vegan food - Maria Runs

Peckham Rye parkrun- learning about the Southwark Slam!

Excitingly, after setting up our joint instagram account with Branka and Holly (threepeasinaparkrun) this weekend the three of us reunited at a parkrun for our tourism!

We headed to Peckham Rye parkrun, all getting the trains down to Blackfriars and meeting there, and then getting another train a few stops down to Peckham Rye station. It’s then a 1.25 mile walk from the station, so it’s not the closest, but the walk was simple as the main road led to the park so thankfully no directional errors from us.

The weather was so changeable- it was bright sunshine at Blackfriars and I was saying to Holly and Branka that I was regretting not wearing my sunglasses- however when we arrived at the parkrun start it rained quite hard and we sheltered under a large tree. Thankfully the rain eased off and we got out pre parkrun pop up picture, and hung our bags in the tree of trust (some people had propped their bags against the base of the trunk but after witnessing a dog mark it’s territory at the base of another tree I decided that off the ground would be better).

If you hang around the pop up you often end up chatting to other tourists, and this day was no exception. Aqasa Nu (who has a blog- Nu Horizons) approached us to chat all things tourism and told us about the Southwark Slam- he then revealed that under his jacket he was wearing a t-shirt for it which dated back to 2015! My understanding is that the Southwark Slam means taking part in all 4 parkruns in the Southwark borough in September- beginning with Southwark, then Peckham Rye, Dulwich and then finishing with Burgess. After taking part in Peckham Rye this weekend I have now completed all of those events, but not in order and not all in the same month! It sounds like a fun thing to take part in though, especially if you were nearby.

After a really clear first timers welcome, we lined up and were off! It’s a three lap course on tarmac paths, and although “a hill” had been mentioned, the park looks fairly flat. However, we realised once we set off that it is quite undulating so it is definitely harder than it looks- nothing terrible but I really thought it looked flat and it definitely isn’t! It’s a really scenic park though- we started off on wide paths that reminded me a bit of Clapham Common, before heading off into more twisty paths between various play parks and gardens, including a beautiful Japanese garden. It never ceases to amaze me that London is full of so many huge pockets of green space- we really are so lucky.

I ran with Holly and we had a lovely chat as always- I actually checked my watch after the third lap to be sure we’d done the 5k and didn’t need to do another lap as they felt so short- time flies when you are having fun!

At the end, Aqasa’s partner, Shveta, chatted to us as well- we got some recommendations for Finnish parkruns as well as some chat about the German unity day (extra parkrun day). Aqasa was so enthusiastic when he heard my home parkrun was Panshanger as he had loved his visit there, seeing the long horned cattle (check out his blog if you are interested- there is lots of other info on there too). We were chatting for so long that the team closed down the event around us- by 10am there was no sign of parkrun and it was just the few of us left! We walked back to the station, and by this time it was sunny again.

We had decided to head into the centre of London to get some breakfast (possibly around Borough market area), however when we got off the train at Blackfriars we could see people marching and carrying flags as far as the eye could see and I realised with some dread that it was a right wing march. I’d actually seen some warning posts about it on social media the night before but hadn’t thought that many people would come. The exit to the station was totally rammed and even though we tried to exit away from where we thought the flag people were going we ended up surrounded by these people. It was not nice to put it mildly. After battling through the crush of people we got to the embankment and I knew there was a Caffe Nero close by so we went in there for hot drinks and breakfast- sadly no vegan raspberry croissant so I had an apple crumble slice thing as that was the only option aside from cheesecake- and it seemed more breakfast-like! It was fab to spend time planning future touring adventures, but I did not enjoy the battle to get back to the train as the flag people were multiplying.

We did walk past a hatch selling Crosstown doughnuts so we each bought a couple to share with our partners back home- happily for me all but one of the flavours were vegan so I had a lot more choice than with breakfast!

Onto the stats- that was my 417th parkrun and 139th location.

The 5K app let me know that I had achieved another tick on the date bingo challenge, and of course Peckham Rye counts towards Lon-done, with that being my 35th of 65 of the current London events- I know there will always be more getting added.

There’s a nice gap in the map now (Brockwell) so that’s got to be on the list to fill in, although we are coming up to the season where touring is less appealing. It wasn’t dark when I left home on Saturday morning (to get a train before 7am) but soon it will be, plus you have the added “fun” of the bad weather forcing last minute cancellations.

Up next- a few weekends of local parkruns and then some touring plans with the three peas!

Do you like the sound of the slam? I think challenges like this are such fun, and what a great way to bring local running communities together.

