Tag: vegan food

Local parkruns- Panshanger for the 97th time, Letchworth for the 5th and Jersey Farm for the 40th

The single ton at Panshanger is inching ever closer for me!

At the start of July, after a bit of touring I decided to head to Panshanger and work on the single-ton achievement instead of touring elsewhere. It also means I can run there as it’s about 2 miles, so a good parkrun sandwich distance. It was a bit drizzly when I left, so I took my hat with me and was glad of it. The run there goes through a lovely section of woods so you are at least a bit sheltered, and I got there at about 8:45 so not too long to stand around. At this point it was raining much harder so I sheltered under one of the gazebos (the event team have them for the timers to stand under at the end). I’d bumped into a runner friend (hi Sam) so we chatted under the gazebo until it was time for us to reluctantly go and stand in the rain ready to start!

I said hi to a few of the OH lady crew before the start and then had an enjoyable solo run. The cows were near to the first hill so I attempted a selfie with one of them (anything to mean I don’t have to run up the entire hill!), and the rain eased off during the run too.

As per usual, when trying to get a selfie with the sign someone took pity on me and offered to take my photo:

I don’t look that wet in the photo but trust me, I was soaked through. Other people were having photos taken and saying that they were commemorating running in such heavy rain!

The gazebo was being used by the timers too- a very good idea as it’s not easy to use the phone screen

when it’s raining.

So that was my 97th time at Panshanger- hopefully I’ll manage 3 more this year!

The following weekend I could not decide where to go. I didn’t fancy Panshanger again, and Dad was away so no point in going to the St Albans ones. I was tempted to revisit a Herts one (to move up the Herts Vegan Runner table)- either Westmill or Stevenage, but Branka was going to be at Letchworth and so I decided to head up there as it was around the same driving time as Westmill and it would be lovely to have a catch up.

The sun came out and it was a fabulous walk around the fields and park, and as always we enjoyed a good catch up about parkrun touring, work, Disney and a few other topics thrown in for good measure!

After, I headed to Vutie Beets for a post parkrun brunch. It is so good there- I just wish they did pots of tea rather than cups. I took a selfie as somehow I always end up matching their cups. They don’t just serve yellow cups but it seems I am always given a yellow cup and always seem to be wearing yellow!

After a few busy Sundays I was free in the morning so headed to Birchwood to marshal there. The weather was beautiful, and they had let the wildflowers grow in the park, mowing a path (which was handy for the course as it meant less cones for the team to put out). I had fun messing around with the timer on my phone while I waited for the runners to come by!

The following Saturday I was back at Jersey Farm. Dad was back so we walked there together and then ran around together. I was a bit sad because looking on the 5k app I had been to Ellenbrook Fields 39 times, and this was my 40th run at Jersey Farm so I am now overtaking my EF visits. I did volunteer at EF 22 times but of course some of those would have also been running ones eg I probably did the new runner briefing, so the total won’t be the same yet. But still, it did make me feel a bit sad. Our OH ladies insta feed on Saturdays is full of all the parkrun touring that we all get up to, and that mainly comes from us feeling “homeless” and so heading to lots of places. Anyway, at Jersey Farm the wildflowers had been left to grow and you could just hear the constant chirp of insects in the long grasses- how it should be.

Looking at my event summaries, St Albans is my next visited one (where I started parkrunning) on 31, so it will be a bit of a while before that overtakes EF.

Where are your most visited parkruns? After these local ones, Hove Prom is my next most visited with 11, and then Preston Park with 8, so you can tell I like going to Brighton for the weekend!

A revisit to Leavesden and a volunteer celebration!

In the wilderness between milestones (still well over 3 years to my next one) chasing random challenges (hello Wilson Index) is a fun way to occupy the time and also to help me decide where to go. I know I go on about it, but as Ellenbrook Fields didn’t come back after the pause, I do not feel I have a home parkrun. I think Panshanger is my official one, and I do love it there, but it’s not the same.

Anyway, the Herts branch of Vegan Runners UK have a fab stats person (Gary) who each week produces some stats linked to parkrun attendance in Herts- number of Herts locations visited, number of VR’s at each location and so on. I have been to all the Herts parkruns, but not in this calendar year, and so I decided that this weekend I’d head to a Herts parkrun that I’d not been to this year, to move myself up on that table. I’d been to Jersey Farm, Panshanger, Letchworth, St Albans and Aldenham, so my choice was between Leavesden, Westmill and Stevenage.

A couple of other members of my club fancied Leavesden, so it was decided!

