Croeso cynnes gan Penallta parkrun

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A parkrun cwtsh, and trysor a anwybyddir. The problem is, Penallta’s proximity to Pontypridd. This means that many come this way as part of their Full Ponty challenge, and never make it back again to savour the delights of Penallta parkrun. Their bad, they are missing out on a hidden treasure indeed. I’ll try to make the case, but shouldn’t be too hard to be fair, you’ve only got to scroll through a few pictures and you’ll be sold on it, and that’s before we even get to all the flags and pathologically friendly natives and the unique razzle dazzle of all the good things coming together. I don’t want to exactly give you any spoilers, more whet your appetite so you head off there to experience it for yourself. Oh, and another thing, if you hang on for Penallta junior parkrun the following day, you might even bag yourself a sighting of the elusive pink Australian volly brolly. I kid you not! And you thought twitchers got easily excited by the prospect of an elusive sighting, bet you have already squirmed under your bed to retrieve your previously squirrelled away suitcase, fossicked about for your sports bra or bits pants and sprinted to the front door via snatching your barcode from the side in eager anticipation of seeing it for yourself.

Pace yourself though.

Let me help build the anticipation for you, you will be in a frenzy of excitement by the time you set off once you have been furnished with a few more details to put you in the parkrun picture.

So Penallta then. According to the Penallta parkrun website blah de blah

Course Description – This is a one lap course with two out & back sections, within Park Penallta Country Park, utilising route 47 of the national cycle network. Runners are asked to keep on the left side throughout. It’s mostly flat terrain with just one short rise (known as Bea’s Hill) and mainly on tarmac. Starting by the Tredomen Park entrance to Penallta Park the path rises gently North West until a left turn over a railway bridge. This takes runners out and back up Bea’s Hill. Upon returning to the bridge the path continues North West eventually reaching the second out and back spur alongside the railway. Runners are once again reminded to keep left though the open gate into this section. Once this is completed runners turn left through the willow tunnel, around the lake and emerge back on to the outgoing path turning left to head for home. At this point the route simply heads runners South East back to the start point with the last 1 km being a gentle downward slope.

At the start point there is a large map board where the parkrun route is clearly visible.

Facilities – Free car parking & toilet facilities are available at Caerphilly Borough Council buildings.

and it looks like this:

Quite clearly, it’s much easier to remember the route if you visualise the course as an accurate silhouette in the shape of an aardvark’s head, with its tongue sticking out. The icons for the start and finish representing a couple of (admittedly quite large) ants that have just been picked up. A green and and a red ant respectively. I don’t really know why the event team haven’t thought to use that analogy before. Having units of measurements based on aardvark heads is so obvious, and it’s not like Wales isn’t used to being the standard measure for all sorts of things. Wales is 20,779 km2 (8,023 sq mi) in size, the equivalent of 14 million rugby size pitches. ‘An area the size of Wales’ is frequently used to measure the rate of forest destruction for example. It would be annoying though if Wales itself was divided up into 14 million rugby pitches though, as even though the Welsh are known for loving their Rugby, such innovation in land use would present some practical challenges in day to day living.

Do you know what the Welsh is for Aardvark by the way? You probably do to be fair, it’s aardvark accordingtogoogletranslatesoitmustbetrue. With all the enthusiasm for Strava art during lockdown, the opportunity to draw your own aardvark is surely a usp in its own right, and that’s without all the other splendifery of Penallta parkrun to take into account if you weigh it all up appropriately Caerphilly.

I didn’t know in advance about the added value of the aardvark in advance, and was lured by the joy associated with visiting a fellow parkrunner on their home turf. In fact, a few of us would gather together and make a weekend of it. It’s always good to appreciate each others’ home parkruns. Also, I am ashamed to say that in all my years of parkrunning, I had yet to make it to a Welsh venue, my bad. I love Wales, I even worked on Anglesey for a couple of years (pre parkrun obvs) so I have no idea why it’s taken me quite so long to head back. Anyway, we’d fixed the date, booked a purple palace nearby at the Crossways Caerphilly all ready for a go go.

We met the night before, a jolly foursome. We ate at the Fullers Bar adjacent to the Crossways Caerphilly which was without exception the worst meal I’ve ever had out in my entire lifetime. Complaining was futile, efforts at meal modification were beyond the skills of the surly staff, one of whom actually rolled her eyes. The roast potatoes were a soggy mass, replaced after we complained by same subjected to a deep fat frier. The sundaes were made with hot custard instead of cold. I wanted to complain, but my companion is particularly partial to hot custard and felt a sundae glass of hot custard to be a win, so I gave up the good fight and have gone with internalised resentment and a resolve never to cross the threshold of a Brewers Fayre pub again. Avoid, avoid, avoid. Honestly, I’m still fuming, I am annoyed at myself for not demanding a full refund but it felt like it would spoil our fun evening to make a fuss. How very British. Gagging worthy rather than gag worthy. The actual premier inn was fine and dandy though with very jolly and helpful reception staff and blissfully quiet. However, FYI if you are making a weekend of it, pick a quaint B&B near to the castle, which is truly spectacular, and you’ll have a much better sense of place. Still, we’d not gone for the food, we’d gone for the parkrun and the companionship, and these did not disappoint! And we hadn’t expected an aardvark, or even Sultan the pit pony, so maybe what we lost on the swings we won on the roundabouts, or something like that anyway. Also, it was a very educational parkrun experience, edutainment at its best.

The morning dawned. Mist was thick outside our bedroom window, and we were inspecting the heavens to open, the weather forecast having threatened wind and rain. Lots of. Especially rain. I mean, Wales wouldn’t be lovely and green without the rain, but there are limits.

We headed off as a merry threesome, scooping up our Penallta local, and off we went to the edge of Penallta parc. You park for the parkrun in a rather unlikely looking car park for what appear to be general municipal buildings and private businesses. It feels rather as if you are trespassing, but you aren’t, it’s ok. There is even a building where you can nip in for a precautionary pee if needed, always a parkrun win when touristing. Parking was free too, and it’s but a short walk over the road and up a short stretch of hill to the parkrun start. Note this though, if you are over – confident, and just head for the Penallta Parc entrance and car park, you are at completely the wrong side of the venue, and can’t even see the parkrunners a-gathering from that vantage point, so there are sorry tales of tourists arriving in good time, hanging out at the car park and then missing the parkrun altogether. Oh the horror! Doesn’t bear thinking about.

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Fortunately, when you are in the correct location, a handy sign notifies you of this. A notice, you will be bound to notice, is a reassuring presence on such occasions. I also had with me a handy parkrun buddy, dressed in an homage to our friend George as manifest in ‘O Brother Where Art Thou?’ in case you are thinking her outfit looks familiar. In fact, it looks like the characters are taking part in a rather nice trail parkrun route in the publicity photo when you come to think of it. How splendid! Great film that by the way, just so you know.

You know you are going to be in for a treat when you can hear a burst of inspirational running related music blasting out as you approach. It wasn’t ‘running up that hill’, but could have been ‘eye of the tiger‘, whatever, it was definitely a themed playlist. And there was a pop up sign, always welcome for the mandatory parkrun tourist photo op. Charlie wasn’t able to be present in person on this occasion on account of being inadvertently left behind in London, but some quick thinking trouble shooting ensured they were able to join us via video link up for the bear and sign photo. Phew. Dodged a bullet there for sure.

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As well as the music, and smiling high vis heroes, there was a significant amount of flaggery to behold. I don’t mean just bunting – welcome as that always is – I mean your actual flags, strung up as if broadcasting intent from a pirate ship, excellent. A helpful breeze animated them beautifully – but do you know what they all are?

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Let me help, working right to left. The one with the dragon – no prizes for guessing this one. That’s your standard Welsh Flag, but did you know this wasn’t recognised as the Welsh national flag until 1959. I know, quite shocking, and also shocking is that Wales isn’t represented on the Union Flag either, which I’d never really considered before. Next to it we have the Ukrainian Flag, displayed in solidarity with the Ukraine following the Russian invasion. Possibly not really hung correctly but the intention is clear. Interesting, the whole flag thing at parkrun, this is a pretty uncontroversial flag in the current climate, whether a Palestinian flag would be displayed I’m less sure. The next flag you might need a bit of help with. We did, but fortunately under the ‘any other duties’ job spec for the high vis heroes, was flag interpretation. Turns out this is the flag of St David:

‘The flag of Saint David (Welsh: Baner Dewi Sant) represents the 6th-century Saint David (Welsh: Dewi Sant; c. 500 – c. 589), a Welsh bishop of Menevia and the patron saint of Wales. It is normally a yellow cross on a black field, but it has also appeared as a black cross on a yellow field or with an engrailed cross.‘

The flag is another relatively late arrival in the ensign catalogue, being ‘mostly unknown, even in Wales, until the 1990s,’ apparently. Not a stranger to Penallta though, nor all who have participated in the parkrun there, parkrun delivering cross cultural enlightenment and edutainment all over again.

What about the last magpie offering? Well, this has some element of controversy it seems. The canny eyed amongst you will have deduced it is the standard for Swansea City A.F.C. Football club. Now you might conclude from this that Penallta parkrun is a hotbed of Swansea AFC support, but you’d be oh so much mistaken. In fact, a lone voice champions this club, to the mocking scorn of the rest of the parkrun field who are Cardiff City fans. Swansea City’s main rivals are in fact Cardiff City, with the rivalry described as among the most hostile in British football. It is testament to the healing powers of parkrun cordiality that his minority view is indulged albeit disputed, he flies the flag somewhat in desperation to the sniggers of the confident majority. It’s worth knowing some of this flag semiotics prior to attending Penallta to avoid any embarrassing blunders. Also, best to avoid trying to pronounce ‘Penallta’ in the presence of any of the locals, that double l is a challenge to the unpractised, however noble the intentions may be! I can’t promise there won’t be a test of some sort on both these topics (flag and welsh language pronunciation) so best be prepared.

So we gathered and mingled. There was time for obligatory selfies, which I think capture our eager anticipation pretty well…

Despite the generally inclement weather leading up to the event, and indeed afterwards, for the actual pre parkrun faffery and event itself the rain held off. The autumn colours amongst the trees were stunning, and there was a pretty good turn out, with a surprisingly high number of first timers, around 28 not first time everers perhaps – though there was one. Given that there were but 149 course completers, that seems to me to be quite a high proportion of tourists, maybe word is getting out about its delights after all.

There was a cheery first timers’ briefing, as well as an impassioned run director’s briefing. It was a bit confusing as there were two people sporting RD colours, one the old style monochrome and one the new blue, but I suppose it matters little as it seemed to be very much a team affair. Maybe the monochrome RD garb is a further nod to Swansea AFC? Yes, that must be it. Anyways, the core team clearly know each other well and work together, this is a parkrun with a reliable and regular cohort for sure. With many parts of the course named in honour of the high vis namesakes who have patrolled them over the years. We were asked to look out for Malcolm at the end point and to be sure to thank the many marshals as we passed.

Great briefings, and excellent use of foliage to add interest, hurrah!

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and soon we were all very much awf! Some more awf than others, I was, as is usual, right at the back of the pack. This can be very dispiriting at times, but in a venue as lovely as this it was worth spending some time just taking it all in. The colours of the trees, the naming of the parts, the heron, the high vis heroes, and exchanging greetings and waves with runners coming back towards us and then running off again like a tide that ebbed and flowed.

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Inevitably, the rest of the field disappeared out of sight pretty quickly, and we party at the backers were left with the responsibility of a more mindful experience, soaking up the views, as well as the damp on our way round. As well as the astonishing beauty of the trees, and the wonderful ‘secret’ vistas where now and again we ventured into the open, our route was peppered with charming marshals. Each one seemingly more enthusiastic, interactive and photogenic than the one before. Like the finest box of chocolates, everyone was someone’s favourite, though personally I find it impossible to decide. We were a bit previous in trying to identify Malcolm, who is at an end point, but it’s the end point where the his bridge is, not at the top of the hill. Don’t worry though, you’ll work it out from the excellent signage, or the helpful marshals guiding you all round. There is also a seal cub serving as a marshal, I forgot to ask why, but seemed confident and competent enough for the role. Anyway, they were being supervised, so all good.

The route takes you up Bea’s Hill, through Ava’s Arch, via a good squelch mired in Mike’s Marsh, with the apotheosis being, of course, Malcolm’s Bridge.

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Given the nature of the course, there is a fun activity you can do once you get to the far end point of Malcolm’s bridge. (What an amazing co-incidence it was that the bridge is called Malcolm and that the marshal there is called Malcolm too! What are the chances?). There are flags (obvs) at the bridge, and potentially a test to check if you have been properly listening earlier on. These flags are the Welsh flag, but also that red and yellow one – them are lions. This is the Welsh National Flag, you can access a banner making pdf here if you’d like to make your own, though tbf Malcolm’s was altogether classier.

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In Welsh legend, it is believed that Owain Glyndŵr will return to lead the defence of Wales. The banner of Owain Glyndŵr which is four lions on red and gold was carried with him into battle during the rebellion against the English.

As well as trying to get a complete selection of Welsh flags through the ages, you can try to collect the whole set of marshals on the journey home. They are pretty compliant, and each individual market comes with their own set of bespoke accessories, which makes the endeavour extra jolly. It is a bit like herding cats getting them organised into a photo though, but I think we pretty much got there in the end.

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Astonishingly, the rain pretty much held off, so we were able to take in the sights and sounds of the lovely landscape. It’s a cracking parkrun. I honestly don’t know what I’d expected, but the autumn colours were a real treat, the sun even peaked through briefly, and the cheery smiles of the marshals would have warmed the cockles of even the iciest of hearts I’m sure.

Then, ‘suddenly’ there are but 100 metres to go, with a handy sign to advise you of such. This is a parkrun the likes their signs. Flags, signs, welcome doormats, all the symbols all the guiding principles are there.

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But wait, the excitement wasn’t over yet! One of our tourist buddies who’d already finished came back to help us walk in (don’t worry, she is too well practiced in parkrun etiquette to storm the finish funnel more than once)

As the finish funnel came into view, we espied the Welsh Dragon Welcome mat to guide you into the finish. Isn’t that splendid! Spoiler alert, YES, IT IS!

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oh and there were further finish pics on the Penallta parkrun facebook page too, in case you are interested, I mean, why wouldn’t you be, always fun to see a parkrun pic

And so ‘suddenly’ it was all done, done for us, but not for the team, who busied themselves with time keeping and barcode scanning uploading tasks. The course was packed away and like a well oiled machine where there had been parkrunners aplenty, now the parc was restored to nature, it was as if we had never been.

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parkrun paraphernalia was piled into a handy van – not a random one, it did belong to a parkrun team member, and we then made our way to the designated post parkrun parkfaff venue – Tesco, Ystrad Mynach. It is a short drive, and ‘handy’ in that it does generous cheap and cheerful breakfast options, ample parking and so on. It’s not the most atmospheric of venues, but it can accommodate the size of gathering, and also means you can do any odds and ends of shopping whilst you are there. With the benefit of hindsight though, we perhaps should have got our multi-milestone achieving parkrun friend to pose with her bespoke tote with a better backdrop. She has a track record on bag posing. Can’t imagine why she’s not been snapped up for Louis Vuitton’s next promotion – I can only assume they couldn’t afford her. Personally I think she is a most excellent bag lady.

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Oh, and it is also the only Tesco’s – or indeed any other supermarket – I’ve ever been to which has its own memorial bench. At first I thought that was a bit, erm, well weird, to be frank, however, it was for a colleague, and that’s rather touching. Also, very practical, providing a seat for people to sit on whilst they are waiting collection or whatever.

Before we headed back to the hotel, we had a bit of a look around Penallta parc ‘proper’ to admire Sultan the Pit Pony. From the ground, it looks a bit like just a series of lumpy hills, but from the sky it is extraordinary, and once you know what you are looking at on the ground, then scampering along the neck of this giant beast or bounding through his mane is extra fun. Plus, the hoof prints in the ground have created a series of little arc ponds, perfect for wildlife.

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‘Parc Penallta, which sits on the site of the old Penallta Colliery, honors the mine’s nonhuman workers with Sultan the Pit Pony, which is one of the largest figurative earthwork sculptures in the U.K. The enormous equine was created by Welsh artist Mick Petts, who used 60,000 tons of coal shale, dirt, and stone to construct the 656-foot-long (200-meter-long) artwork. The pony was originally unnamed, but it wasn’t long before locals named him after Sultan.