Some repeats but keeping a tourist streak!

For the last couple of Saturdays, I’ve repeated events rather than visited new ones.

Cassiobury parkrun

First up was my 4th time going to Cassiobury, with a few club mates. Cassiobury is in a huge park in Watford, and it’s fast and flat. I think when St Albans switched to a more cross country route, people who preferred the flatter paths headed over there instead, as they regularly get big numbers. The week we were there, they ended up with their highest attendance of 783!

They had a pacer event going on, and later on that day there was a Pride celebration in the park, so some people were running in rainbow outfits, carrying flags etc.

I didn’t think I’d be near by pb here, so decided to run on feel and enjoy it, which turned out to be a good decision as it was quite busy at the start and took a while to thin out enough for me to feel like I could settle into my own speed. The route starts on grass and heads onto tarmac paths, where you do nearly 3 laps. As it narrows to the path quickly, you do get a bit of a bottleneck but after about half a lap it was OK.

(Inspired by Branka I have used Canva to make some collages rather than the regular ones!)

I really enjoyed it- for a large event they manage to retain a friendly and welcoming feel, and there were lots of walkers out completing the course too. Now, this did’t bother me, but despite them operating a double funnel, when I came to finish I had to queue to get into the finish funnel- probably for around 40 seconds which doesn’t sound like much, but if you are following a pacer to get a certain time and you make it, but then have to wait for that time, it would be frustrating. The team were doing as much as possible to move people into the funnels (and move people on within them) but the sheer volume of people meant it had backed up over the line and was just getting busier and busier. A few people around me were making quite snide comments at the volunteers which was disappointing to hear- I made sure I thanked them and moved up as much as possible once our side of the funnel got going.

It was my 415th parkrun, and I got token 416! So close! I did get token 200 on my 200th so maybe I’ve used that coincidence already!

Irchester Country parkrun

The following week I went to Irchester Country parkrun for a second time. The first time I went with Dad, and it was the final week of parkrun before they paused for covid, so it had a weird feel, with people wondering how close they should be to each other. I completed my UK parkrun alphabet (as there is no Z in the UK), and I remember really enjoying the route, so when a few club mates said they were heading there, I decided to join them. We arrived super early, having slightly overestimated the drive time, so we were in the car park before even the car park marshals turned up! There are a few car parks there- the higher one (that we parked in) is right by the road, but if you keep driving in, you will drive down a short hill and be directed to park by the start/finish area. We walked and it was not far- less than half a mile- but it would have been handy to leave bags in the car.

The start and finish are in a slightly different place too- the course is a lollypop shape- basically out past the finish, run a loop, then run back, but the run back is a little shorter as you pass the finish on the way. They had some large bags to leave belongings in, that would be carried to the finish area, so we left our bags in there, but if I went again I’d use the lower car park and leave my bag in the boot instead.

They also have a lovely culture of walking, and this week were advertising that someone was going to walk the course and tell the people with her about the park too. The park as a whole is really interesting as it used to be a quarry and there is a museum about the railway that ran through it too. There were 287 participants were there that day- a bit different to the previous week! It doesn’t feel busy- you had to keep to one side (left I think?) as on the out and back section the front runners were heading back while the majority were still heading out, but the paths are super wide as you can see in the photos, so it wasn’t an issue.

When I finished, I spotted Mary, who used to write a blog about her running, and particularly her ultra running experiences. She’s on instagram (@ahealthiermoo)- I had messaged the day before with a few questions- and we had chatted last time I went but with the approaching pandemic had not chatted for long! It was lovely to catch up and chat about parkruns, ultras (well, two of the people from my club who came along are quite into ultras so that was more them than me)- and to hear about how they don’t even use the parkwalker vests at Irchester because they have so many walkers already.

After chatting for a bit, I went to join the rest of the OH crew- they were at the cafe already and had got a picnic table in the shade. The cafe was more of a hatch serving food and drinks, and I was impressed that they did a vegan sausage roll, pasty and some sort of chocolate slice thing. Of course the main thing was that they did oat milk for tea! (I had breakfast before I left and had packed a cereal bar to enjoy with my tea). We spent a while sitting in the shade of the trees before it was time to start the drive back home again.

I was so glad that I’d been encouraged to go back though – I love a one lap course and this one through the woods is just so gorgeous. A bit like Panshanger but much flatter! When I was leaving home before 7am I did briefly wonder why I was going, but it was great fun to be there and of course we had lots of chats in the car too.