It is a super convenient parkrun- there is parking right by the start (you can see the flag from in the car), there is a little cafe and toilets by the start, it’s not too far a journey and not too difficult to find. It doesn’t seem to get huge numbers, but I think that’s a good thing as it’s a 3 lap course with one section where you have to keep to one side as runners come in the opposite direction (almost like a figure of 8 with the middle section where people meet). For us this was fine but if it was busy then it would be harder to pass- we had 99 participants that week.

I ran with Fiona and we had a lovely time chatting about all running and parkrun (and how much we missed Ellenbrook). It was sunny as I left home, but as we drove it had started to rain, and it drizzled on and off during parkrun. Nothing too bad but not really the weather we expect in June! The shade of the trees was still appreciated more as shelter from the rain.

Of course once finished we had to get a few photos. Gary (of VR stats fame) was also there so we got a picture for the VR club, plus of course we needed one of our little touring group too. Gary was also with a guy who used to run at Ellenbrook, so the day felt very themed towards that- lots of our club got into parkrun tourism after the pause because they didn’t have a parkrun home any more.

The cafe at Leavesden is really nice but we all had to head home so just went back to the car after taking the photos and scanning.

When the VR stats came through my name was on several of the categories-

Finished Top 20 for Gender: 13th at Leavesden Country parkrun – Maria W, Fastest Female Times: (I was number 3)- 00:29:57 Maria W Leavesden Country parkrun, Most Herts Finishes -11 (along with several others- the top person has 24 this year), Most Herts locations visited in 2024- I am on 6 which is now joint top of the table! I think this is the one I am most likely to do well at as I could potentially visit them all (although maybe would choose not to revisit a couple…). So it was worth me visiting there just to see my name in lights!

On Sunday I was off to Norton Common junior parkrun (Letchworth), as Branka was celebrating her v250! What a fantastic achievement! It was also their first birthday (which is why we had party hats on). The park is so pretty! I’d been for a little wander around as I sometimes park there when going to Letchworth, but the junior parkrun route is so lovely with all the tall trees. It has a wilder feel than the more manicured parks that other junior parkruns are in. Anyway, I was barcode scanning which was good as I was then at the start/finish area for the event.

Congratulations! Very much looking forward to seeing the green shirt in real life!

It was even more of a celebration as another RD was also celebrating his v250! All the things! Finally the High Sheriff has been making her way around all the Herts parkruns, and she was visiting. I think this is the third time I’ve seen her now- she was at St Albans, Letchworth and now Norton Common juniors.

Of course, if I am in Letchworth I am going to head to Vutie Beets for breakfast after. I opted for a crookie this time (croissant + cookie) and tea, and then bought some buns to take home and share with Andy later. Because the weather was so good (at long last) we had a long walk in Panshanger in the afternoon before watching the football in the evening.

Panshanger park/ breakfast/ on my walk/ the birthday decorations at NC.

How do you choose which parkrun to visit? I know I am in a great situation with so many within a short distance. I am still going for my single-ton at Panshanger so that is still on the cards for when I have a busy weekend too.

parkwalking at Letchworth and enjoying the sunshine

After my weekend in Brighton, I was home for the following week, and had arranged to head up to Letchworth to parkwalk with Branka. It turned out that the High Sheriff was there too (after seeing her at St Albans a few weeks before)- she really is doing the rounds.

It was the most beautiful day, although it started off quite overcast and I only made the decision to wear my sunglasses at the last moment as I left the car.

After the briefing a lady sidled up to me and said rather apologetically that she might be walking too. We chatted for a bit and it turned out that she had not been to a parkrun since before the pandemic, so was feeling quite nervous. I reassured her that there was always a tail walker as well as the parkwalkers, and hopefully me telling her to take her time and just enjoy it made her feel a bit better. We didn’t see her as we walked but of course if we had have done then that would have been fine. I just hope she enjoyed it.

The Sheriff, scenes from the parkrun and my token

It is such a pretty route with views across the fields- it’s two laps which can feel harder if you are walking, but with the scenery and company it was enjoyable from start to finish. We had one incident with one of the front runners. We were walking on a narrower part of the course, and suddenly we heard this guy shouting “ladies, ladies”, he then basically ran into me and grabbed my shoulders, trying to get past, and then once he’d passed us shouted “I said ladies but none of you moved”- I was taken by surprise and couldn’t react quick enough to reply- had he said something helpful like “coming up on your left” then we would have moved over. We did try to be considerate, going single file through the field opening (but then why should a faster runner get priority over a walker? Maybe we were on for a walking pb?) and everyone else was very nice.

Standard purple sign photo (although we should have got one with the three of us) and a mid parkrun pic

The bottom photo above is one of my favourite parkrun photos- we were keeping over to the side as the runners finished their second lap, everyone looks so happy, the sunshine is filtering through the trees, it’s fab.