The sculpture was built for a practical reason—it was meant to act as a windbreak to protect the park from strong winds—but the pony serves a recreational purpose, too. Various trails let park visitors crisscross the pony’s entire body. You can even walk to its eye, which is formed by a conical structure erected atop Sultan’s verdant face.‘

We had a jolly nice explore, though ultimately rain stopped play, and we adjourned to the sanctuary of our purple palace for a hot shower and some quality power napping. It’s so important to invest in your future self don’t you agree. Particularly when you need to be on point for junior parkrun volunteer duties the following day…

Alas, that didn’t quite happen according to plan. High winds required a rare, but necessary cancellation of the Penallta junior parkrun event. Such a shame. On the plus side though, as it was a last minute call, we ended up fraternising with the locals at possibly the most beautifully positioned Starbucks I’ve ever seen.

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Unpromisingly, it is by the Asda supermarket in Caerphilly, but it is a temple of glass and space, that looks out to trees behind. Suited our purposes very well, frankly though, I’d have been happy quaffing sewage in a sewer because this quirk of fate brought us in touching distance of an actual Australian Volly Brolly.

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It is a thing of wonder indeed!

Mary Poppins has nothing on us.

All good things come to an end, which is sad, but then again, all bad things do too, in time. As a wise person once said, it’ll all be alright in the end, and if it’s not alright, then it’s not the end. Good to know. A shared parkrun is a shared joy. Thanks to all who made it so.

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Oh, and please do find a space on your 5k parkrun planner to get yourself to Caerphilly, you’ll have a ball, well, maybe not an actual ball, but a metaphorical one having a jolly fine time at a parkrun there, or your money back!

Hope you having good times at a parkrun near you, and have made it out in the recent inclement weather as parkruns tumble all around. Extra thanks to the volunteers as you pass on by if you are lucky enough to find one still on. If not, in the meantime you could always browse through all my parkrun related posts here. Or not. It’s up to you. You’ll need to scroll down for older entries though.

By for now, and thanks for stopping by.

Glorious Twelfth for Heath and Anna at Rothwell parkrun, pre-wedding wonders event # 236

Rothwell parkrun
Event number 236
12th August 2023

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Digested Read:

Well, this was a very fine parkrun with all the things.

They call it the Glorious Twelfth, don’t they? It isn’t all that glorious if you are a pheasant obvs, but it was pretty jolly Glorious for all of us at Rothwell parkrun this twelfth of August. If you were there, you already know and can just scroll on, but maybe you want to relive the joy or check out what it was you missed out on. Spoiler alert: there was no actual shooting of anything, unless you count shooting of pictures, in which case just about everyone got snapped or papped during the course of the parkrun morning, with some people getting multiple shots, but it seemed pretty consensual throughout, so no cause for alarm.

The basic stats are that this week 350 people ran, jogged and walked the course, of whom 58 were first timers and 41 recorded new Personal Bests. Representatives of 42 different clubs took part. One of the attendees came all the way from New Zealand, a shoo-in as winner of the furthest travelled parkrun tourist competition for the morning, probably all year to be fair.

That’s splendid, obviously, but wait, there’s more! Although all parkrun events are equally special, some are clearly more special than others, today was a case in point. Today was the day that the Rothwell parkrun community all came together to celebrate the forthcoming nuptials of their parkrun regulars Anna HARVEY (who has completed 59 of her 226 parkruns at Rothwell) and Heath LIST (who has done 70 of his 100 parkruns at Rothwell). Given that they are both avid parkrunners who met through their Rothwell Running Club, it was clearly unthinkable not to include their home parkrun in their wedding celebrations.

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That picture at the top of their post isn’t them by the way, it’s some Toby jugs, though I do get where you are coming from, the likeness is uncanny – but don’t worry, there will be plenty more photos incoming, for those with the stamina and tenacity to read on. Spoiler alert though, the picture at the actual top is them, and good to see they are carrying parkrun endorsed signs indicating who is who, saves any awkward embarrassment if one is trying to differentiate between bride and groom and doesn’t like to ask…

So it was, in keeping with the memo in advance, there was a spectacle of purple and pink that would put Barbie in the shade as well as an abundance of cake; a plethora of tutus and sashes and, of course the parkrun staple of miscellaneous fancy dress. People were literally jumping for joy at the occasion, and rightly so! That’s an homage to The Angel of the North going on in the back of the shot, in case you were wondering. The t-shirt with the faces on? Oh yes, that’s also a homage – to Heath and Anna, I’m sure that’ll catch on too.

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The event was made possible by 29 spectacularly photogenic volunteers:

Richard WILKINSON • Kevin MCMULLAN • Elaine KELLY • Kevin BARKER • Paul Steven Clifford HOWARD • Christine SHAW • Lucy MARRIS • Karen HOWARD • Janet HARTLEY • Caroline DAVIES • Ann WARD • Jess HEYWORTH • Caroline SHELTON • Mark KENWORTHY • Lois Elizabeth SHELTON • Victor CHOULES • Dawn CORLET • Amanda HALLIDAY • Annabel GOOCH • Don CORLET • Evan MCNAMARA • Alec MCNAMARA • David MCNAMARA • Michelle MCNAMARA • Margaret GOSNEY • James MOORE • Sabrina KITCHING • Claire DICKINSON • Pamela HALE

They gamely wore the requisite pink themed high vis too – attention to detail, I love that, no wonder some are looking especially pleased with themselves, they know they pulled off a blinder of an event!

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Today’s full results and a complete event history can be found on the Rothwell parkrun Results Page. But special shout out for storming first finisher, who was obviously in a great hurry to get to the cake table Sarah GARBUTT, with a new pb and the highest percentage age grade of the morning at 82.47%! That’s super impressive. Whilst parkrun is a run not a race, we can still acknowledge that achievement. Oh, and if you haven’t sussed the age grade thing, this gives an indication of how well the parkrunner has done relative to their age and gender see the FAQ article for more information, so over 80% is seriously good. There were a number of high achievers today though, check out this morning’s runniest runner George KAINYEK on 670 parkruns. That means, if you added all his parkruns together and ran them all at once you’d definitely be utterly exhausted. You’d at the very least need a nap at the end of it, and probably some Scooby snacks en route. The total parkrun distance clocks up at 3350 km, not enough to get him all the way to New Zealand granted, but still a lot of running around.

Wait though, there’s still more! There was some quality balloon wrangling going on, and coincidentally, the holder of the balloon with the number thirty emblazoned on it was also happened to be celebrating his 30th birthday today! What were the chances of that! As far as I know, he was still in possession of the balloon at the end of the parkrun, which is never a given, as many of those who have attempted to run with a helium balloon have discovered to their cost. If it doesn’t break free of its own accord, it could yet take you with it. We’ve all seen UP right? That properly made me bawl my eyes out. Probably hormonal, or maybe just got something in my eye… If you do lose a helium balloon it’s devastating, not just litter, but potential death trap for wildlife – be careful out there, if you are running with a balloon, please make sure it is only one, and on a short, hand-held lead. Anyway, I reckon this is Sam GOLDSWORTHY, so happy birthday to him. Good job.

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Hang on – we aren’t through yet though, that fine 50 milestone tee reminds me we need some more shout outs.

Congratulations to these milestone runners –

With an official 25 milestone, so now eligible to acquire a purple milestone tee is Derek Coule Bleakley

Arbitrary numbers, but pleasing all the same, and well on their way to nabbing their next official milestone are Andrew Dawes (150); Sally Clark (150) and Jim Upton (200). Well done all.

And finally, special shout outs to these two beauties, more of whom later – yay for fourth time everer parkrunner Reetha GOPINATHAN and for visiting tourist complete with bespoke cow t-shirt Mark KENWORTHY who also did a stint as volunteer car park marshal pre run. Hurrah to both, thanks for the cheery chats pre-event. You are worthy recipients of extra special shout outs 🙂

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So there you go, those are the basics, oh and if you like your stats then you probably would like to know the following:

• The female record is held by Jessica LEARMONTH who recorded a time of 16:55 on 23rd October 2021 (event number 145).
• The male record is held by Joe SAGAR who recorded a time of 15:18 on 3rd September 2022 (event number 187).
• The Age Grade course record is held by Geoffrey HARDMAN who recorded 104.87% (25:59) on 29th April 2023 (event number 222).

Rothwell parkrun started on 29th July 2017. Since then 10,292 participants have completed 61,032 parkruns covering a total distance of 305,160 km, including 10,946 new Personal Bests. A total of 773 individuals have volunteered 6,067 times.

Phew, quite a morning. Hurrah! Well done to all who were there to help the parkrun magic happen. Each and every one of you was important, an indispensable link in the chain, if you had been absent the whole thing would have imploded, and that would have been ghastly! As it was, everything was perfect, even the parkrun weather fairies were on board. Did anyone else see their magic fairy ring of toadstools by the way? They must have been working all night to make it extra special and lovely today.

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Oh, and a great many photos were taken, keep an eye on the official Rothwell parkrun Facebook Page as I imagine there will be plenty being added in the coming days. I also got quite snap happy on the way around, and if you’d like a browse of my sights from the day, check out this Google drive link, please download any you’d like to keep ASAP as I will have to delete them from here in due course to free up space in my cloud (whatever that means, hope it’s one with a silver lining) and they shall then potentially disappear into the ether, never to be found again unless you’ve squirrelled them away for perpetuity. You have been warned. I’m writing this in August 2023 if you are a visitor from the future wondering where they’ve all gone. How is the future by the way? Has the planet burnt to a cinder entirely? Is there an x parkrun anywhere to be found. And if there is one, and it was set up by Elon Musk, isn’t that a tad awkward for alphabet hunters squeamish about such associations? So many questions, so little chance of getting any answers … hope you are doing ok though mystery person from the future, thanks for stopping by.

That’ll do for now. Thanks dear reader. Happy parkrunning ’til next time.

Lucy Marris

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Are you still here?

Me too.

Are you up for some undigested extras? You are! Oh, hurrah! I love a good parkfaff, and there’s loads more to share if you fancy sticking around for the stream of consciousness download. Make yourself comfy, maybe have a precautionary pee, get yourself a cup of tea, and just settle down.

Right, are you sitting comfortably? Then I’ll begin.

Soooooo…

Rothwell parkrun then. I got wind of today’s special event some time ago, and duly put it in my parkrun planner. Love a parkrun party and Rothwell has been on my to do list for ages, it’s not too far away, and I was curious on account of the Rothwell Incident, you know, with the aliens and everything. I mean who doesn’t love a good alien conspiracy theory after all. What’s that? Not Rothwell? Rosswell? Are you quite sure? How about if the aliens had a lisp of some sort, would that lead them to Rothwell perhaps? Oh. I feel a bit deflated now to be honest, spookily like the balloon in question. Oh well. Then again, if you were trying to put people off the scent of discovering a flying saucer that’s what you would say isn’t it. Aliens or not, I’d still be heading off there. And on reflection, it can’t have been just me, why otherwise the mysterious man with the balloon running around. I never did quite catch his name, of course I didn’t he was trying to stay under the literally not just figuratively, I’ve sussed him out at last. Well smug on my part. Yay me. Of course it looked like an innocent helium balloon, perfect cover, and that’s why I had such a job snapping a photo of him in action… trying to evade me without drawing attention to himself obvs. Probably thought we’d all be too focused on the wedding stuff, but no! I was too clever for him! Miss Marple and Miss Fisher have nothing on me. I feel much better now. One thing we can be sure about though, is this was most definitely an other worldly parkrun in any case, that much is self evident. Truly out of this world as all who were there will testify if asked.

I did the pre-requisite squint around the website blah de blah. The official course description is as follows:

Start at lower part of the car park then 2 and a half laps running clockwise around the park which consists of tarmac and crushed stone, then on final lap leaving the path turn right to the finish line.

Fair enough, that’s pretty straightforward.

And it looks like this:

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So it basically looks like … oh dear, is it just me? Erm. Let’s go with it looks like the head of a friendly African elephant raising its trunk in greeting! Phew, think I dodged a bullet there.

Heading across from Sheffield is only about an hour or so drive, but as always I left paranoically early. I hate being late, and also wanted to nab parking near the start if possible. I’m so much better than I was, but still recovering from quite major nearly died sort of illness and prolonged recovery. I can do most things, but get really fatigued afterwards, and as my regular reader will know, I can just about walk a parkrun now, but if I add on any extra with walking too and from a start it gets a bit marginal about how I’ll cope. It’s hard with hidden disabilities as I’m acutely aware I look fine, well bit portly, and could do with a haircut obvs, but able bodied. However, my legs say otherwise. Maybe I should carry a flash card of some sort, to address any queries?

I headed off, sans coat, wearing my stock pre-wedding parkrun outfit, it was pure good fortune that this tied in so perfectly with the pink and purple colour theme of the celebrations. I just knew that big bowed hair clip thing would come in handy for something, and so it has turned out to be!

On arrival, the postcode took me straight to the carpark. It was pretty empty, but some cones seemed to cut across the car park. Surely not the finish funnel? How very odd. Encouragingly there were various ‘caution runners’ signs and other reassuring parkrun paraphernalia. Well, I was definitely in the right place for a parkrun, and chances were, it was the one I was actually planning to attend #winningatparkruntourismlife Nice park too, check out those flower beds. I have planted similar numbers of flowers in my own garden, at not inconsiderable expense, the slugs in my garden are gargantuan, like seals on a sandbank, and have tucked in voraciously. Flowers make them happy too. Turns out, slugs are quite expensive pets. My frog population really needs to get its act together if I’m ever to see a salvia in bloom again.

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It was early, and I dithered. Should I try to find the team, I hadn’t pre-arranged doing the event report, but had noticed it was free on their roster. Thing is, if I’m too early, I might have to do social interaction, and I don’t want them to find out how socially awkward I am right at the off. Also, pink fascinator or not? No-one else was around, what if no-one else was doing the whole wedding thing, would the pink feather boa set the wrong tone? I’d hate to create the wrong impression. Aaah, the agony of paranoia. On the plus side, it’s always good to have one thing that you can absolutely excel at, and for me it is being the misfit at a social occasion, I’ve nailed it. Weirdly though dear reader, volunteering to do an event report actually can help with this. It gives a focus and a reason to interact, which is marginally better than hovering around at the sidelines feeling like a gatecrasher who will be exposed at any minute. I’m not saying it will banish imposter syndrome altogether but it is a start. You’re welcome.

That early cup of coffee was beginning to kick in, and I decided to go in search of the promised facilities. I wasn’t sure if they would actually be open yet, so didn’t want to get too complacent about possibilities, but got to be worth a sojourn in the general direction of the cafe, which is pretty much in sight of the car park, just the other side of the tennis courts.

As I strode off, I met a fellow tourist. Turns out, he is also a first timer, and had volunteered to do car park marshal volunteering pre the event. He like me had spotted the signs, but none of the actual team. Surely they weren’t in hiding? Nope, probably just doing a course check or something. Anyway, my new bestie was coming as part of his Yorkshire Pud challenge, to complete every parkrun in the Yorkshire region, of which there are quite a lot. It’s good to have such challenges that stretch, but are not completely unachievable. I have also uploaded it on my 5k app, but have only done a somewhat pitiful 32 out of 63 parkruns, but that’s good in a way as it means the parkrun world still has many treasures around for me still to discover. Anyway, good shout, as my new Lonely Goat friend has clocked up an impressive 44. Home parkrun Sandall Park parkrun, confusingly, I have completed this parkrun, but did so when it was named Doncaster parkrun, so completely failed to remember this at the time of meeting. Oh well, it’s quite likely our paths will cross again as we are tucking into our Yorkshire puds.

I headed towards the loos which I was told were open. The cafe was very much in business, with some early birders having coffee or breakfast on the chairs outside, they called me over to the entrance. The cafe is really nice. The reassuring noises of milk being frothed and coffee being steamed serenaded my walk across to the loos. Very tempting to skip parkrun altogether and settle down for a top coffee. The loos were very fine too, with helpful labelling that made me chuckle. In general, I have to say this location really, really likes its signs. Sooooooooooooooooo many signs, inside the cafe and outside in the park. Some informative, some helpful, some descriptive and some obscure. Layground for example. Is that an area in which you can just lie down. That would be lovely. Or maybe an area for lay preachers to hang out or just people entirely lacking in any specialized or professional knowledge of the subject broadcasting their opinions on anything and everything – possibly including aliens. Defo heading over there later to check it all out. In the meantime, here are just some of the signs displayed in a charming montage for your edification and delight.