I’m now up to 416 parkruns, so if I do around 40 parkruns a year I am pretty close to a 2 year countdown to the 500 club! It sounds close but it really isn’t. Up next will be some more tourism. I noticed in the 5K app that my tourist streak is now at 18 (this is the number of events in a row you have been to without repeating)- this goes back to my North Walsham visit back in April. I think the highest I’ve noticed before was 12, and I didn’t really think I’d get higher than that, but you can repeat events, just not repeat events within the streak if that makes sense. So maybe I will see if I can keep that going a bit longer as I’ve got some definite tourism plans this weekend and at the start of October which will be good to incorporate into the streak.

Egham Orbit parkrun for Branka’s Cowell!

I’ve been touring a fair bit recently, and this weekend was no different. Branka was achieving her Cowell (100 different parkrun events) and wanted to go to Egham as it was near to her uni. Dad was keen to come too as he is closing in on his Cowell too (this was his 93rd event), and after enjoying the trip last week, Mum came along too.

Holly and Branka were going to meet us there, but of course the weather forecast was not playing ball, with flash flooding and lightning predicted. I had originally planned to pick up my parents as they are on the way to the M25, but I asked Dad to drive so that I could check my phone in the car, as if Egham cancelled we would divert elsewhere. Dad was a bit apprehensive about us travelling that far when I got there, as he was (understandably) worried about flash flooding, but as the rain had not been too heavy by that time, and the lightning wasn’t then due until the afternoon, after a message from Holly about how the roads were OK, he was happy to go for it. The journey was OK, with some spray from vehicles and a few slower sections but nothing like we had expected.

The parking is next to the leisure centre, with friendly marshals pointing you to the overflow car park. The course page mentions that you have to cross a level crossing, which may be closed for up to ten minutes, so definitely factor that into your journey time. As we exited the motorway we could see the section of red road on google maps, but by the time we got there is was back to being blue, so it must have been closed during that time.

There are toilets in the leisure centre, but only 2 cubicles, so there was a bit of a queue which meant we missed some of the first timers welcome. Never mind, the RD (who was brilliant, very engaging) had us all chant “three, three, nearly two” to help us remember the laps. I was pretty convinced that I would get lost or go wrong, but it was fairly simple. At one point I ran past the start/finish area, and carried on straight (as there was a cone there) before realising I had to go right and go around the perimeter of the field, but with the volunteers there I don’t think they would have let me go off the route.

The first 3 laps were anti-clockwise laps of the field by the leisure centre, you then went under the motorway (through the “party tunnel”) and then did 3 clockwise laps of a little wooded area, before going back through the tunnel and doing basically 2 laps of the leisure centre field again. The “nearly” aspect is because you come out of the tunnel part of the way around the field. Dad quite liked that we did both clockwise and anti-clockwise laps, just like the M25 that we passed under. It was strange to hear the constant hum of the traffic- it really was quite noisy even with the thick row of trees between the park and the motorway.

*A few mid-run photos and then the three of us by the pop up at the end with our 100 shirts to celebrate!* *In the top left pic you might be able to make out the little umbrella covering the phone.*

I ran with Holly, with Dad going off ahead (not on purpose but he is a bit quicker and so naturally ended up further ahead), and Branka was parkwalking with one of her friends, Adam. I thought we would see them more during the course, but we passed them during our third lap of the first field, and that was all. Apparently Branka saw us at one point but we were too busy chatting (sounds about right). I only saw Dad when he had finished and we were doing our final lap of the leisure centre.

The first three laps had quite wide paths, so being overtaken was OK, but the wooded section was very narrow. I thought that we would have been finished being overtaken by that point, but in the woods we still had people coming up behind us, and we still overtook a few people too.

For a lapped course (and basically nearly 8 laps) it did not feel repetitive, and I agreed with Holly who said she enjoyed it a lot more than she had expected to. It was flat apart from a little downhill slope on the leisure centre laps, the wooded section had some tree roots to look out for, and there would be some shade on a hot day. The event team really shone though, they were all so friendly and this really added to the occasion.

The scene at the start as we walked from the car park/ token/ pop up and one of the helpful signs out on the course

After the horrendous forecast, the weather actually wasn’t too bad. There was some rain, but it wasn’t heavy for the most part. After I had scanned, I ended up chatting to Shelley, who I know on Insta (another With Me Now pod connection- and I saw later on that her friend Kel was also there), and then we saw Branka and Adam coming around so decided to join them on their final lap. I made sure I moved way over a long time before the finish funnel, but the timer volunteer still called over to me to check I had meant to avoid the funnel. (Side note- as mentioned above, the timer had a mini umbrella to cover the phone which was total genius!)