I absolutely love chatting about parkrun, and it was exciting to hear about Branka and Holly’s alphabet plans, how they try to wangle parkruns into other trips (eg wedding weekends) and chatting about places we have already visited because of parkrun. An hour well-spent for sure.

I’d given Branka some Brighton Rock Bird and Blend Tea (we’re now doing tea exchanges!) and I knew she had to head off pretty quickly as she was off to Oxford (handily with a B&B store there- more on that in another blog post) so I headed off to Vutie Beets for a solo parkfaff (a “me party” if you are a Muppet fan). I listened to With Me Now so it was very much parkrun-flavoured.

Pancakes, buns and my parkrun socks

Of course once I got home my parkrun socks had arrived – I feel like they purposely make sure their deliveries arrive on a Saturday so they are always too late to be worn to parkrun! Also with a random parkrun magazine that was about a year old.

Loving the sunshine at Panshanger park

We couldn’t go to a B&B store but we could go to Panshanger park and visit the Planted coffee van for an iced tea, which is the next best thing! It was a gorgeous day for a walk.

On Sunday our club had a run for the new and back to runners graduation, so we had a lovely run to the lakes (so many goslings!) and then breakfast after. I was very glad I’d put on suncream before I left in the morning. I always forget that in the summer although you have less layers to put on, getting ready still takes ages because of those sorts of things instead.

Another lovely parkrun visit- that was my 4th time at Letchworth, and my first this year which meant I visited another Herts parkrun for the Herts Vegan Runners most events table! I think I’m going to try and revisit a few of them this year as I really enjoyed the more local tourism for when I was chasing Queen of Herts. It’s just a shame there are not more Saturdays really!

Do you have local events that you like to revisit? I’m still working on my single-ton for Panshanger too.

A birthday Brighton weekend

If you have read this blog for a while, then you will know I love Brighton. Honestly, a weekend there is just fantastic and one of my favourite ways to spend a weekend. There are lots of parkruns to choose from, you can walk by the sea, there are fun little shops to explore in the lanes and of course amazing vegan food options.

My birthday is around the May Bank holiday weekend, so we often go away for the long weekend as a birthday treat (last year we went to Bakewell for the weekend), and this year we headed to Brighton. Andy had got the train down earlier in the afternoon so he could check in to our hotel (as it had a time limit for checking in), and I got the train after work and we met up for dinner, then had a sunset walk by the sea.

The run to parkrun by the sea/ the 5K app showing me my options

Of course Saturday morning was time for parkrun. We were staying in Kemp town, so I think I was actually half way between East Brighton and Hove Prom. Before this weekend, I’d been to Hove Prom 10 times, Preston Park 8 times, Brighton and Hove once, Bevendean Down once and East Brighton once. You can see my favourites (but they are also the easiest from the city centre as both are a jog/walk from most hotels). We planned to meet for breakfast after, and this was closer to Hove Prom, so the decision was made. It is probably my favourite of all the Brighton ones.

Photos with the selfie frame (lesser spotted selfie frames now… and of course the purple pop up- the beach huts in Hove make a great backdrop to photos too as they are so colourful.

It was the most beautiful morning, with blue skies and the sun glinting off the sea. It was also Star Wars Day (May the 4th) and I was very impressed to see a few people in outfits. Some people actually ran in full length costumes and masks which would have been tough in the heat. I admire their dedication. I have a Grogu Christmas jumper but there was no way I was running in that, I would have been overheating in no time.

Hove Prom is out and back twice, but you start in the middle, which sounds complicated, but basically you run out towards Hove, back along the front passing the start line, up to the Peace statue, then back along towards the start/finish line, and then repeat. It is very inclusive with a separate start for VI runners and wheelchair participants, it’s flat, well marshalled and really friendly. This time as well as people in Star Wars outfits there were a few hen dos – there were 762 runners in total which seems mad! I first went there in 2015 and there were 108 runners! They had pacers so I tried to keep up with the 29 minute pacer. I think if it had been less busy then the 28 minute pacer could have been an option but it takes a while for the crowd to thin out enough to get into your own pace. The pacer was great, turning around and cheering on the group frequently, and I was very happy with 28:38 as my time. I do really think they need a double funnel though- the funnel loops back and forth around 4 times I think and there were people trying to duck out, people milling about and not closing the gaps- the poor funnel managers were having a terrible time. It wasn’t as bad as Clapham Common but it does seem to be really exploding in size- the course can cope with big numbers but the funnel really can’t. I got there just as the funnel was filling, but a bit behind me people were stopping before the finish line as there wasn’t space in the funnel.