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See, lots of signs. The paintings were in the ladies loo, I don’t think they were actually originals though. Much like quality street, each one is someone’s favourite, mine is the people desperate for the loo. I empathise hugely.

You’re welcome.

Having availed myself of the facilities, I joined my tourist friend to await the arrival of the core time. Soon enough, they came striding over the horizon. High vis were dished out and the car park marshal received his instructions. For future reference, his role was to directs arriving parkrunners towards the far end of the car park, and then as it got fuller, to turn parkrunners away to park on surrounding roads to ensure that some spaces were left for locals using the tennis courts and cafe. He seemed to be a natural in the role. Hurrah. Check out his charismatic calm authority in traffic control. Surely his vocation. Just shows, talent will out. Nature always finds a way. As anyone who has watched any of the Jurassic Park franchise should already know.

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I introduced myself to the RD and asked if a report writer would be welcome. Yes they would! Hurrah! ‘Tis I! I would be report writer, I had but to add my name to the list to gain a place on the volunteer rota. Unfortunately, this proved challenging, as I got confused about my athlete id, ironically I wrote it down correctly from memory, then panicked that it was wrong, checked on my wrist band and wrote down my ICE phone number instead, realised my mistake, had to cross it out and start again. This would not have inspired confidence from the RD but she pretended it was all fine. Trained to be non-judgemental I guess and an inclusive bunch here at Rothwell parkrun. Got there in the end.

As is often the way,it seemed like ‘suddenly’ the masses appeared. A great wave of pink and laughter rushing towards the gathering point. So many people and such a buzz as meeting and greeting happened all around. It was just a lovely coming together, with eager anticipation about the morning ahead. Obvious regulars and many first timers, drawn like me to wish the happy couple well, others perhaps indulging in yorkshire pud acquisitions. Photos were taken, sashes donned and many a hug was offered. There was a sizeable Deaf and hoh community presence, and BSL interpreters helped keep communication flowing. Grand to see another couple of newly weds, joining the soon to be weds too. Hurrah. I had short envy too – Angel of the North running shorts, how perfect! And fine bright pink support bandaging from her other half, attention to detail with the dress code again. Magnificent. So much going on, I hardly know where to start. When the happy couple made their appearance there couldn’t have been more excitement if Elvis had arrived riding Elgar and escorted by Lord Lucan, or even if Paul Sinton-Hewitt himself had parachuted down from the skies in tandem with Jo S-H. Actually, I’m not too sure about that last one, tenuous, I mean both the S-Hs on a winged chariot, pulled by unicorns blacking out the sky above as they descended might conceivably have had the edge. Otherwise though, I kid thee not. It was honestly that exciting. Even a home grown Rothwell Incident (which to be fair, the winged chariot scenario might qualify for) wouldn’t have been guaranteed to be the centre of attention today. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t just gasps of astonishment at the enormous quantities of cake being brought in like a bountiful harvest, though on reflection… no, no, perish the thought. It was the happy couple moving amongst us that really worked its magic! They are here! Hurrah! Let the joy jumping commence!

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More and more arrived, and then ‘suddenly’ it was time for the first timers’ welcome. BSL interpreters par for the course here it seems, which was refreshing. The park itself is amazing as a venue. Not only does it have parking and quality toilets and cafe, the park itself has a sort of natural amphitheatre contour to it, so it was excellent for being able to both see and hear whoever was addressing the gathering parkrunners. Welcome concluded, we ebbed and flowed our way to the start, which was just a bit further down the slope.

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There was the usual buzz of anticipatory excitement. Me and the BSL interpreter, also a first timer as well as being a newlywed in possession of excellent northern shorts, oh, and probably an excellent husband too obvs – speculated about where the RD briefing would take place. Again, the natural slopes of the park created an obvious bank which was exceedingly handy AND a perfectly positioned tree stump on which the RD, or anyone else busy and important, could locate themselves for maximum impact. I snapped a few pictures whilst I was waiting, trying to freeze frame as much detail as I could in my mind in preparation for The Great Account to be produced later on – and a runner asked me if I would do the honours and take a picture of her. Of course I was happy to oblige and we had a bit of a chat. It turns out she is relatively new to Rothwell parkrun, claiming it to be her third parkrun, only I’ve checked the results, and either I’ve got her name wrong – which is quite possible given I couldn’t even write down my own barcode number when copying it off my wrist band – or she can’t count or has come up as an unknown because I think it is her fourth. What I do know, is that she was tipped off about parkrun by someone she met at a leisure centre as a brilliant way to feel a bit more connected to the community. She’s kept on coming back for more, so the parkrun magic has clearly washed over her as over so many of us who find our Saturdays are never the same again post parkrun discovery. Anyway, give her an extra special wave and say hello if you are a Rothwell local and see her next time. parkrun is a bit like the internet, it’s really hard to imagine life before it was a thing.

The RD duly mounted her pedestal to commence the briefing. She explained about there being a parkrunner all the way from New Zealand so no point in anyone else trying to impress the rest of us by claiming to have travelled from almost the other end of the earth as someone else had pretty much achieved this. They got their own bespoke round of applause in recognition, I moved in to snap a photo as it was really important to properly acknowledge this person in this account. Unfortunately, I think I may have snapped the wrong person entirely. Oh well, they do say it’s the thought that counts. The New Zealander in question was in a black t-shirt with blue shorts, with peachy bits on the top I think. Whoever he was, he was most welcome, and thank you for choosing Rothwell for your parkrun tourist destination. He’s definitely in a photo somewhere, though possibly running too fast to be caught by the naked eye.

Anna and Heath appeared as treasured exhibits for everyone to gawp at appreciatively, just in case there was any confusion about who exactly were the bride and groom, they were labelled though, so without wishing to diss anyone in particular, it was pretty obvious. Then, there was the usual thanking of the volunteers. This was done with a glorious display of jazz hands, which is BSL equivalent of applause or recognition. Here serving as thanks. I love jazz hands, it’s so expressive of gratitude. Audible applause is so terribly last year. Jazz hands there is no mistaking enthusiasm.

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Thanks and milestones and birthdays and weddings and furthest travelled announcements, along with the ‘keep left’ appeal concluded, all assembled at the start, and there was a countdown to awf! And here they are! All the lovely parkrunners scampering away at a run, walk, jeff, jog, scurry whatever. A sight to behold. A colourful iridescence of lycra flying before my eyes, with more than a hint of purple and pink in honour of the day.

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Think I got everyone, possibly even the New Zealand runner, though not sure how you can spot him. Would he be upside down maybe, or accompanied by a kiwi (the bird, not the fruit, that would be ridiculous) I have no idea to be fair, but he must be in the mix somewhere, perhaps you are too?

My next challenge, was to catch a snap of the balloon man. This was harder than you might think. No sooner than I had in my sights, than he was off. Fortunately stealth is not my default modus operandus, which I know may come as something of a surprise, so eventually, he cottoned on to my somewhat pathetic paparazzi endeavours, and did a slow motion run so I could get the money shot of him in action. I say money shot, but just to be clear, no actual money changed hands. parkrun has always been, and will remain free, weekly, timed. #goodtoknow Though you can, should you wish to do so, subscribe to help ensure it remains so.

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Photo nabbed, I joined in at the back of the throng. Well, this is a very nice park. Perfect weather too, I had thought we might get rained on, but no, all good. The park is pretty compact but full of interest. The tarmac path that took us round, went alongside a little back, which was lined with an abundance of himalayan balsam which looked lovely, but is a menace. There were graceful willow trees lining the banks too, and indeed plenty of mature trees. Early on, we passed some junior supporters who were dishing out some very splendid high fives, that would have helped many and any a weary parkrunner on their way. Excellent work, thank you.

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Just a tad further on and you get a great view of the finish. Though some might find seeing the finish whilst still running round a bit dispiriting, personally I quite like this, it means even as a slower participant you get the fun of seeing bulging eyed speedier parkrunners bursting a blood vessel on the way across the line, or next time around the party at the back of the pack squads coming home all fun and frolics. Heading out though, I saw the posse of high vis heroes manoeuvring into position and waving greetings to their fellow parkrunners as they strode on by. All good. I loved the sight of my fellow parkrunners romping ahead like wildebeest on migration, wildebeest wearing bright coloured running gear obvs, that’s a thing right? There were parkrunners ahead, parkrunners to the left, parkrunners to the right, and a very few parkrunners to the back of me, which were in the most part tailwalkers to be honest, but that’s as it should be in the parkrun world.

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The park is relatively long and thin, but every space seemed to be utilised, so we ran past a little aviary, alongside a junior girls football team in training. Punctuating the route were the aforementioned marshals who were unfailingly generous with their support, smiles and all round good cheer. Again, the contours of the event work in favour of the volunteers as there were no bad spots, all marshal points had a good view of the action, and the lovely park, and all was well with the world.

Cue, photo smorgasbord of fellow parkrunners in action.

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What is rather fun, is that you can see the other parkrunners storming along the tracks opposite you. After a short while as well, the speedier parkrunners were coming round lapping me, it made for quite a social and interactive parkrun. There were some large flattish stones along the edge of the park, presumably to stop people bringing vehicles onto the grass, but also handily for me to stand on to try to get some better photos of other parkrunners as they passed. This gave me a great view of purple and pink compatriots, which was very pleasing.

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and then you get to a point where you can see some of the faster parkrunners cutting across towards the finish, I was approaching the t-junction where a one man and his dog had a marshal point under a tree. Signs directed you to the left for the first two laps and to the right for the final one. It was all happening here! I was somewhat fretful at various junctures to see Heath and Anna no longer actually alongside one another, that could have made the labels on their backs a bit awkward. What if someone other than their betrothed espied the bride or groom arrows pointing at them and took it to be a proposal, that would have been awkward. Mercifully, no such misunderstanding occurred, and all was well. Phew, bullet dodged!

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From here it was round to the left and past the fairy ring of toadstools, a dinky incline to another cheery marshal guarding some steps to stop us from fleeing from the park presumably, through some dense shrubbery (on a path, not with a machete, they are not savages here) and then a dog leg through some railings on either side of the path to keep us from the bowling green and tennis courts, or possibly to keep the bowlers and tennis players away from us. It was unclear which side of the fence the people were caged in at this point. A metaphor for life perhaps, we are all subject to boundaries, it is debatable whether the strongest restrictions are those which we put upon ourselves, or those constructed by others. Sometimes we can choose how we perceive our situation. That’s not to say we might not be entirely delusional of course, but food for thought all the same. There was an accessorised high five meerkat marshal (read the palm of the paw – do paws have palms? You be the judge) to provide directional guidance and tambourine assisted encouragement. All good. She was especially important to be fair, as in close juxtaposition to the pavilion cafe, which we’ve already established had the most tempting of menus. Running past those sipping their flat whites in the morning sunshine took quite an effort of will I don’t mind telling you. parkrun was always about the coffee after all…

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and then we were back in the car park waved round and back past the start, this time I paused to snap some shots of triumphant finishers, before shimmying my way back on track and leapfrogging (figuratively not literally) over the tailwalkers who had now got ahead of me. My bad, for deviating from the track in search of a photo op. Some early finishers were already in possession of the cake table by the time I came around for the second time – and who can blame them!

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and round I went again, a quieter less frenetic lap, as fewer people were now out and about on the course, and I was in less of a frenetic tail chase trying to get photos of as many people as possible.

All very lovely and verdant, and pink and wavy in parts too. More passing the finish – people were definitely tucking into the cakes with purposeful vigour by now

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then before I knew what was happening, here we were at the finish, loved the lap three sign (did I mention how much they love their signs) proclaiming the finish in sight! I passed groups excitedly posing for photos by the pop up parkrun sign, and then soon I was welcomed into the warm figurative embrace of the finish funnel, flanked by the vision of loveliness that is high vis heroes standing by for the grand finale of any parkrun, the arms uplifted stride by of the timers. parkrun nailed!

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But you know what, lovely as the whole event had been, that wasn’t even the end of the discoveries for the morning. Dear Reader I kid you not. Check out the token man! He only had a 3D patent original gizmo token dispenser. I kid you not I was quite giddy and weak at the knees just to be in its presence. ambassador Zee of Millhouses had told me about this I now recalled. Millhouses parkrun also has a 3D printed token gun, but it wasn’t the first. The original, nay the best, came from hereabouts. Futuristic technology of the sort you might expect to find on an alien spaceship perhaps, though obviously there is a cover story that the RD was able to trot out about the whole thing to put me off the scent, that’s OK, I understand the need to be discreet about such extraordinary innovations. We wouldn’t want to upset the equilibrium of the time space continuum with a big reveal, I was more than happy to play along with it all.

So FYI, we are speaking of this little beauty:

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So the official version is that it was designed and built by one of the Mr Men. I’m not making this up, just because there isn’t yet a book for him, doesn’t mean this isn’t true. He has a name and everything Mr Richard MANN, the vicar here (perfect cover), it is a bit like a hogwarts magic broomstick, there was a version designed over lockdown, which I think is the big gun number we have at Millhouses in Sheffield, this is a more compact re-imagining of the original mark 4 dispenser super elite titanium model, if I’ve understood correctly. Something like that anyway, you get the gist. Anyway, it is suitably marvelous, love a parkrun innovation.

The team busied themselves with event close down as the tailwalkers came through. A well oiled machine, they had it all nailed.

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Thank you for a fabulous and friendly event. You are supers stars, all of you who made it so.

A particular shout out to today’s RD, who I caught up with after the event. She was sharing her experience of having to use the defib following an incident on a different parkrun course. The parkrunner concerned was fine, but without the quick responses of her and another parkrunner who took turns at giving compressions until a nurse, who was also parkrunning on the day, was able to take over and then an ambulance arrived. He did make a full recovery, but it was sobering. Few points arise, please, please, just check you do have ICE (In Case of Emergency) contact details up to date and accessible. A parkrun wristband is ideal. Look out for each other, because that parkrunner who takes a tumble, may not have tripped be alert. Oh, and seriously, pleas don’t take part in any official race or event under someone else’s number, it’s not fair. Nobody thinks they are going to be the one who has a heart attack or accident that day, or they wouldn’t have been on the start line but it happens. It isn’t jobsworths spoiling your fun, it’s people trying to keep everyone safe. For the record, the most devastating part of the incident was that to apply the defib today’s RD Caroline SHELTON had to cut through the parkrunner’s in question prized marathon t-shirt, but fret not dear reader, she made a point of doing it carefully to the side so as not to cause too much damage. Also, she did pause their is garmin, as every running meme you’ve ever seen requires you to do in the event of a mid run collapse. Just a reflex response I suppose. Food for thought. They would have got him a time too I think, but couldn’t get his barcode, also, not sure if he’d finished the course so ethically dubious in any case. Thanks though Caroline, and thank all high vis heroes, it’s volunteers that keep the parkrun show on the road, though to be fair, without the parkrunners dashing around between them, they might look a tad eccentric standing alone clapping and jazz handing random passers by in the park. Kudos if they feel like doing that though, why not, who doesn’t like being applauded as they go about their daily business. That’s right dear reader, no-one ever. Precisely so. Spread the love.

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So that was parkrun done and dusted. Only it wasn’t because then there was the intensive jumping training and display team in action. With lots of top tip sharing and practice going on, it was a joy to behold. Hopefully all this practice will put the the wedding party in a good position for some fabulous wedding shots. Bend the knees and keep the feet to the side for maximum height is the general advice I believe. And have lots of goes. Eventually one will make everyone look magnificent! Great team building activity and hilarious spectator sport as well, everyone’s a winner! There was also much appreciative grazing going on around the cake table – and at least one mischievous sprite tried to do a runner with some of the sweet treat bounty, caught in the act though, we all pretended it was a merry jape and not a big deal but the incident was nevertheless logged in the parkrun event report, just to beon the safe side you understand, can’t be too careful these days…

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And that really was that.