We chatted for a bit longer with some of the volunteers, and then headed into Egham for brunch. The leisure centre cafe looked nice (nicer than the one at Jubilee) but it was mainly coffee and cake, and we wanted breakfast food, so the Liberto Lounge had been chosen. It’s around half a mile away, so you could leave your car and walk in, but it was raining heavily by this point and so we drove and parked in the Tesco (this was what one of the volunteers recommended when we asked).

Leisure centre lap, the woods section, breakfast and everyone heading off at the start.

If you’ve not been, the Lounge chains are really good for mixed parties, as you scan a QR code at the table and order and pay, (or you can order at the bar)- this means no worries about splitting the bill or anything like that. They also have an entire vegan menu, and are good at catering for different dietary requirements. I opted for the avocado on toast, tea with oat milk, and I loved that the jug came with a little oat milk sticker on it as this is one of the things I am most paranoid about.

Holly and I gave Branka a Cowell notch (a gold one, as apparently that is rules!) to mark the occasion. It’s been fun to join in with so many of their touring adventures. We spent ages chatting (mainly about parkrun touring but also other topics), and later on were joined by Branka’s friend Ruth, who had been token sorting. It was a lovely laid back morning, and it had even stopped raining by the time we walked back to the car!

So that was my 412th parkrun, and 137th location. It doesn’t count towards the Lon-DONE challenge, but it does count towards the Lon-DONE+ (which is all the parkruns with a section of the voronoi map inside the M25…. yes those challenges are quite specific!). It does give me another nice purple chunk- you can see I am less likely to visit the parkruns close to Heathrow!

After, before- *That purple patch is gradually working south*

Up next- a holiday, so a few Saturdays will be parkrun-less for me, but I am hoping to repeat one while I am away (no new events).

Preston Park in Brighton to celebrate a Cowell!

As you may well know, I will never pass up an opportunity to go to Brighton, so when Holly said that she wanted to celebrate her Cowell (100 different parkrun events) in Preston Park in Brighton, I was very happy to tag along.

Holly and Branka had the Friday off, so headed down in the day – they were staying at a different hotel to me so I would meet them in the morning. Andy got the train from home, and I drove from work (as work is close to the M25 so I am part of the way there). Of course Friday traffic wasn’t great but I got in around 7pm, so time for us to order a pizza (Purezza- so good) and then enjoy a breezy walk by the sea.

The weather had been to hot locally, but in Brighton there was a lovely cool breeze so it was actually really enjoyable to cool down for a bit.

In the morning I jogged the mile from our hotel to Preston Park, arriving just after Holly and Branka. We had all worn our 100 milestones shirts in celebration!

Pop up pics to celebrate 100 different events!

Pop up photos, chatting, first timers welcome and before we knew it, it was 9! I decided to line up around the 28 minute mark as it’s a fast course, and I was pleased to finish in 28:12.

That was my 9th time there and just as enjoyable- it is a busy course now but the paths are wide and you don’t have a long time with runners passing you on their final laps.

*A few pics from the event as usual- token, pop up and the busy start area.*

We didn’t chat for too long after finishing, as I had an 11 o’clock check out and wanted to have a shower before we met for brunch. I had a bit of a dramatic jog back, as I passed a domestic disturbance outside some flats (with a lady and two kids shouting and crying that this guy in their flats had tried to hit her)- I ended up calling the non-emergency police number as I was not sure if she was on the phone to the police at that time too- it turned out not so then police were dispatched- I was glad I had called but it did make for a bit of a panic jog back to the hotel when I finally got off the phone. In the end I got back at 10:30 so I didn’t have long to shower and pack!

Then the three of us met up in Bill’s for brunch, where I found that they do vegan pancakes so of course that is what I had. We spent ages chatting about parkrun (and life, parkrun adventurer style), as always so good to spend time together catching up and making plans.

Holly and Branka were getting a train back after lunch, whereas I was staying all day, so after a little wander around the shops they headed off and I met up with Andy for our typical Brighton Saturday- a walk by the beach towards Hove, Bird and Blend visits and dinner at Oowee before driving back home.

What a fab 24 hours in Brighton!

Next weekend is a non-parkrun weekend as I am off to DLP, but after that I have a few more bits of touring to fit in before the summer holidays.

