you, you really could only have 2 people side by side, which meant overtaking people was tricky. Although it’s flat and a fast course, it was much harder than say Battersea which had much wider paths. Something to consider if you were heading there and hoping for a specific time.

Token/ token sorting/ photo at the finish

At the finish they had a very long funnel which looped around and around, but it moved quickly which I was thankful of as I had taken my jacket off and left it in my bag at the start, and as soon as I stopped I was feeling chilly. I went to get a photo by the sign with my parkrun top, and then headed back to the tube. I really enjoyed seeing all the paving slabs with facts and quotes linked to GMT. I feel like when I’ve been to the O2 it’s usually been for a concert so I’ve not lingered enough to notice these. There were also trees filled with lanterns for Lunar New Year.

Admiring the GMT themed paving stones/ tea to warm up/ breakfast/ Poddington the Wonky Bear

I got a tea to take on the train with me, and then got off one stop early to get us some breakfast (Ole and Steen do an amazing plant based pastry called a social slice, which is sort of cinnamon bun dough filled with vegan custard and chocolate chips- trust me it’s so good). Then I had to text Andy and ask him to drop a pin because I only remembered the way back to the hotel from Southwark station and I’d got off at London Bridge…

Voronoi update! Sadly now Victoria Dock parkrun is paused the map looks a little different, but still after Greenwich I have joined up a few more sections of the map once again.

That was parkrun 438 and location 149

38/65 for London events

It was definitely an easy one to get to from central London, and one I’d revisit if I was in London and needing to be back quickly too. However, my next London trip will be from home so that will hopefully be a new one (not planned yet).

Next up- some more local tourism with all the people (my dad, the three peas, OH ladies, parkrun friends…)

Crystal Palace parkrun plus a couple of local ones in January

Away from the WDW recaps for a bit and back to parkrun! Since getting home, I had a couple of local weekends with Dad, first to Jersey Farm for Dad’s 400th parkrun (he chose the location) and then the following week at Oaklands College.

Jersey Farm

Jersey Farm was glorious sunshine (yes I should have worn sunglasses!), and it was lovely that some of the OH ladies turned up to celebrate with Dad too, although he was off to football later so we didn’t hang around for too long after.

Oaklands College

I hadn’t been to Oaklands College for ages and when we arrived we thought the first timers welcome was going on and that the rest of the runners must have been around the corner, but no, there were only 49 people taking part. There was a lot of mud and the ground was still so rutted so I am not surprised. Rory came along too so it was good to catch up. Newly acquired Wonky Bear Poddington also came along with me for his first parkrun.

Crystal Palace

Then the first weekend in February I was off to Crystal Palace parkrun with Branka. We are both steadily making a dent on the Lon-done events, so a new London event means leaving a bit earlier now. For me this was a train just before 7am from St Albans, meeting Branka on the train. We went into London Bridge, and then changed to an overground train that went to Crystal Palace station.

It was forecast to be quite rainy, but it wasn’t too bad when we came out of the station. It was about a half a mile walk, but the station is right next to the park, so after a kind dog walker showed us the way, it was very straightforward.

Pop up fence fun

There’s lots of construction work happening in the park at the moment, so there were loads of fences up (some with fun artwork depicting various construction vehicles)- the pop up was attached to a fence but the name was facing inwards so we had fun poking our phones through the fence trying to get some photos.

All the cool artwork plus Poddington seeing the course maps

Rory was also going to travel there, and as we met up with him closer to the start line, we found a second pop up mounted on a fence but facing outwards!

The star/finish area is along an avenue of trees- this would be gorgeous in the summer, but didn’t provide much shelter from the rain. They had the finish area at one end, with a tarpaulin that they tried to fold over to keep bags and tops dry. I have a plastic bag inside my rucksack so I took it out and put my rucksack in it to try and keep the contents dry- it’s a fairly waterproof bag but it was raining pretty hard at times. The first timers welcome was at the finish area too, and they even had a large print out of the two main courses that they use. They were a really friendly team and seemed keen to chat to find out where people had come from. It’s a big event (388 people that day) but felt like part of the community.

The course is two laps, although they are not quite identical as in the first lap you do an extra “dog leg” (the little loop on the lower left of the map). On this day each lap was almost two separate sections- the lower section where you started and finished was muddy and slippery (I am not sure if the construction in the park was making it worse, as it should have been tarmac paths but they were really muddy too), and then the upper section (you ran up a short slope to get there) was fairly dry paths. I wished I had my trail shoes on- I’d worn old road shoes so they didn’t have good grip at all- especially on the slope to get back down to the lower level again I really could have done with better soles. Someone next to me slipped over on one of the slopes, so I took it very gently.

Photos of the course- you can see some of the big puddles on the pavements as well as the slope leading to the upper part of the course

There were lots of points in the course where you saw other runners which I always like- as each lap had a narrow two way section as well as parts like the dog leg. It was definitely a friendly event, and the rain even eased off as we ran.

There’s definitely a lot to see in the park too- the huge TV aerial, a blue plaque commemorating a Bob Marley concert, a swimming pool, a dinosaur trail (sadly they were all covered up due to the renovations), a maze… the list goes on.

After we finished we had a quick chat and changed into dry jumpers before heading back to the train. Branka had some errands to run, and I had decided to go to Angel to get some vegan pastries and visit Bird and Blend, so we said our goodbyes. Rory was getting the same train as me (as I went on the overground to Highbury and Islington) so we had a lovely chat on the train before he got off at his stop. I’d packed a cereal bar in my bag so I had that on the train as I was getting quite hungry by that point.

parkfaff- British Patagonia for the best vegan pastries, Bird and Blend for a matcha and a cereal bar on the train (plus the token sorting tubs)

I then had a very wet walk along Upper Street to get my pastries (to take home rather than eat on the train) and matcha before walking down to St Pancras and getting the train back. I was still home before lunch time and it was a morning well spent, although it was only when I got home that I realised how wet and cold my feet were!

Onto the stats- that was my 437th parkrun and my 148th different event. At the time it was the 37th out of 65 London events (but of course that can change).

Up next is more touring- a London one (which I went to yesterday) and some more plans coming.