Many sojourned to the cafe, and I did too, but the queue was long and I needed to get away to make a phone call, though in the event I just got stuck in traffic following an accident which closed the M1 so maybe I should have stayed an indulged, oh well, there’s always next time. Was very tempted by that little scooter though, matched my outfit to perfection…

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… by which I mean next parkrun day obvs, not that they are going to be doing it all over again wedding wise. I reckon both Heath and Anna have found themselves a keeper. I spoke to them a bit before I left, to get their story. It’s very sweet…

Heath spoke lovingly of Anna, explaining how they both keep each other going, motivating each other to go all over the place ‘it’s just amazing‘. Rothwell is their home parkrun, they live in sight of the course practically, just 10 mins walk away, if they hadn’t had to carry so many cakes and get dressed up this morning they could still be in bed at 8.45 and make the parkrun start for 9.00 with ease. The story of how they met is that they both belonged to Rothwell Harriers,The a local running club. They both then turned up to a race at Elmsley, a fair distance away, and found they were only two there from the running club and got chatting. It seems they must have hit it off. Heath started to learn sign language pretty quickly to help move things alone. When they first met they had to communicate just through phones and drawing pads, which was quite enjoyable in a way, though as Anna said it helps that Heath is good at drawing, quick, sign him up for the local pictionary challenge squad, you could make millions. It dose sound like the communication challenges added an extra pleasurable frissance to things, requiring a bit of creativity to keep things going.

And what does Anna have to say? Just that it ‘made my life a lot more exciting after meeting you and we like to do similar things and of course it helps that you are very sweet and cute as well’. Aww, that’s so adorable, I feel all lovely and squidgy inside now.

Seriously dear reader, Anna and Heath are a huge asset to the parkrun community. I was fortunate to meet Anna through a mutual friend – my namesake Lucy COWELL whilst doing some parkrun tourism, and then again when the Deaf and HOH parkrun community came together for a takeover event first at Endcliffe parkrun in Sheffield and then later on at Millhouses parkrun. They have really helped me to gain some insight into the challenges associated with being a Deaf or HOH parkrunner, but more than that, they have been funny inclusive and given me a newfound appreciation of the expressiveness of BSL as well as being forgiving of my rather inept attempts to offer up a greeting. I can do jazz hands though. so extra jazz hands to Heath and Anna for sharing their pre wedding celebratory parkrun. It was officially fab.u.lous.

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Congratulations and good luck to you both as you embark on this next adventure in life. May you always be in reach of a parkrun and here’s to many future laughs and shared experiences as you stride out ahead together. It’s going to be grand!

and so, alas, we come to the end, although in a way of course, it’s just the beginning…

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You still here?

Thanks for sticking with me, it really is time to go now, but worry not, there will be another parkrun coming round shortly, and I daresay more cake tables too. It is the parkrun way. We come together, rejoice, we celebrate we move on. Be happy Anna and Heath, know your parkrun friends wish you well and are happy for you too. May you never be without a barcode and a smile. 🙂

And if you want even more, you could always browse through all my parkrun related posts here.  Or not.  It’s up to you.  You’ll need to scroll down for older entries though.

’til next time then.

Be happy.

Wat er day for the NHS celebrations at Watermead Country Park parkrun

Well, that was splendid.

It’s true, there were some things I didn’t entirely think through, but to be fair, that isn’t really particularly novel in my parkrun touristing world, and besides, it adds a frisson of excitement to proceedings, that element of jeopardy that keeps you on your toes and makes you feel truly alive.

Oh, have I not explained properly? Well, today was parkrunday, obvs. But parkrun day with a twist. To mark the 75th birthday of the NHS, many parkruns were geared up for a celebratory day. NHS staff would be especially encouraged to attend, some NHS trusts proactively got involved with particular events over the weekend (Yay for NHS Children’s Hospitals for helping Sheffield Olympic Legacy junior parkrun go with an extra swings and an abundance of flaggery and blue t-shirts on the Sunday). One of my parkrun circle, who is a real life NHS hero and physiotherapist had elected to come to Watermead Country Park parkrun on this day. A venue picked primarily because of its geographical location, people were gathering from North and South and all sorts of very very far away to come together for the morning. Blue was encouraged, as was fancy dress. Newbies especially welcome. Hurray.

I was feeling especially pleased, because I am now in possession of some fetching (these adjectives are subjective I know) blue scrubs! I know! The luck eh. I’ve acquired them as part of my costume options for supporting artist work, only a fiver, an absolute bargain, fantastic to have an opportunity to give them a proper outing. I donned them, and yeah! I totally looked the business. A triumph! However, as all Eeyore appreciating people know, no silver lining comes without a cloud. It dawned on me that I might be mistaken for an actual medic. At best, I might be receiving unworthy praise and recognition. I know NHS staff got actual medals at one parkrun – Brierley Forest parkrun apparently, there was a takeover by Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust I understand. I mean medals are always fun aren’t they, better that a round of applause and saucepan banging, probably not as good as a pay rise, but fun to have all the same. However, at worst, I might be called on to intercede in the event of a medical emergency. I mean, obvs I’ve watched a lot of episodes of casualty over the years, so I’d be fine with diagnosing an ectopic pregnancy or spotting someone about to fall off a ladder, but those are fairly narrow parameters of helpfulness, I probably shouldn’t try to pass as a medic of any sort. I would be great tending to people who were pretending to be injured or ill though. I’d be confident I could nail that. Then again, maybe someone would stand me a coffee. Accepting a proper coffee would probably be ok wouldn’t it? Make the giver feel pleased they had made this gesture of recognition, it would be rude of me to decline it. Yes, I’d accept decent coffee, and a round of applause and pan banging (well, volunteers get clapped at parkrun every week anyway don’t they) but I’d walk away from performing DIY tracheotomies using only the outer casing of a biro and a steel nerve, also field operations (including amputations) and AED supervision. That seems a reasonable compromise. Yes, it’ll be fine and dandy. Maybe ditch the fake ID though. Don’t want to push my luck too far. And breathe. All good.

As you may already know dear reader, I can’t run currently, it’s debatable whether what I did previously constituted actual running, but it was significantly speedier than I can manage now without too much ouching or post event exhaustion. Anyways, I decided I’d volunteer as parkwalker as that was a role that was still available, and the blue high vis would set off my blue scrubs just lovely. There was a friend already tailwalking so the party at the back promised much banter, photo posing and all round good times.

Unfortunately, night before, tailwalking friend was incapacitated! Disaster. Well, more accurately, she was already incapacitated earlier in the week, but had thought she’d manage to drive, but alas, it was not to be. Last minute shenanigans and emails to the team. Lo, I would be tailwalker. That’s ok, I can rock orange just as well as blue, and as I do struggle to walk at any speed, might even be better off officially at the back of the pack instead of just ending up there like the dregs of tea leaves at the bottom of a pot. Although the original tailwalker is a parkrun legend and would be much missed, we would bravely continue as best we could without her. We might be but a shadow of the vitality she could bring, but we would struggle on in her name. I say ‘we’ because I was not alone. Oh joy, my EWFM and parkrun buddy would come with an actual tail, and complete the tailwalking duo. It’d be fine and dandy. parkrunners from across the land, gathering at Watermead like druids meeting at Stonehenge. Pretty much identical to that as Watermead Country Park does have it’s very own stone circle too fyi, so plenty of opportunity for re-enacting ancient druid rituals, or indeed creating your own. Your own ritual that is, not stone circle, though feel free to have a go if you have the space to do so, I wouldn’t want to crush creative impulses.

I know, a stone circle is always a boon at a parkrun I find. Not sure why it isn’t mandatory to have one in the way having a defibrillator is. I daresay it will be in time. Might be quite a long time though. Stonehenge is afterall about 5000 years old and has yet to have a parkrun linked to it. . Watermead Country Park parkrun is but two years old (nearly) and though it’s hard to be absolutely sure, I doubt their stone circle is as ancient as Stonehenge. I’m sure it is just as much fun though, maybe more so, as you can frolic amongst the stones up close and personal should the mood take you.

Incidentally, did you know that Cecil Chubb bought stonehenge at an auction when he was supposed to have bought some dining room chairs instead? Thought not. We’ve all done it haven’t we? Blown our budget on a national monument instead of getting the one practical item we really needed. Bet his wife was furious, they’d have to stand up for all their meals in perpetuity, and this was before standing desks was a thing! It’s all very well being ahead of the times, but there are limits.

I have no idea if the story is true obvs, but it pleases me, so I don’t intend to investigate more thoroughly. Here is the Stonehenge Wikipedia page just in case though… oh and there is one for Cecil Chubb too – seems he did! Gosh, well good for him. Bought stonehenge, I don’t know whether he bought dining chairs or not…

Anyway, stop distracting me, I’m all over the place, it’s a while before we get to the stone circle shenanigans, let me go back a bit.

Watermead Country Park parkrun then. After initially just deciding to blindly follow friends to their destination of choice I thought I ought to do a bit of pre parkrun research. I established there is a satnav postcode to follow, but it may lead you astray, so you are warned to follow the brown Country Park North signs instead. There is plenty of parking within the park, but it will cost you £2.50 which is pretty fair. The other option being to park at the Hope and Anchor pub carpark just outside the entrance to the Country Park, where volunteers and others can park for free if they agree to either vacate the pub by 10.30 or stay on for post parkrun faffery and brunch. They don’t say parkfaffing, they say breakfast, but I think we all know what is implied.

According to the official parkrun website the Watermead Country Park parkrun course is described thus:

Course Description
The course starts in the north eastern corner of the picnic field opposite the main car park.
The route is an anticlockwise lap of John Merricks Lake, turning right after one lap back past the toilet block, along the path bordering the picnic field over the small wooden bridge and then 2 clockwise laps of King Lears Lake.

and it looks like this:

so, essentially like a pair of glasses that you’ve either sat on, or dropped and trodden on. Or if you are the sort of person who is really careful with your specs, someone else has done that to them on your behalf. To be crystal clear though, unlike your breaking your specs which would be both very annoying and unhelpful, Watermead Country Park parkrun is not annoying at all, and in fact completely delightful as well as being positively helpful for mental, physical and emotional health, do try not to confuse these things, could be very awkward. More awkward even than having to have a bash at an impromptu emergency procedure in an attempt to brazen out wearing misleading blue scrubs to an NHS birthday parkrun for example. You have been warned.

Emails went back and forth, and then I received a reminder email for volunteering. Oh wow! This was the most comprehensive volunteer email I’ve ever had. I appreciated it. It included details on the course, where marshal points were located, information about parking. Best bit though (which was hard to choose as there were a great many best bits) was the request that you make sure you are there in good time. ‘Please arrive between 8:15 am and 8:30 am. It’s really important that you are not much later than this as the Run Director may break out in “hot sweats and be just a little anxious”.’ This is so well said! If you are an unknown volunteer especially, all event organisers get inwardly twitchy as time ticks on in case you may be a no show. This is self evident to anyone who has been involved in a core team putting on an event, but it is worth stating. Run Directors are only human, and don’t wish to unduly age before their time. I’ve not seen this point made in the volunteers email before, it was a good point, well made. Might even steal it.

So I headed off at stupid o’clock, but nothing like as stupid o’clock as last week at Newbiggin by the sea parkrun, which took all week to recover from.

It was an easy drive to Leicester. I’d fretted about not being able to find it because of the warning that the satnav wouldn’t take you to the right place, and not being able to get there from the A46, oh and I was unsure about precautionary pee facilities too, and how would I know what the Hobby Horse Roundabout was. Would there be an actual hobby horse in situ to make things clear? Consequently I pulled off at a service station a few miles away to powder my nose, get petrol and check the map. I then, bravely, aimed for the postcode and lo! Found myself at a roundabout that has the Hobby Horse pub on it. Whilst I was disappointed there was no hobby horse to be seen, it was fairly evident this would be the titular roundabout. The satnav actually worked well, but you need to hold your nerve as it feels a bit like you are going into a dead end industrial estate. However, there are indeed big brown signs to Watermead North and on my experience you can’t really get lost. The satnav did think I’d arrived at my final destination (not death, the parkrun start) a bit before I had, but just a bit further on and I was at the Hope and Anchor pub, where there was loads of parking, a picturesque canal, and level headed people going about their early morning deliveries. I parked up, saving myself £2.50. and being ideally situated for post parkrun refreshment purposes as well. Forward planning you see, it’s a gift.

I was really early, so sauntered off in the direction of the park entrance. It’s just over the brow of a hill and a little bridge, and it was all lovely.

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Oh look, here is the big sign so I know I’m in the right place, and there is the car park handily right near the entrance, and if my memory serves me correctly, the gathering place for the parkrun is right near the car park. Ooh, I’m going to be so early.

I started sauntering off, and quickly saw a ‘caution runners’ sign, indicating I was definitely in the right place, and that the course set up team must set up really early. I found myself walking further and further and losing confidence a bit in my directional impulses. The views across the water were fabulous though, and rich undergrowth, made lush and vigorous by recent rain made if feel quite other wordly and completely lovely.

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Eventually, after 10 mins or so of rambling about, I came upon another park user, who pointed me ahead up the road to where the parkrunners were assembling. Oh. Turns out, there are many carparks. The one right at the entrance isn’t the best one, instead, head right on up the road and you’ll get to one a bit further away which is bang next to open patch of grass where everyone actually assembles. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t a crazily long way, but it is around 10 -15 minute walk, depending on how many photos you have to take along the way, which is long enough to make you late for the pre run briefing if you are too complacent about arrival times. You could however, use the what three words app, as they suggest. That takes you to the metre square grid where you need to be. I regret now not checking out exactly where this was, but choose to believe it is where they plant their parkrun flag. So do as I say, not as I do, and all will be reyt.

I emerged round a corner of undergrowth, and there they all were. Huge kudos for their magnificent wheeled equipment vehicle. This is a very well kitted out team. Carefully arranged lanyards hung on hooks labelled by marshal point, so you could tell at a glance if anyone was yet to arrive. The RD and entourage had not only a clipboard – always a sign of competence and authority, even without the addition of a high vis – but also an actual table and pen! They marked off people as they arrived. The funnel was already under construction, and further away, I could see a very fine proper posh coffee van setting up. Looked like it would be brewing up the good stuff, a hipsters dream. Though FYI it came in a cup rather than a jam jar, so maybe bring your own jar if that serving style is important to you.

As I was approaching the gathering, my EWFM messaged to say she was on her way, but delayed on account of being on the wrong motorway. This involved an extra 6 miles up and 6 miles back down, not a good start to the morning. It is important to put on record this was not a navigational error, but a driver error. She was not driving. No hard feelings, but she was definitely right, good to know.

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I introduced myself and explained about my fellow tail walker being on the wrong motorway. That was fine, the RD seemed not to break out into a sweat and didn’t need to breathe into a paper bag or anything. Mind you, this team are so well organised, I bet somewhere in their kit bag they have a paper bag carefully put by for just such an eventuality. I picked up a high vis, was told there was a separate marshal briefing shortly. I asked another regular about facilities, because you can never have too many precautionary pees and it’s good to check these things out. Turns out, there are loos, and whilst maybe not the most salubrious I’ve ever graced, they were perfectly adequate and within the first 100 yards or so of the parkrun route. There was a sign warning of speedhumps which was rather sweet. The speed humps are of rather polite proportions and not much of an obstacle, hardly hurdling territory, but I daresay what the course risk assessment notices the core team are obligated to address. Good work!

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After a bit, my EWFM arrived, with tail, and anecdotes about her journey. We had time to find and pose with the bespoke selfie frame. I rather liked it, though whoever produced it hadn’t got the memo about parkrun being aowalc (all one word, all lower case) but honestly, who cares when it was so obviously awesome! We had to do quite a lot of posing with it, and with others in our NHS mini meet up, which included actual NHS staff in proper scrubs that have seen action with blood and guts and all sorts of bodily fluids that we prefer not to think of. Phew, I’d be able to hang back if a medic was needed as this merry crew would be able to cover most eventualities. I could just focus on getting some good pre parkrun pics. Like to get in early with these, in case the gear has been packed away by the time I finish. Also, FYI we are more competent than we may appear at first glance in the photos. Just because we are looking in different directions doesn’t mean we aren’t on it, au contraire, it means we have all angles covered. You’re welcome. Also, emotional support animals are a good thing to bring along to a parkrun with you, especially ones in tailwalker colours that aren’t at all made out of old parkrun tailwalker high vis that was supposed to be returned to parkrun hq for recycling. Just to be even clearer. You are still welcome. That’s not an old, now redacted pop up sign either, no, I mean it isn’t, just proving my point.