Ben’s Yard, Ely parkrun and perfect parkfaffing

My parkrun touring buddies Branka and Holly are rapidly approaching their Cowells (100 different events) and so careful tourism planning is coming into play to make sure they don’t achieve them early. This relatively new event was one that they were both planning on going to, and as I was free I was very happy to head to a new event too.

The journey was around an hours’ drive from Branka, so I left home at 7:15 to pick her up at 7:30. This didn’t seem too early compared to some of our London tourism, and so I was surprised when checking my list of NENDY’s (nearest event not done yet) that Ben’s Yard was number 93 on my list! There are 92 parkruns closer (as the crow flies)that I’ve not been to. Shocking! As I am relatively close to London, all those south London parkruns would be closer even if the journey is a lot trickier and more time consuming.

Amazingly the journey went by without a hitch. After my last time driving into Cambridgeshire (Bug Hunter Waters) where I used the postcode and got us lost in a housing estate, I had finally remembered to pin the parkrun as a starred place in my maps, so the directions took us right to it.

The location is really brilliant for a tourist with everything you need in one place- ample and free parking clearly sign posted from the road, toilets, cafe, restaurant and shops. I am not sure how easy it would be to get to if you lived in Ely (eg could you cycle or run/walk, or would you need to drive) but for us it was great. As we pulled into the car park we saw the “parkrun parking” signs, and then saw Holly in her car. You could see the start area from the car park, so again, a tourists dream! We took our pop up photos and then jumped up and down trying to keep warm- the weather was not living up to the sunshine that had been promised. I can imagine that in the winter it would be quite brutal with cold winds whipping off the fields- you would stay in your car until the last possible moment.

Pop up pic!

We had a super first timers welcome (two laps, keep left until you are about to finish) and then were told to head to the start. As we walked towards the pop up, we were all called back as they wanted to do the main briefing in the same place that the welcome had been, rather than by the actual start. However, we were still at the start line and off pretty much at 9 o’clock (very unlike last week!).

Map- run along the path into the first field (on the right), loop around that field, then along a path and up the slope to run around the lake (left hand loop) and repeat.

I ran with Holly and we had a lovely catch up. The route was so enjoyable. It’s very flat (one hump that you run up, a bit like a bridge- was it a bridge?), around a field and then around a lake and through some woods. The field was quite rutted so I felt I had to keep my eyes on the ground to make sure I didn’t twist an ankle, but the rest of the course was gravel paths and a lovely running surface. I expect in the winter the field part would be very muddy, but the paths would be OK (maybe collect puddles?).

A volunteer took some photos and put them on their facebook page so we got a few mid-run pics which is always nice. Plus the pop up with the car park in the distance, and the token (111- a great number!)

Near the finish area is a huge photo frame lined up with the cathedral in Ely, so I took a photo of that as we ran past on our second lap. Really we should have taken photos of each other but I didn’t think of that until we’d finished. I really enjoyed that you ran past the finish area going into the second loop- the marshals and volunteers were all so enthusiastic so it was a great boost to pass them all half way around. The finish came up so quickly too- I think as the route was so varied.

A few photos taken while running including the frame with the cathedral in the background

Once we had finished and scanned we had a few minutes chatting before Branka came in, and then we headed back to the yard to find some breakfast.

You can see the car park and yard from here- it’s all so compact

They had told us in the briefing that there was a bakery/cafe, and a restaurant, and if you showed your parkrun barcode you would get 10% off in the restaurant. We decided on the cafe, and joined the big queue. (Holly popped out to check out the menu just in case we changed our minds) The cafe was lovely, with loads of pastries and cakes, and very pretty flowers hanging from the ceiling. It had a few vegan items but nothing really for breakfast (rocky road or a brownie), so I got a rocky road for later and was pleased I’d packed a vegan croissant in my bag. They did have plant milk so I could get a tea which is the main objective after running for me.

*Cafe views and the pretty wall of flowers in the yard- they had a few vegan items, and I could get a tea with oat milk*, although we were given takeaway cups even though other people had china ones, not sure why.

We spent ages in there chatting and discussing future parkrun plans- the best way to parkfaff! We had a little leg stretch walking around the yard area- there was a little knick knack shop filled with all sorts of pretty mugs and random Jelly cat toys and that sort of thing, as well as a farmers market style shop where I bought some salad topper (more interesting than it sounds). There was a very pretty wall of flowers so we had to get photos in front of that too. Then it was time to head home- again a straightforward journey and I was home and showered in time for lunch.

Stats: parkrun number 403, venue 132

Question- who is Ben? All I could think of was Ben Folds Five, but I am sure it is nothing to do with that. Probably.