The most delicious pancakes from Nowhere Man (my new favourite Brighton breakfast spot), the funnel going on and on, up and down, finish token and another beach hut photo.

Andy messaged as I was in the funnel to say he had ordered breakfast so I couldn’t hang about for long- time to get scanned, get my top and head back into town. Those pancakes are delicious- Nowhere Man do vegan pancakes and also non-vegan ones. These were dark chocolate raspberry ones. They also serve Bird and Blend tea which of course makes me happy.

Children’s day parade, iced matcha and tea at breakfast

On the way back to the hotel after breakfast we stumbled across a children’s day parade- all the schools had decorated floats and were parading them down the main street. We watched for ages- they were all so brilliant. After finally having a shower and getting changed we then had our standard Brighton Saturday afternoon- a walk to Hove, a drink from Bird and Blend, a wander around the shops in the lanes, and a delicious Purezza dinner.

Sunset views, more tea and the talk at the Brighton festival

On Sunday we had tickets for a talk by Caroline Lucas, about her new book, as part of the Brighton Festival. It was a bit rainy that day but had stopped raining once we came out of the talk. We saw some more beautiful sunset views on our evening walk. Then on Monday I went for a run in the rain, picked up breakfast (The Flour Pot bakery do amazing vegan croissants too) and then headed to the train station via Bird and Blend for a final matcha. That was less fun as lots of trains were cancelled due to a reported landslip, but thankfully we got home, albeit rather later than planned.

A rainy morning run, and the matcha wall of dreams!

So, another pretty perfect weekend in Brighton.

Where do you like to head for a weekend away? Which parkruns do you like to revisit?

A new course at St Albans parkrun

St Albans parkrun is where I started parkrunning all those years ago, but since Panshanger, Ellenbrook Fields (sad face) and Jersey Farm started and they were all closer, I don’t tend to go back to St Albans much. The course has changed since I first started there, due to flooding but also the huge number of runners.

The first course was a lollipop with 3 laps (start at the car park and run out to the lake, 3 laps of the lake then back along the path to the start), but it got busy on the narrow paths as inevitably there was lots of lapping- we always got lapped by the people on their 3rd laps when we were on our 2nd. My first run there had 131 runners, and a year later there were 350. They had an off road course for when the lakes were flooded, which was a similar lollipop shape, but laps of an undulating field rather than flat laps of the lake. Then they changed the main course to incorporate one side of the lake.

Recently they’ve been trialling a new course for when the lake is flooded, around an old golf course, and I was quite intrigued by this so persuaded my dad to come along. We both needed a fairly local run, so this fit the bill nicely.

We just made it there on time, as it turned out my brother was also coming, but didn’t realise we were going to St Albans rather than Jersey Farm- we would walk to Jersey Farm and drive to St Albans, both taking maybe 10 minutes but you had to allow time to park and pay at St Albans. Anyway, when he turned up we decided to chance it and just about made it, paying for parking at 8:55! The start area is still close enough to the car park to make it there thankfully.

There was a bit of pomp and ceremony at the start, as initially named as the major of St Albans but was actually the High Sheriff of Hertfordshire (an ancient ceremonial role apparently…)- the theme was something to do with helping or sport, I couldn’t hear all the announcement, but she said she would be visiting all of the parkruns in Herts and had started at St Albans.

Anyway, we were soon off and running along the edge of the field, to the back of the park and then along the path. This was the familiar part of the course as it covered parts of previous parkrun courses. Once we crossed and got into the golf course bit it was all new to me.

I enjoyed it so much! As we ran the first loop we had views of the abbey and the park surrounding it. We ran through trees and then up a gentle slope (which reminded me of the South Oxhey slope) you could not see all the way to the top as there were trees in the way, and the course wound up gently. You could see people on the other side making their way back down, and I always enjoy those courses where you can see people on other points of the park.

Once you got to the top of the slope you headed back down, only after looping through some more trees we were treated to a short steep uphill section which was very muddy and slippery- I was glad of my trail shoes at that point. You then repeated the golf course loop and then went back to the main path, along the path, retracing your footsteps to go back to the finish.

The course had good variation with the flat sections in the park and the undulating section in the golf course, and with all the scenery changes there was lots to look at.

I ran with Dad, and after we finished we took a few photos and cheered my brother in. Lots of people were milling about on the basketball court- there is always a nice feel at St Albans as there is a cafe in the park as well as the Waffle House close by so people can parkfaff (although we usually head home as Mum will cook us breakfast).

It ended up being a parkrun themed weekend, as I marshalled at Birchwood juniors on the Sunday too (along with several OH ladies), and then persuaded Andy to head up to Letchworth together- we had lunch at Vutie Beets and brought home some buns.

Does your local parkrun have different routes?