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Next stop, volunteers briefing. This was really helpful, it meant you got a clear sense of who was doing what, an opportunity to ask questions. We were told which lanyards to pick up as tailwalkers, and told who was the RD for the day and where to find their number on the lanyards. If you were a brand new volunteer all this clarity would be especially reassuring. Me and my be-tailed buddy found out we’d have walkie talkies because we were extra important, and we got clarification on our duties re collecting cones etc on the way around. I like parkruns that bring the volunteers together in some way, whether that’s a team photo or just walking marshals out to their point on the course like at Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park junior parkrun as it’s a chance to get to know other volunteers. We had squillions of volunteers for our NHS take over junior event on the Sunday – you know what, I’m going to include some bonus photos of that here. You’ll feel like you have travelled in time.

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Then after a bit more smooching with other parkrunners, we were called together by the RD – who I learned was actually co-ED as well, to attend the first timers’ welcome. Again, this was really thorough, there is a proper map to explain the route, and plenty of clear explanations and opportunity to ask questions too. Yay. Nice expressive arm gestures too, I think the first timers’ welcomer would do a cracking zumba class lead too. You often find this on event teams, people are multi-skilled and versatile, an asset in any context. Or if not Zumba, then lead a cult, a benign cult, not a horrid one, something along the lines of, oh I don’t know, maybe a parkrun say? Yep, that would be it. Nice charismatic and welcoming to the fold. A great event to have as your first time everer as much as a regular or tourist I’m sure.

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So now we had been inducted and welcomed and all was good, we were issued with a first aid kit. My EWFM donned this much to my relief, if I’d had that as well as my scrubs I would have had nowhere to hide.

More and more parkrunners gathered. This is a busy parkrun, chilled, but popular. Turns out there had been promotion of the NHS celebratory event, so a local(ish) rehabilitation college had opted to come along with some of their students and supporters to do the 5k walk which was rather excellent.

The RD gave a briefing with the usual shout outs, mention of the NHS event, welcomes, thank the volunteers, milestones etc aided with a very good speaker system. You could certainly hear everything, although I was initially confused because the sound was coming from the speakers (obviously) which were quite a distance from where he was standing so it was a disembodied voice, like the Wizard of Oz of something but without the dry ice or lion, scarecrow and tinman for company. One consequence of the speaker system though, was that some parkrunners just talked more loudly through the briefing than ever. It really does bug me when people can’t just be quiet for the briefing it’s just such a basic courtesy and pretty much the only requirement. They may have heard it before, but others haven’t and it’s just rude. I wonder if, as parkrun has grown, participants maybe don’t always appreciate it is a volunteer run event that relies on its communities to happen. RDs and others in the core team deserve a bit more support, if you can’t volunteer then you could at least be quiet for briefings, that would be a start.

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Oh well. Soon enough we were counted down and awf!

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I watched the field run, jog, jeff and walk on by, and we two were in waiting to slot in at the back. There were some stragglers. A fair few, who came sprinting up to the back of the pack, so we paused to let them join in so we could be sure we were at the absolute back of the pack for effective chootling (chatting and pootling) purposes. We remembered we needed to channel our inner flamboyant performative selves for photo purposes in tribute to our much missed back of the packer. We tried our best, but couldn’t entirely sustain it, maybe we peaked too early.

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Because we waited for the latecomers, who then sprinted on past, we were a teeny bit behind the walkers who had set off with the rest of the pack. We walked briskly to catch them, and my EWFM checked out the amenities on the way past. In due course we came to a friendly marshal, who passed us the first of what were to be two walkie talkies, oh yes we were that important. And we did some negotiating re which cones to collect and which to leave in the possession of marshals, since those on the first lap would be stood down as we passed.

Eventually we caught up with the walkers who turned out to be part of the group from the Leicestershire Recovery College. Check out their t-shirts, carefully amended from ‘always here to help’, to just ‘always here!’ I’m not sure I quite got to the bottom of why, but it was hilarious. Apparently at one time they had staff tops in IKEA some of which said ‘here to help’ and some which said ‘happy to help’ also hilarious, I wonder what the criteria were for allocating them. There is a certain integrity in the wording of which I approve. There was a great turn out from the college who seemed to be really enjoying a companionable walk round in the stunning setting of Watermead. They took the time to appreciate their surroundings and take photos en route which is a great strategy if you are walking and talking around. It’s one I favour for sure, those photo pauses give your body a chance to reset if walking is painful.

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As the walkers ahead seemed to be in companionable step and chat, we hung back a little to give them some space having exchanged pleasantries. Besides, we had to collect our important walkie talkie and get training on it ‘you push and talk’. We also had to greet and photograph every marshal, and collect cones from the first lap to drop off at the start/finish area as we passed through on the waist of the figure of eight bit of the course – or bridge of the squished spectacles if you prefer. They do send round a sweeper vehicle of sorts, so anything that is too heavy or bulky to carry can be left, but where is the fun in that. Far better to see how much we could carry, or more accurately how much my EWFM could carry without dropping as one of us had to document her progress and clearly that would be me. It reminded us of Crackerjack and that ‘game’ at the end.

‘One of the games was a quiz called Double or Drop, where each of three contestants was given a prize to hold for each question answered correctly, but given a cabbage if incorrect. They were out of the game if they dropped any of the items awarded or received a third cabbage. While the winner took his or her pick from a basket of toys, every runner-up won a much-envied marbled propelling pencil as a prize, which became so popular that in 1961 Queen Elizabeth II, who visited the programme, was presented with Crackerjack pencils for her children Prince Charles and Princess Anne.‘

This game delivered the important life lesson to children that the winner takes it all, crushing disappointment can be snatched from the jaws of hope in an instant and what little you have may be taken away from you at any moment due to forces that you can neither understand nor control. It further demonstrates that the royal family get stuff without even having to show up, let alone carry so much as a single cabbage. I understand (by which I mean I’ve just made this up) that the show went on to inspire the cabbage soup diet. If you don’t know what that is, consider yourself truly blessed.

Anyway, she did very well, and we say some lovely sights along the way, and not just in the beauty of the marshals’ shining faces as we passed. Check out the walkie talkie handover, stuff of olympic relay teams.

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Towards the end of the first lap, we secured custody of a second walkie talkie, so now we were properly tooled up for the challenge of the second lap. We looked very busy and important, laden with first aid kit and walkie talkies and an air or capability and responsibility. First lap done and dusted, we were off round past the finish, which was buzzing with parkrunners who had already completed

and so to our next two laps, in a clockwise direction around King Lear’s Lake, I wonder why it’s called that, seems a bit odd.

The pace was chilled and the company excellent. We were joined by one of our number who had already finished his parkrun who was doing another lap purely because he’d seen some McDonalds litter en route. He hadn’t wanted to interrupt his run to pick it up, but didn’t want to leave the park without removing it. Of course, no kind act goes unpunished it seems, and now he looked like the sort of person that brought a McDonalds with him to parkruns for consumption afterwards. We know otherwise, and commend his actions. Hurrah. Also, check out his barcode athlete ID on his t-shirt. Classy.

Actually, now seems a good moment for an interlude of parkrunner portraits. These are courtesy of the proper official photographer on the day Mick Brown, actually, I think there may have been more than one. See if you can spot the proper NHS peeps and the Watermead Wavers, which is apparently a thing. A variant on the ‘seen a photographer‘ snapshots ubiquitous at many parkruns – and indeed other events. Some wavers look somewhat panicked, I think the excitement maybe got to them, there is no shame in that, it happens. Well done all.

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The circuit of the second lake brought even more exciting discoveries. There is lots of play equipment which I think has been particularly constructed as an enrichment activity for anyone walking at parkrun in general and tailwalkers who are trying to maintain a respectful distance from the walkers at the back to avoid crowding them. I can confidently report it’s harder to clamber the spider’s web than you might think, though there was no real spider in situ, mercifully. That bridge steppy thing? Quite hard not to fall off. Fortunately, my EWFM has perfected the art of falling off a log so that was fine and dandy too. We had some people still lapping us, including some especially euphoric because they’d never previously made it past the tailwalkers before #winningatparkrunchallenges hurrah! We helped the walking group. pose for photos at the stone circle, encouraging jumps and smiles and general joy. I think I might have seen a huge amount of invasive Himalayan balsam I hope not, that’s a real menace, nightmare to get rid of and crowds out everything else.

What are those statues at the other side of the lake. Oh wait, they are of King Lear, you know the end of that Shakespeare play. How splendid, also a bit random, but that’s OK, I like random things. And as you get around the other side of the lake you get closer to them and lo, we found a trio of swans posing perfectly, an echo of King Lear’s three daughter perchance? This route is most satisfactory.

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The route that brought us dinosaur skeletons and Shakespeare statue kept the greatest treasure for it’s furthest point. Dear reader, we found ourselves at Dog Poo Corner! This is quite a course landmark, a variation on Elisabeth’s Corner at Bushy parkrun, though the former, like the latter, has made it onto the official course description. You can see why, a triumph of design and utility. I don’t know how you get the honour of being allocated this role, whether it is a reward for good service or a random act of kindness who knows. I myself have undertaken volunteer marshal duties which involved standing in front of a dog poo bin at Endcliffe parkrun (though I think it was known as Sheffield Hallam parkrun at the time). It was my task to be a human bollard to stop parkrunners running into said bin. They could crash into me instead. On reflection, I’m still not entirely sure how that was preferable, but there you go. Incidentally, if you are reading this and contemplating volunteering but feeling a bit overwhelmed about whether you’d be up for this level of responsibility, fear not. All parkruns will give full training on all and any roles, and you can work up to any that you might consider daunting, or do as I did, buddy up with a friend to share the load, unless it’s a literal load of cones (which sounds like I’m swearing but I’m not) and you are me, in which case there is no need to share, you can make your parkrun buddy carry the load for you. You’re welcome.

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There really is an embarrassment of delights to take in along the route. Equipment to play on, vistas to marvel at, fellow parkrunners to cheer on or greet as they lapped us. Towards the end of the second lap, we had a bit of a regroup moment with some of the walkers. Most wanted to continue for the final lap, and so after a bit of chat about who was doing what, we continued onwards.

For the final lap, we were joined by one of the core team to accompany us round. Some of the marshals had been stood down, so she opted in just to make sure there was someone with local knowledge on the route in case of any incident. That was the official line, obvs I think it was the giddy cocktail of mixing the fabulous views with the fabulous company of the party at the back, who wouldn’t want to be part of that!

As we walked and talked, we got a bit more of the history of the venue. We had already fathomed that Watermead Country Park is actually pretty fabulous as a venue. What I didn’t know was that it’s a series of artificial lakes on old gravel pits, and been wonderfully developed in a way that is sensitive to wildlife and creative in terms of interpreting both the industrial and geological history of the site. There is an actual mammoth; Shakespeare references (nope, not sure why either, but jolly fun statuing); dinosaur skeletons; play and climbing equipment and best of all of course, a parkrun! The parkrun gets a mention on the parks Wikipedia page which is always a cause for celebration. In fact, the county council is to be applauded for proactively hosting the parkrun. Seems that the North side of the park was less well used than the other side, which is presumably the South side. It was felt a parkrun would bring life and footfall to the area, and so it has. This is an example of an authority really courting parkrun and helping it come to be – this is also similar to the development of the junior parkrun at Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park, right at the design stage a 1km lap was incorporated so it would be perfect for the 2k junior event.

It was explained by our walking companion on the last lap that there was some initial apprehension by park rangers about whether it might cause damage to sensitive habitat areas, but everyone has worked together to make it a success and everyone’s a winner! Obvs. Decisions about the exact route take into account when other groups need access. So the reason the first loop is run first is because then the track is free for users who need to access the sailing area, or was it the fishing area, anyway, other people who need right of way. All good. Partnership working at its best. I guess that’s what brought along so many first timers walking and talking and enjoying the route too. The NHS celebration day having been promoted through the relevant NHS trust. Hurrah!

All this walking and talking made the second lap pass speedily, and in seemingly next to no time we were back at the finish, where a guard of honour in high vis flanked the funnel to welcome us in. Whilst most parkrunners had departed, a cheery few gave a rousing cheer to the returning walkers. It was lovely and made you feel all fuzzy and nice inside.

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We were duly timed across the finish. My EWFM taking the final finish token and her number and name and time all being carefully recorded to help with the results processing. A few metres away there was a huge banner, that would have doubled as a windbreak in inclement conditions, proclaiming SCANNING, which, coincidentally is exactly where the scanners were so you could go to be scanned. I know, what were the chances?

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The fun wasn’t over yet though, we had to do more photo taking. I tried to take some photos of the walking party, and did so quite brilliantly – though using their camera so you’ll have to take my word for it. However, it involved getting one person to hold the selfie frame in front of the group standing a bit further back so they were all within it and lots of jumping and waving. I’ve always been good at making my own entertainment.

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The team were busy packing away and sorting, but not too busy for one of their number to do a big reveal on how to take the perfectly flattering selfie. It’s genius. You basically have to lie on the ground and look up, slightly coquettishly, and voila, a flattering angle. It’s a bit of a scramble lying down and even more so getting up again, but fortunately my EWFM is very amendable to direction so we managed to get us both in shot, then decided we needed the RD too, and then a bystander pointed out – quite corrrectly – that really the photographer also needed to be on ground level to get the angle right. I did wonder at this point whether by that logic we might as well all have been standing up, but where would the fun be in that. After much rolling about in the grass to get the angles just so, the perfect picture was nailed. I know, we look glorious.

I don’t know if the selfie service on the grasses of the meadow is a service offered to all visiting parkrunners, but you could ask politely, you might get lucky, and if not, you can always have a go yourself. It’s intrinsically hilarious, getting a photo at the end is just a bonus.

Did take a while to get up again though, allow extra time for such shenanigans in our post parkrun parkfaffing timeline calculations.

Next step, the coffee van, in situ near the car park, serving pricey, but excellent coffee. I was glad of a flat white to fuel me as we strolled back through the park to the Hope and Anchor pub. It was very sticky, I didn’t mention that before did I? It was a very humid day, and we even had some rolls of thunder as we went round our final lap, though the heavens held off from opening until later on.

Back at the Hope and Anchor pub, we had a bit of inside outside dilemma. We opted for outside, sat down, and it immediately started raining big fat sploshing drops of rain, so we headed inside again. Breakfast was plentiful and cheap. We went for vegan and vegetarian options which included sausages, beans, mushrooms, all the usual suspects in plentiful quantities and was an absolute bargain. There was also an option for a breakfast of frozen yoghurt and chopped fruit so basically a rebranded ice cream sundae, what’s not to like? Cooked breakfast for less than a fiver though. Great option. I’m glad I’d got the proper coffee first, but the put was great for chatting and food and leisurely debrief of the morning. It was also where the core team go for results processing. There is also a very good VR postbox, if you are into appreciating such historic offerings. I am. Show me a good stink pipe in its original location and I’m happy all day.

And so, eventually, that was that.

Another parkrun done and dusted. A particularly fine one. Of course all parkruns are magnificent, but this one was especially so. The setting is gorgeous, the atmosphere chilled and inclusive of walkers and the natives friendly and welcoming.

Thank you lovely Watermead Country Park parkrun team for the great welcome to your splendid event. You are all stars and your hard work has created something really special in the parkrun universe. You can tell its creation was a genuine labour of love. Hurrah.

I’d toadally come back again.

Fantastic venue, fantastic team, you really should come and experience it for yourself, or if you already have experienced it, keep on going back for more! Not only are the surrounding lush and gorgeous, the high vis heroes are just as stunning, the coffee classy and the pub welcoming. This is truly a parkrun with all the things.

That’s all for now, I hope our parkrun paths cross again soon. In the meantime, if you want to prolong your parkrun fix, and apropos of nothing, have you seen this? No? Have a gander. It’s a little ‘cheeky’ but made me smile. I am shallow though, if you are too, it might yet have you singing along.

Oh, and for triangulation purposes, this was a particularly well documented parkrun. Check out this video account too from Andrew Pick. Very comprehensive too.

and wait there’s more, because Isabella Sparkle was also filming away. juniors who have met each other through the wonders of parkrun. I know!

AND we have an event report for week 88 too, all the things courtesy of Iain and James Hickman

Seems word gets round when you have a particularly fine parkrun destination in traveling distance. Hurrah!

And if you want even more, you could always browse through all my parkrun related posts here.  Or not.  It’s up to you.  You’ll need to scroll down for older entries though.

Thanks for stopping by dear reader, it’s been grand. Good luck with your selfie and parkrun adventures still to come.

🙂

Newbeginnings at Newbiggin by the sea parkrun

I don’t know who, what or where Oldbiggin is or was, let alone whether they inhabited the shores of a sea but turns out, Newbiggin by the sea is an actual place, and not an imaginary one at all -albeit it is the stuff that dreams are made of. By which I mean of course it’s lovely.

I could finish my blog post there, but where would be the fun in that?

Exactly!

Newbiggin by the sea is quite a long way from Sheffield. A very, very long way indeed to be fair, and therefore, wasn’t a parkrun I’d ever particularly registered. For the record, it is really too far to do in a day from Sheffield, even though that’s what I did. If you have the budget to stay over, and /or the parkrun people to go in a gang with, it would be much more doable, but even so, I’m glad I made it.

I was lured to Newbiggin because there was an open invitation to join the pre-wedding parkrun for a couple getting married later in the day. Both are parkrun passionistas, hugely involved in parkrun and 50% of the couple is a BSL interpreter. I’d met her (and indeed the other 50% of the couple) together with many of their friends through some Sheffield based Deaf and Hard of Hearing takeover events at Endcliffe parkrun and more recently Millhouses, oh maybe not that recently. October 2022. So I reckoned I’d see some familiar faces, as well as getting to see the seaside and Northumberland always feels like I’m on actual holiday so what’s not to like.

The course is described on the official Newbiggin by the sea parkrun website blah de blah thus:

A 2 lap course around the Bay, Promenade and Milburn Park area’s of Newbiggin-by-the-Sea. Predominantly on tarmac paths with a few short sections of grass.

The event starts on the Prom near The Maritime Centre then heads south towards the Needles Eye end of the Bay. From the Prom exit right at the second ramp and head along the cycle track at Beach Terrace then do a clockwise loop around Milburn Park (old tennis course). Leaving Milburn Park, head back along Beach Terrace, down the ramp and back onto the Prom. Continue along the Prom to the sailing club then turn and do another lap. The finish is on the Prom beside the Old Ship.

And is described in the pre-run briefing in highly animated Geordie gloriousness, which somewhat thwarted the best efforts of the BSL interpreter stepping up to the role today. Nevermind, the uphill thing was emphatically communicated, you didn’t need to be a BSL pro to get the gist there!

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and it looks like this:

So lots of sea, and seaside, and ooh look, according to the map a statue in honour of the soon to be wedded happy couple!

In fact all sorts of things! Check out the Northumberland guide:

A bay teeming with marine wildlife, a peaceful beach known for its glowing sunrises and fiery sunsets, and Sean Henry’s intriguing Couple sculpture that sits out at sea. They’re all waiting for you in Newbiggin-by-the-Sea.

It also is an area that apparently particularly appeals to ‘If you are a budding athlete or just simply a fan of sports‘ noting ‘the town also hosts a bi-yearly triathlon, as well as has a leisure centre and skate park for the kids.’ though this website clearly needs updating, as inexplicably, the parkrun is not mentioned. Maybe they are keeping it as a surprise to reward those who make the effort to get there? It is most certainly a hidden gem.

I had a particularly restless night, I’m an insomniac at the best of times, but possibly as a result of a recent covid booster felt like I didn’t sleep at all. On the plus side, I was wide awake and blinking at the ceiling from the small hours anyway, so it was a relief in a way to have to be up and out at stupid o’clock for the drive to Northumberland. The drive was pretty straightforward, the only slight discombobulation was stopping for petrol and on the way forgetting I was wearing a fascinator (well, one has to make an effort for a wedding parkrun after all) and wondering why people were doing double takes at me at 6 in the morning, being stared at by incredulous bystanders later in the day is self evidently altogether more acceptable.

The postcode took me to what was essentially a private drive, presumably, immediately adjacent to the start, but I used my skill and judgement to follow the signs to the car park a little further on, albeit, not before doing a three million point turn in the aforementioned cobbled drive. Hopefully nobody saw me.

The maritime centre was easy to find, and lots of parking. Excitingly, you are right on the beach! I don’t know why this surprised me quite as much as it did, but it was just really, really exciting to be at the actual seaside. The whole bay was pretty much deserted, and gorgeous. The bay is not huge. The tide was out, revealing an arc of sand, and gently lapping waves. Pretty terraced sea houses lined the bay, and reached onward up the hill. I could see the statue of the Couple, just, and what looked like rockpool areas ripe for exploring. Nice.

I was quite intrigued by the couple. From a distance, they certainly draw the eye, and the shoulder to shoulder gazing out to sea is certainly evocative. I’d love to see them at high tide when they apparently seem to stand on water. There is a smaller version of them on the shore, and close up, they aren’t the most charismatic of figures. I think I prefer figures that are more universally representative, like the ones at Crosby albeit they are most definitely male, they seem more of a blank canvas. Not that Henry or Gormley are lying awake at night wondering if they have my endorsement. Or at least, not as far as I know. I favour something a bit more androgynous in representation, then it can seem relevant to any gender. Except on toilets, I hate problematic loo signs that are trying so hard to be witty you have no idea which gender(s) they are endeavouring to cater for. Any, all or possibly none. Flat cap is very northern though isn’t it. You can’t see the whippet or pigeons in the shots I took unfortunately, you’ll have to go back and check it out yourself.

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Couple at Newbiggin was created by Sean Henry (b.1965) and described by Art UK thus

‘Two substantial figures of a man and woman in clothing, facing out to sea, standing on a large-scale tapered platform structure, which is secured on top of the recently assembled rock breakwater. Whilst the figures are based on people from real life, the models were used as a starting point only and are not recognisable. The anonymous figures, simply clothed – a man in a flat cap and a woman in jeans, face the horizon with the sea lashing at their feet. The ‘Couple’ are secured to a steel plinth and integrated into the breakwater so that, during high tides, they give the impression of standing on the water’s surface.‘

Oh, ok then. It seems to divide opinion though and has been called eye-wounding by others – ‘Jones said: “The stupidest sculpture of the past 20 years has to be this eye-wounding erection on a seashore that never did any harm to anyone. “The tasteless, dull, idiotic figures of a man and woman are placed, with monumental ugliness, on top of a gigantic scaffold just to make sure the artwork totally wrecks its environment.” ‘ ouch. A little harsh, surely?

You’ll have to draw your own conclusions, anyway, that wasn’t the couple I was most invested in coming along to see. I was here for the pre-wedding parkrun frolics of a far more interesting and more animated twosome, the walking on water couple could wait their turn. I had a parkrun to attend to.

First task, exit the car, and oooh, it’s actually pretty windy and pretty chilly out! I bravely ventured out anyway, and made my way down to the beach to snap a few pics. It was gorgeous, as you might imagine, but the wind! It was an instantaneous sand blasting of all exposed flesh. The ultimate in non-gentle skin exfoliation that might account for the flawless complexions of all that run at Newbiggin, or indeed even venture out there. It was an adrenalin shot too, any residual sleepiness lifted, this wind doesn’t limit itself to blowing away cobwebs, it would blow away all ills and dusty residue from even Miss Havisham were she ever to venture here, which granted, is unlikely given that a)she’d be dead by now and b) – spoiler alert – is a fictitious character. Worked wonders for me though. I mean, a proper coffee would have been nice, but a seaside sandblasting is pretty special for them of us as live in landlocked territories. I love Sheffield and the peak district but there is something extraordinary about looking out to sea, and the free skin care routine is but a bonus. Though fyi, the buffeting (as in being blown about by the wind not a beach-side all you can eat selection of finger food) not only plays havoc with your feather boa but also furiously flicks and fiddles with your fascinator (not a euphemism) so you need to keep your wits about you. The wild elements might offer a wind assisted passage for half of the parkrun 5k voyage but it would be a headwind for 50% as well.

Just as I was contemplating where the start might be, and whether or not a precautionary pee might be possible, another two parkrunners in search of the wedding party arrived. One was clutching a fine hat, and the other later donned a birthday sash. We made small talk about the wind, and wedding gathering and decided to go in search of loos. En route, puffins! How exciting, I was not expecting to see them. And a boat that didn’t look like a kayak, next to a plaque noting a ‘land on the left’ challenge, which was to row round the uk coastline starting from Newbiggin. And there was a rocket house, where I think they probably breed rocket ice lollies, and a sailing club with the unexpectedly contemplative motto ‘we can’t change the direction of the wind, but we can adjust our sails to always reach our destination‘. Many things to see. Doh, why didn’t I spend longer, there are dolphin watching boat trips and ice cream possibilities too. All the things!

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Oh well, lots to come back for. We walked and talked and soon espied a cone and wedding balloons and a funnel being formed, and a mini fairground being set up. A marshal directed us the short distance over the road to the nearest public toilets, which she said would be hard to miss. As indeed they were, there is quite an entrance. A stern sign warns you to only go in one at a time. A bit like the three Billy Goats Gruff, venturing across the bridge one at a time, I abided by this, thinking there must be only one cubicle within. Idly wondering where my two new besties had vanished too, whilst not wishing to judge. In fact, there are many cubicles, also artwork inspired by the local area, so plenty to occupy your gaze whilst waiting for an opportunity to take possession of the necessary facilities.

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back to the sea front. The finish funnel area was looking lively, loads of people around and much parkrun paraphernalia. A mini fun fair was being erected too, and a festive mood throughout as it was looking to be a glorious day. Although the start and finish are in slightly different areas, they are pretty close, and I opted to leave my bag by the finish area. Usual parkrun protocols apply, you leave at your own risk, but honestly it was busy with volunteers and felt pretty safe to me, plus handy for the finish. I thought I might be cold so opted to nip back to the car for my fleece to leave there, but really it got pretty warm so wasn’t needed.

The bridal party arrived, and with them an entourage of bow tie wearers, champagne carriers, balloon tiers – not balloon modelling alas – and it was an instant pop up party, with the air of a circus procession coming to town. Nothing that would phase the Newbiggin parkrun celebrants though, I get the distinct impression it’s parkrun party every Saturday down on the Newbiggin seafront. This is a parkrun community that knows how to party. Jolly jumping jamborees are par for the parkrun course at this venue, with high vis and high jinks and high spirits kicking off the weekend every week at 9.00 a.m.. It was a great atmosphere.

Meeting and greeting was soon underway. Good to see a number had made an effort with their outfits too.

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After the general smooching and milling, there was a further procession, this time to gather at the start. It was a social and jolly relocation. I’ve come across this at a few parkruns in recent months, and rather like the communal chootle to the start. It’s an opportunity for people to walk and talk, and I think encourages a more social and interactive vibe between parkrun participants, without being too high pressure. Over time though, if this was your local parkrun you’d definitely get to know other regulars whether you wanted to or not, though of course you’d want to.

I made my way to the back of the pack in readiness for my walking pace, but also, if I’m honest, I was feeling a little out of place, so thought I’d stand back, and just take it all in. The crowd was jolly, the sky dramatic, the mood buoyant. People posed with the happy couple in all possible parkrun posse permutations and all was well with the world.

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There followed The Pre Run Briefing. Words cannot do justice to this tour de force, which was properly knicker wetting hilarious. Aptly, there was a BSL interpreter to cater for the large Deaf and hard of hearing contingent who had come to join the festivities. Unfortunately, the BSL interpreter had omitted to bring her Babel Fish along with her and really struggled to catch the Geordie accent. After some attempts at clarification which soon degenerated into good natured squabbling and a master class in banter, the pre run briefer morphed into an athletic and expressive re-enactment of the whole course. Hands pointing upwards to indicate a hills as steep as mountains in a lively rendition of what was to lie ahead.

“An’ then ye dee it al ower agin”

It was hilarious, my only regret is that I didn’t think to film it, it was a triumph of spontaneity and joy. I think pretty much everyone got the gist by the end of it. Funniest run briefing I’ve ever attended bar none.

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As this came to a conclusion, the Run Director picked her way across the mound and through the coarse dune grass, ready to give her own introductions. There was a group from Newcastle Front Runners, there was a birthday, there was a volunteer milestone, and there was a wedding couple. All the things.

Newbiggin by the sea parkrun seemed to incorporate all the elements that you might find at any given parkrun and squish them in to one glorious event. So there was a running club mass turn out; VI runners with and without guides; barkrunners; Deaf and hard of hearing participants; walkers, buggies; a pre wedding turn out; first timer everers; tourists; fancy dress; birthday sashed parkrunners; cheering volunteers; balloons; parkwalkesr and all captured and memorialised by a finesse of photographers en route against the backdrop of blue sea and sunny skies. After a good natured briefing off we went…

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The route is straightforward, in that you basically run along the promenade parallel to the sea, if you take the time to glance to your left you can look out across to the sea and sky, if you look to the right, you see a pretty row of seaside dwellings, with colourful planted gardens. I had no idea you could create such lovely flower displays adjacent to the rigours of the coast. Interspersed with the dwellings were Newbiggin on sea curiosities like the lifeboat launch. For today only, a fairground being erected meant we ran out through the finish funnel rather than alongside it, this gave me the exceedingly rare achievement of flying through the finish, flanked by cheering marshals (I use the word ‘flying’ quite loosely) within just minutes of setting off on my 5k.

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The stand out has to be the marshals. Oh my! They were all in fine voice, outstanding directional pointing, superb clapping and cheering. It was a masterclass in motivational marshaling. Inspired support throughout the route. Some marshals had particular duties like steering people around the fairground equipment in case we ran into it in our dizzy excitement or negotiating with the beach tractor driver not to mow us all down in his vehicle but to wait it out until the parkrun had passed.

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After a bit, if you are at the back of the pack you get the glorious sight of parkrunners coming back towards you in a riot of colour and smiles. I liked this social aspect, you could appreciate the fancy dress offerings, cheer the soon to be married couple, be amazed at the speedy front runners. It wasn’t long before some who’d already done the turn around were lapping me and overtaking from behind. That was fine too, lots of room.

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Later, you climb up the hill, and it’s worth pausing at the top and looking back to take in the view. Stunning. Right back across the bay, but with the trail of colourful runners bounding up the hill like festive bunting swaying in the wind.

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A bit later still, I noticed an enormous number of people who seemed to have been caught short en route and were exiting the toilet block en masse but in an orderly fashion. Oh wait, now, this is where you emerge from the turn around point and back on to the promenade path that takes you down to the beach once more.

At the top of the hill, a dedicated marshal points you to the turn around loop. From this vantage point you can see for miles out to sea. I bet in the right conditions you’d see dolphins. There is a bench a little distance away, and during a break between runners, the marshal took advantage of this, moving back to her spot as parkrunners reappeared on the horizon. It was far away from the bustle of the start and finish, but a perfect spot for contemplation and meditation. Lovely.

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And then back I came, round the manicured lawns, past some allotments with excellent scarecrow creations, past the toilet block emerging myself. Down hill, a little jogget, taking in the view and cheering other runners back again now nearly half way through their second and final lap.

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Down, down,to in sight of the finish funnel, and then whilst I watched others career through the funnel to the full bodied encouragement of the entourage of funnel marshals, I turned around the handily labelled turn around point to embrace the opportunity to ‘dee it al ower agin.’

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The second lap was pretty solitary, most having long since finished, but the setting was still stunning, and the marshals chilled and supportive and I got no sense of being hurried round which was a refreshing change. I’ve had some pretty dire experiences as a walker at parkrun lately, with being chased round and overtaken by tailwalkers telling me to hurry up. A little bit of my parkrun heart breaks every time that happens to me. Particularly alienating as parkrun used to be unfailingly a safe and happy place. Anyhoo, it meant it was a relief to find there are still parkruns out there which genuinely seem unphased by how long it takes a walker to complete their course. Here it seemed all the volunteers were having such a good time out there, why would they want to finish as soon as possible. And if you were a static marshal, why would you want to tear yourself away from those fabulous seaviews? Precisely!

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through the finish, all scanned in, I tried to get a nic unposed pic of the finish team – they were too quick for me, and soon the photo op morphed into a posed photo, and then I joined in too, a most jolly finish.

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And as for our soon to be married couple? They had a blast, I just really hope the actual wedding wasn’t too much of an anticlimax after all the fun of the fair and frolics of parkrun earlier on. Especially as they were clearly in such a rush to get there. Oh well, even if there isn’t to be another wedding for them, at least there will always be new parkruns eh?

For triangulation purposes, here is the official run report, noting the DIY BSL which was the funniest pre parkrun briefing I have seen bar none. Worth the trip alone!

“An’ then ye dee it al ower agin”

honestly, had to be seen to be believed! I’m still chuckling

and here is a little visual smorgasbord of some of the memories from the day:

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And if you have an insatiable appetite for event photos, check out these from Rachael Young and/or these photos from Chris Potts, and/or these photos from Ian Harman – surely the most documented parkrun of all time? I took some photos too, but they rather pale in comparison to the official offerings. To be fair, I reckon there must be more photos of the parkrun, than of the wedding itself. Quite right too, it’s all about priorities, I think the whole wedding was basically a recruitment exercise for these parkrun passionistas to introduce more of their friends, relations and acquaintances to the phenomenon that is parkrun. Good idea, definitely pushing the boat out with this one, the NHS 75th birthday celebrations at parkruns this coming weekend will have a hard act to follow! Mind you, they are already toying with the idea of bringing Cecil the anatomical skeleton out of retirement and into a high viz pink bib, so I reckon they’ll do just fine.

And if you want to check out the winter version of this parkrun, see the fabulous YouTube video all about her 600th parkrun here at Newbiggin by the sea by Nicola Runs. Aw, lovely.

After finishing, I headed down to the sea and gazed out and looked for shells. I contemplated a paddle, but was a bit unsure as to how clean it was following quite a lot of reports of sewage spewing out on British coastlines. It’s a shame we have to even consider this. The water looked lovely though. I wandered quite a way from the finish and so didn’t check out the post parkrun parkfaffing opportunities, they looked splendid though, and one should always save something for next time. This is a parkrun I’d 100% want to come back to, next time, parkfaffing and dolphin watching and maybe more aeroplane wings to help me go faster down the hills.

In any event, here’s to the happy Couple. What a day.

Good luck as you embark on this next new chapter and adventure in life. Shoulder to shoulder, launching out together to plunge into an exciting new future. New beginnings from Newbiggin, not too shabby a place to set sail from at all. You’ll be making waves – in a good way – wherever life takes you I’m sure. We are wishing you all the happiness in the world. May you forever be in reach of a parkrun, a happy memory and a joyful escapade still to come

Also, not sure if plunging is desirable when sailing, but I’m sure you get the gist, just be happy and have fun. Pretty much like parkrun rules really. It’s going to be grand.

And here is also to the most charismatic parkrun high vis team of all time. Fact.

🙂

Same time next week?

Or if you want to prolong your parkrun fix, you could always browse through all my parkrun related posts here.  Or not.  It’s up to you.  You’ll need to scroll down for older entries though.

Shady goings on at Middleton Woods parkrun

An absolute gem!

I properly loved this parkrun. Of course in theory all parkruns are equal in their loveliness, but I think we all recognise some are more equal than others. Middleton Woods parkrun is a first among equals, a true hidden gem. Once again, the parkrun fairies spun their fairy magic, as this isn’t a place I’d ever have thought to visit were it not for parkrun, and I would have so missed a trick.

As is often the best way to discover lovely things, I made it to Middleton Woods pretty much on a whim. I wanted a parkrun not too far away as I needed to be back to Sheffield in time to show a potential lodger round, this one says he likes frogs too, so wouldn’t want to blow it by being late for the viewing. I wanted a new to me parkrun, with a traily feel, and to just have a nice chilled event, testing my legs a bit. I’ve been volunteering a fair bit recently, which I enjoy hugely, but even so, I just wanted a week where I could do entirely my own thing and see how my limbs held out. Oh, on that note, last week I was volunteering because we had a parkwalk special event at Millhouses parkrun last week, which went pretty well on the whole. Lots of tweaking to encourage new parkwalkers to attend. However, this week, I just fancied a change from volunteering and going to an event where I could just be invisible, as far as is possible given my height, width ratio. Middleton Woods was in the list of Nendy (nearest event(s) not done yet) and just appealed. I had a look at their Facebook page, and ta da …

they promised shade!

I am not good in the heat. Shade would be excellent. Mind you, fyi, they didn’t mention the bitey critters also feasting on the lovely bounty of the forest, i.e. any exposed flesh from a passing parkrunner. I have many insect bites post parkrun, but it is a small price to pay for a lovely event, and a memento to remind me of the event for the week(s) ahead. Super.

I didn’t pay too much more attention to the website info pre event, that was good enough. There was a satnav code to head too, and country parks are always easy to find, there’ll be a visitor centre and isn’t there a mention of a golf club or something near the start? Yep, easy.

I headed off confidently. I was quite smug about leaving crazily early, as I almost immediately got held up in traffic on the motorway for a good 20 mins for unclear reasons. Thank goodness I’d allowed plenty of extra time. There was one of those signs saying ‘traffic held due to incident’ but I couldn’t be sure if the incident was alien landing/ abduction, tornado, swan on the motorway or accident. I felt it wasn’t an accident because I think they’d have said. Unless it was a typo? I don’t think it was a typo. I reckon it was an alien abduction, because when we got moving again there was absolutely nothing to see by queuing police cars. No evidence at all. Exactly, my point! What could be more suggestive of paranormal/ extra-terrestrial activity.

My smugness slightly wavered as it dawned on me another option would have been to leave half an hour later and miss the delay altogether, but that’s ok, because nobody will ever know. Once we got moving again, the journey was uneventful. Soon there was the little arrival flag showing on the sat nav. It’s quite sweet isn’t it, the bannercheck flag at the end of your journeys. Almost as much fun as those toll roads with multiple pay booths that makes you feel like you are at the start of Whacky Races when you go through? Oh, just me then. Anyways, I sailed past the point on the map as very obviously it was directing me to go onto the premises of some bike shop, and not the entry to the country park at all. I headed onwards, getting increasingly confused, before using my skill and judgement to pull over and check the instructions on the official Middleton parkrun website blah de blah.

Location of start
The event starts close the main car park at Middleton Park Bike Hub

Facilities
Located at the start and finish of the course is the Bike Hub, complete with toilets and a café. There is also a children’s play area and a visitor centre located at the bottom of the course. The Bike Hub will also have bikes available to use after the event as well as various trails able to be explored in the park.

Not a golf course and a country park then. My bad. Oh well, I’d allowed plenty of time and no-one would ever know. Anyway, if you check out the loos for at the venue they have golfers on them for some weird reason. Not literal golfers nailed to them, that would be stupid, just pictures of them, swinging their clubs (not a euphemism) which isn’t stupid, weird or unexpected at all. Maybe my confusion was a result of repressed prophetic impulses. Yes, that must be it!

Oh and another thing about the loos, seeing as we are talking about the facilities. I had a little wave of schadenfreude (yes I’m shallow) that the gents was out of order so all the men would get to experience the endurance test of queuing for the loo that is the curse of women in search of a pee. You can’t see the sign very clearly as I bottled retaking it as I have sufficient self awareness (just) to get that taking photos of the exterior of public toilets might be perceived as unnecessarily odd. Then again, aren’t you pleased to have that venue intel? I navigate these risks so you don’t have to. #livinglifeontheedge Don’t judge me too harshly though, as the consequential karma was immediate. Availing myself of the facilities incurred a real sense of jeopardy as the loo door lock doesn’t quite secure, and my arms weren’t long enough to hold the door closed whilst powdering my nose. I survived the ordeal, but you have been warned.

Anyway, you are distracting me by asking about the loos, I’m getting out of sequence. Where was I? Oh yes, back to the bike place. It is genuinely a slightly weird arrival point as it does feel like you are pulling in to the front yard of a bike shop initially, but as you curve in it becomes apparent there is indeed a mahoosive park behind and also ample free parking.

It is a venue that straight away peaks your curiosity. For non trail bikers, the landscape has a slightly surreal aspect. It has been contoured to created interesting and exciting bike trails. These are dusty mounds with clumps of wild flowers bursting out between the curves of the tracks. It felt a bit like I imagine Spain to be, or some other foreign climate. It was pretty cool. Though ironically, cool, because of looking hot. An arid landscape of boulders and wild flowers, dust and blue skies. I was early, despite having narrowly avoided both alien abduction AND accidentally driving on to Scotland because of ignoring my satnav. #winning

I parked up, and excitedly espied the first of the ‘caution runners’ signs, which is always a boon when touristing.

It means you are in the right place AND there is a high probability the parkrun will happen as the team are busy setting the course out too. Of course, nothing is a given. I heard later some friends of mine attending this parkrun some time ago had a nervous wait at the start line as the key for the defibrillator had gone walkabouts and the event couldn’t start without it. It was found, don’t worry. All’s well that ends well as the saying goes. It just made the event more memorable. Except, having checked the Facebook page and run report for that event, there is no mention of it, so maybe they were confusing the event with another parkrun. We may never know…

Unsurprisingly, once you are in the know, there were many people with bikes around, or ‘cyclists’ as I understand is the correct technical term for them. Also, some parkrunners with tourist kit. I was sure I recognised them, but this can happen at parkruns because the same types pop up at every parkrun event. There is usually someone dressed as a dinosaur, a scattering of milestone tees, a pre-wedding parkrun party, cow buff wearers that kind of thing. We sort of circled one another for a while, before I plucked up courage to go and talk to them. Phew, we thought it highly likely we had been at the same parkruns in recent history, but hadn’t previously spoken. This meant I didn’t have to do that really awkward wracking my brains trying to remember what their names were, though obviously will do next time.

After I’d had my precarious precautionary pee, without being busted in situ, I had a little pootle about to take in the scenery. There was a finish/start pop up sign, but further inquiry revealed that this is in fact an old one, used to mark the finish, the newer pop up sign with the event name on it is at the start which is a little walk from the car park adjacent gathering area. That’s where we made our way to next. I think maybe if you are newbie, if you hang around the car park area that’s possibly where any first timers’ welcome takes place, because I missed that by heading to the start. However, I can report there was a loveliness of friendly marshals around to point you the right direction and answer any questions, so maybe it’s done in a more informal and personal way. Castle parkrun in Sheffield is like that, relatively small with a high proportion of regulars, so if you rock up for the first time you are pretty much guaranteed a bespoke meet and greet service. Not actually park and ride, but pretty close. Oh, and when I asked about leaving my keys, they very helpfully suggested the RD took possession of them. I don’t know if I got special treatment because they had their eye on my 2007 toyota yaris, but I think not. Though if I was foolish enough to leave it behind at the end of the event, then I think it would have been fair enough to treat it the same as all lost property, and after a reasonable pause claim absolute possession. You’d need to check if availing yourself of such services.

There follows an immersive slideshow experience of the walk down to the start. It is a literal walk down, as well as a figurative one, nice gentle slope down into the shade of the trees.

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As we were walking we saw a fine ‘to the start’ sign, which we both paused to photograph. Turns out, we both have a friend who collects photos of parkrun signs, and – you won’t believe this – it’s the same person! What are the chances? There must be a gazillion such people in Huddersfield alone! Anyway, the sign was duly captured, and next stop, the pop up name sign, and mandatory photographs behind and in front of, and alongside this.

There was real comedic value in this activity, as the event team cunningly position the sign atop a particularly slippery and steep incline. As you try to position yourself to take the best shot your feet slide away beneath you. Only the most dedicated and tenacious of parkrunners can capture the perfect shot. Oh, and mountain goats in theory too I imagine, but what they offer in agility they lose in relation to their willingness and ability to operate a camera. Shame, not dissing them, just saying it how it is. Not to worry though, we parkrun visitors assisted one another, and all was well. Milling and chilling and avoiding tumbling down the bank in the starting area.

Regular Middletonians pitched up, and other park users came on by. Including this rather fine Sharpie. Not the pen. But the Shar Pei dogs. You know, the ones with a reputation for loyalty aren’t they a Chinese breed? I’ve never met one before, but I’m sure I’ve seen some in various animated films. And wasn’t there one that lived at a railway station waiting for its master who never came home? Nope, just checked that was a Japanese Akitok dog Hachika I’ve not thought about them all that much beyond wrinkled skin and problems breathing, but the accompanying human was happy to let me say hello. Oh my, I have never felt a coat so soft. It was extraordinary. What a sweet hound. I had no idea. It has a diet of raw fish, that it seems is the secret of perfect skin and hair. Wouldn’t work for me on account of me being allergic to fish, and also a vegan-curious vegetarian anyway. This may be why I have nailed a should-be iconic hair style all of my own, that of ‘being dragged through a hedge backwards’ and indeed, goddess of the same, I rock the whole look. Someone has to, and to be fair, there are other followers to be find, most especially post parkruns. Heard of the descriptor ‘parkrun fresh?’ well then, rest my case. Definitely a thing

Ooh, well this is nice! We went from the arid plains down into a lovely shaded wooded area. Tall trees towered over us and it was properly cool and lovely. It was sooooooooooooo nice to be in the cool shade of the trees after being uncomfortably hot for as long as I can remember, definitely most of last week just for starters.

There was meeting and greeting going on, and gentle chit chat, and a bit of speculation about which direction we’d be running in. Well I’d be walking but others might run. After a bit, regulars started to gather at what was clearly the start line.

Approaching us from afar, marching abreast down the hill like the men in black were the start team. I mean look at them, they even had an outrider on a bike. Only really important people have hi-vis escorts.

Turns out I was wrong though. A local quipped back ‘more like clowns to the left, jokers to the right …’ I’m sure the locals know best, better go with that analysis. You really can’t put a price on insider knowledge. As for that outrider? Probably some sort of community supervision official. That must be it.

It was a really jolly start though. Some late arrivals were cheered in with good humour and enthusiasm. There was a rousing RD welcome calling out milestones, birthdays, tourists. Oh yes, one claiming to be from South Africa (a bit of niche J Burg reference I think. A joke is going round in some circles to shout Johannesburg in response to any tourist shout outs to ensure gaining the furthest travelled kudos. I’m not sure about this, as it would be rough if you really had travelled from miles away and were thwarted by a fib. It would be even more annoying if you were actually from Johannesburg but hadn’t called out due to coyness and a tendency to let opportunities pass you by. Then again, I’m obviously shallow and contrary as well as being the goddess of people who have been dragged through a hedge backwards, as I actually thought that this shout out was quite funny. Even more hilariously, they really were from South Africa according to the subsequent write up from the event. I’m even more confused now.

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Local warnings were mainly about bikes, because there are many, and occasionally horses. Both the horses and bikes have accompanying humans. Huge thanks for volunteers, it’s a relatively small event, and I think they struggle, though this week there was a good turnout of marshals, partly because there is race taking place one evening this week I think, or maybe just because it’s been sooooooooooooooooooo hot, running around loses its appeal in these circumstances.

There was a good description of the course. I didn’t take too much note of it as I’d be at the back anyway. Definitely downhill bits, and then some killer uphill bits, and you get to do it all again which is good, because you’ll appreciate the sights more second time around. Oh, and there was a photographer, not me, a proper one, so that’s a boon too. I’m not sure if we were just lucky, or if that is quite a regular thing.

They could have just said the course is basically the shape of an upside-down snail that has lost its shell. I don’t know why they don’t just say that on the course description on the website. Instead they say:

Course Description
Two laps on a mixture of path and trail. The start and finish is close the main car park at Middleton Park Bike Hub. The course starts down the road from the rose garden. Head down the hill, and turn right to enter the woods. Following the trail through the woods on the path, continue and take a left to come up behind the bandstand. Turn right on to the path next to the band stand, then turn right again to pass between the band stand and visitors centre. Carry on alongside the boating lake, turn right & then bear left to enter the woods, follow this trail up to Nick’s View, circle around the back of the rose garden and back to the downhill section. Complete the second lap & this time after the rose garden for the turn left towards the bike hub to arrive at the finish.

and it looks like this – I’ve improved the image I think.

You’re welcome.

I’m not sure whether or not to give this feedback to the team. I don’t want to undermine them when they are clearly doing their best, but really, it’s quite an oversight. And it is quite a lovely snail to boot… Maybe their ED has molluscophobia? I can think of no other plausible explanation.

In due course, it was time for awf:

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I slotted in towards the back. Watching runners streaming ahead. Quite soon, I found myself pretty much on my own, and able to enjoy the tree cover all to myself.

This was interspersed with a cheery interaction with the odd marshals with the odd interaction with one of the cheery marshals that were to be found decorating the route. They were all excellent at cheering, clapping and directional pointing. One was also expert in camera pointing too. A winning team.

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Whilst it’s true there was a lot of uphill, this meant there is also significant down hilliness which was just joyful. So joyful, I even had a little experimental joggle. It is a pretty good surface, maybe the odd loose grit making some areas slightly slippy, but nothing scary at all. Almost immediately it triggered some of my leg and foot issues, but to be honest, the real obstacle to movement was that I hadn’t put on a sports bra. There is little point these days at parkruns, given I can only walk. But I can report that having a joggle created way too much jiggle and short of running the whole route with one boob cupped in each hand which is a) a terrible look and b) terribly uncomfortable and c) not altogether practical I gave up pretty quickly. It was a nice feeling whilst it lasted though. I really miss running. It wasn’t as if I was ever even remotely good at it, but it is the sense of freedom it can bring. Oh well. Got a photo though, hurrah! Thank you proper photographer. His photographs are here on the Middleton Woods parkrun Facebook page.

I took photos too, runners who were lapping me, or who I espied amongst the trees, running along parallel paths.

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Not gonna lie, pretty chuffed about the flying feet pics, even if they were by accident. All down to my smartphone – did I mention I’ve just got one? Game changer.

As prophesied by those in the know, you do get to take it all in a bit more second time around. It’s such an amazing space. Not just extraordinary trees and an aura of green tranquility, but a pond, and stairways to hidden rose gardens, and swans – or a swan certainly. Seen portrayed in 2d, then 3d and then in glorious reality. Lovely. Oh and the noise of gibbons, swinging through the trees overhead, only that turned out to be a squirrel, but honestly, an easy mistake to make

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Lovely, isn’t it?

I slowed down to the point of reverse, and was overtaken by the parkwalker with the tail still a little way behind. Marshals waited patiently for those of us at the back to pass on by. The encouragement was consistent from start to finish which is always a boon, and never a given.

So I jiggle joggled down the hills and heaved my weary carcass up them. Eventually you exit the forest back towards the gathering point which is where the finish is – and one of the snail antennae if you’ve been concentrating. There is a slight challenge in the final few hundred yards as you have to decide whether to slalom through the gap in the low barriers on the path, or to hurdle over them. Both are legitimate approaches.

and then you get to see the smiling, bright eyed faces of the finish funnel crew, cheering you over the line.

Oh hang on, looks like the RD did a strategic photo bomb of the scanner, let me try again

I daresay they are friends really. Scanner isn’t hopping mad at all, just having a bit of a riverdance moment I imagine.

I wasn’t the final finisher for a change, so waited for the tail to come on through.

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Then I remembered about my keys and retrieved them, before heading to the cafe.

The bike cafe is excellent. A big inside area, an assortment of cakes and hot drinks and a limited breakfast menu. I just had a flat white and then sat outside with my new besties, for a mini parkfaff session. It was great actually. We had lots of parkrunner friends in common it turns out, and worked out from the ‘compare’ function on the 5k app that we’ve actually been at the same event on three other occasions. Pavilion Gardens, Castle and Concord. Isn’t that amazing, I love the parkrun world and how it connects people, and I’m grateful to the volunteers who develop the fun apps to make such discoveries possible.

Oh, and the advice is to wear a helmet at the cafe, though it wasn’t being enforced and we got away with just wearing sunshades.

Oh, and by the way, the first finisher was a forest. This just feels apt. Not just Birnam wood that can upsticks it seems. Trees are awesome. They can truly do amazing things. No wonder forest bathing is a thing. I mean not jumping in the tub with the parkrunner forest, that would be inappropriate unless specifically invited, but just soaking in the ambience and loveliness of trees to restore your inner equilibrium and be done, for now, with existential angst.

Try it.

You’ll like it.

I promise.

You’re welcome.

So thank you lovely Middleton Wood parkrun team for a most gorgeous event what stars you all are. Shining brightly in the forest. Genuinely a hidden gem. Happy memories of a happy day 🙂

Same again next week somewhere?

In the meantime, if you want to prolong your parkrun fix, you could always browse through all my parkrun related posts here.  Or not.  It’s up to you.  You’ll need to scroll down for older entries though.

Salcey Forest parkrun where unicorns prance and the sun always shines.

Up until today I thought the only parkrun with a naturalised endemic unicorn population was Bushy parkrun. The latter parkrun also having deer – including spectacular stags, parakeets and skylarks in season. And also potential celebrity sightings of PSH amongst others. However, every parkrun day provides edutainment, as well as community coffee opportunities, and now I know better. Salcey Forest parkrun has to have them. FACT! As you pass through the forest on the parkrun route, the cathedral like trees tower overhead and with brilliant sunshine above (sunshine guaranteed at this parkrun I feel sure), shafts of light penetrate the canopy to illuminate gorgeous glades and dancing wildflower heads at the sides of the trails. Everywhere you look there are inviting paths, massive fallen trunks and intriguing constructions and signs to lure you off the beaten track and further and further into the woods.

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Honestly, you can quite see how it children in fairy tales are want to wander ever deeper into such environments. In fairy tales, granted, it doesn’t always end well, but here, the forest surrounds are properly gorgeous. Ferns and mosses and wildflower borders abound, this has to be optimum unicorn habitat. Also, the forest feels vast, unicorns need quite a bit of space, and seem able to share it with Zog, ancient ‘druid oaks’ and an abundance of wildlife too. They are shy though, and whilst I’d properly swear I got a glimpse of a flying mane or flicking tail out of the very corner of my eye, catching just the briefest of glimpses as the impressive creatures galloped light-footed through some distant glade, There is one in this picture for sure, can you see it?

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Wait, you aren’t quite convinced. Sigh. Well, I’m ahead of you. I accept you may demand more physical proof. Well, dear reader, I have it!Not me to be fair, but the high vis hero who was on finish tokens duty at the parkrun today. It seems one of her duties as a volunteer is to clear the finish funnel of unicorn scat. It’s basic health and safety, as even if it lands ins attractively rainbow coloured droppings, it is still a potential slip hazard for sprinting parkrunners. If you don’t believe me, check out the volunteer grid. I think it’s recorded as ‘other’ on the roster and isn’t actually credited as ‘Unicorn Poop Scooper’ so an element of trust there I concede. Though it should be obvs, they have ‘Car Park Marshal’ after all, I guess it’s like the ‘Fluffy the Emu Wrangler’ role at Nambour parkrun Australia, a bit too niche to have as an option on the drop down menu for all events, but very real all the same.

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I think we can all agree that animal scat is a good indicator of animal populations in wildlife surveys, so why not believe the evidence of your eyes and check out the massive pile of unicorn poo that the volunteer collected. So much, that she was able to fashion it into an improvised stool (pun intended) so she could carry out her role seated and take home the bounty to put on her roses later. If you think ordinary horse manure is good for roses you should see the impact of unicorn droppings. It makes your roses rainbow coloured with glitter tipped petals, and they smell just divine. Take a bucket and some rubber gloves with you next time you are in the forest and you too might get lucky. Food for thought, I’m sure you’ll agree. Our finish token giver outer was a tad optimistic about the quantities unicorns produce though, she was never going to fill that whole bag for life to be fair, but fair play to her for her optimistic outlook, always a joy to behold. I wasn’t sure whether or not to tell her she’d smeared a bit of unicorn poo on her leggings though, I decided against, I mean she probably knew already, and if she didn’t well, why make her feel all self conscious about something she could do nothing about? Precisely.

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Anyway, I’m getting ahead of myself. It’s just that I was very excited about the unicorns, and if you take nothing else away from this account of Salcey Forest, remember that. Remember it, but also, don’t tell too many people, don’t want them getting spooked needlessly.

As my regular reader, you will know I always agonise over where to go for my parkrun fix. Needing places I can reach from Sheffield and that are parkwalker friendly, with nearby parking to limit how far I have to walk in addition to the completing the 5k. This week though, I was spared endless angst and indecision because the event choice was obvious. My EWFM and now parkrunner friend too had confirmed that she would confirmed by all to be an absolute cow by the end of her parkrun today and who would want to miss that? She’d chosen Salcey Forest parkrun as it is reachable for parkrunning friends coming down from oop norf or up from darn sarf. I would come from Sheffield, she would come from Londonshire, we could meet sort of in the middle. Fortunately, looking at the official Salcey Forest parkrun website blah de blah it did seem to also be a parkrun with all the things. Parking, cafe, forest etc.

The course is excitingly all one lap too:

Course Description – The course consists of one lap in a clockwise direction on a mixture of gravel and trail through the forest. The start and finish are close to the main car park, café and toilets. Trail shoes are advised during winter months or after periods of rain. Due to the terrain the course is only suitable for purpose built running buggies.

Facilities – Early bird parking (between 8am-11am) costs £3.

and it looks like this:

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So easy to remember as it looks a bit like, a bit like…. actually, I have no idea what it looks like. The wrong trousers half heartedly drawn as in Wallace and Gromit? Does that help at all? Or the tail end of a cut in half mermaid, washed up on a beach and partially decomposed? Possibly not, but the thing is there are lots of smiling marshals and where marshals fear to tread there are lots of cones so no worries.

Oh actually, I think it’s worth giving some blah de blah from the Salcey Forest official website too. There’s loads to do there, and this write up won’t do even the parkrun justice, let alone the whole Forest.

‘Located only 7 miles from the centre of Northampton, Salcey Forest is an oasis of nature and history, This magnificent woodland has many miles of ancient wood banks, building remains and ancient trees. The ‘druids’, or veteran oaks, are rare and amazing wildlife habitats, and some of the old oaks are over 600 years old. See what you can spot on your visit to the medieval royal hunting forest. We’ve got endless walking trails, a family cycling trail, adventure play area and even an onsite café selling tasty homemade meals and cakes in a warm, friendly environment.]

You need to go and explore for yourself really, look out for Zog trails too. Unicorns and speedy parkruns aren’t the only things flying around Salcey Forest of a Saturday morning you’ll find.

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What’s that. You are worried about me calling my friend a complete cow? But she was going to be, she now is! It’s true! She is definitively a complete cow now and she is owning it. The thing is, some parkrunners like to get out and about and visit different parkrun venues. It’s a great way to meet up with parkrunning buddies you’ve acquired on line over the years and also to see parts of the country you might never otherwise visit. Welcome to the parallel universe that is parkrun tourism. It was years before I twigged that this was a thing and fun too. My EWFM has been a faster learner than I, embracing parkrun tourism from the off. So it is today was the occasion of her fiftieth different parkrun venue. I know, exciting! The first parkrunner to complete 100 distinct parkrun venues was somebody by the name of Cowell, so to complete one hundred different parkruns is to complete your Cowell. To complete fifty, i.e. half of them – are you getting this now – is to complete the Cow. See what they’ve done there. I know, clever. So it was, should my parkrunning buddy moove round the course as plan she’d be a confirmed cow at the end of it. This, naturally enough, was a cause for celebration. Cup cakes would be lovingly baked and brought; companions would be in attendance, many would gather. Hurrah!

There was some pre event angst, as in the lead up to the event it was looking low on volunteers. Many parkruns have seemed to struggle to get enough high vis heroes for their events post pandemic. It’s hard not to find this dispiriting at times. A fair few have had to cancel, or gone ahead and faced grumbling from participants when things don’t go smoothly because they are too short of help to have everything run smoothly. Case in point Cardiff parkrun last week which someone attended and then complained because the finish funnel was disorganised, when the poor team at Cardiff had been begging for volunteers all week, considered cancelling, then gamely went ahead with very limited help only to get grief from a parktouristing visitor. Not a good look. It’s easy to see why the most dedicated of core team volunteers end up getting burnt out. Anyway, a gracious call for more help went out. Nice work on their social media channels I think we can all agree

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As a fair few of us wanted to make sure the bovine transfiguration came to pass satisfactorily, it meant a number of us would be gracing the forest. Word went round and hands went up, various people messaged in to offer their services. This included the parents of a parkrunning friend who resides in Germany. Producer of the legendary entertainment that is the Quarantine Quiz. A bilingual quiz for and by parkrunners, compered by fancy dress sporting and 3d printing genius it is worth a watch. Grew out of the pandemic and endures. The questions have nothing whatsoever to do with parkrun, but are posed by parkrunners, often from parkrun destinations, check it out. Like and subscribe etc. The producer’s mum and dad reside in Northampton, but a stone’s throw(ish) from this parkrun and they too would come along. One to complete the parkrun and one to volunteer, hurrah! The rota looked a lot healthier, it would be cow a go go. Which is good in this context. New experiences for some, possibly for us all, as I think the whole cow herd were newbies to the venue. How exciting!

I lay awake all night largely due to usual insomnia, but also pimped up by worrying about over sleeping and a dash of being excited about how the day would unfold. When the alarm went off at stupid o’clock I was already wide awake, and had been listening to an increasingly rowdy dawn chorus through my open bedroom window for some time. Up and out before I had a chance to overthink the small hours issue. It was promising to be a bright sunshiney day, but with some early morning fog on the way down, that soon burnt away. The drive from Sheffield was over long, but straightforward. One diversion and had to pass one horrific looking accident on the motorway going down to Northampton. The sort that makes you shudder to behold.

I arrived in good time, and the venue is easy to find being well sign posted. I parked up near the cafe and visitors’ centre area but in fact you can park a bit closer to the start if you arrive fractionally later and have the car park marshal in situ to wave you on. It makes little odds though, either way. I was confused by the parking metres. The first one I approached was coins only, then if you go round the block there was one that took cards. A further machine at the car park nearest the start required you to download a parking app WHICH IS REALLY ANNOYING, though you can also pay by phoning I think. It’s just three pounds for Saturday morning early bird, which is fair enough, and takes you to 11, which allows for a certain amount of post parkrun faffing but possibly not enough for all. The other big win, is lots of loos for the mandatory for me precautionary pee. I was especially grateful for this after the long drive. Apart from the fact that I wasn’t clever enough to operate the taps – but nor was the other woman availing herself of the facilities to be fair – it was in good order. Spoiler alert, we worked it out between us, but I still think the water pressure wasn’t reaching all the sinks. Leave enough time to fathom the plumbing before hand is my advice, otherwise you might be waving your hand in entirely the wrong dimension.

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Parked up, I asked the kindly marshal for directions to the start, which she patiently gave. As I glanced in the direction she was pointing in I could see a sea of parkrun pink, and all was well with the world. I ambled towards the parkrun posse, passed the ‘caution runners’ signs and through the metaphorical looking glass into the parallel parkrun universe for a morning of forest bathing, cakery and chootling (chatting and pootling) what’s not to like?

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One of our number was to be parkwalking, but alas, had woken practically blinded by an insect bite overnight. Disaster! I had brought jam jars all the way from Sheffield to pass on to her! Oh, and it looked both spectacular and agonising. Have you ever seen any of those reality TV shows about botched cosmetic surgery? It was the before correction picture, not gonna lie. Anyway, I went to ask the RD if anyone was needed given she couldn’t come and I’d be walking anyway. Actually, someone else had already volunteered to fill the breach, but I could too, albeit the blue high vis – which everyone knows is the most flattering of the options available – had already been bagsied, so I’d have to improvise with the pink. No great hardship there, in fact a win, as in honesty I am the slowest participant anyway, so ended up flying the walking flag by valiantly walking and talking – twalking – round with my EWFM cow bestie, but hey, making walking visible at parkrun is still a desirable outcome isn’t it, so all the yays,.

High vis donned, there was the important work of pre parkrun photo taking. It has to be done. Here are some (of many) offerings, have you spotted the nearly a complete cow participant yet. It’s like looking for unicorns in the ancient forests, you think it will be impossible, but once you get your eye in, there’s no mistaking it. We were in for a devil of a time!

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Once we’d done all our meeting and greeting, and round one of our photo taking, a call went up for the first timers’ welcome. A tourist was undertaking this role too. I was a bit dubious about how easy this would be for a tourist, but turns out, she has completed the course previously, and is also a hugely experienced volunteer so of course it was a splendid welcome and intro. The route is apparently basically left, right, right, left, right again, left right etc. …. or, just keep faith in the marshals! They are at every single turn point bar one, where there is an embarrassment of riches cones wise so really no getting lost unless you charge ever onward pushing marshals aside in your hurry to pb. It was a jolly mood. There were milestones and tourists – including from Cardiff actually, now I come to think of it, and a pleasing scattering of first time everers. An attentive semi circle of new to Salcey Forest tourists listened and then moved aside so the first time everers, of whom I think there were 8, could have a separate intro to how it all worked.

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It was a tight ship, and as soon as the first timers’ had been satisfactorily briefed and welcomed, it was time for the Run Director’s briefing. Again, this was very positive, and very thorough. Tourists were welcomed. The wannabee cow was identified for their very own round of applause, milestone runners and volunteers were acknowledged and applauded. The RDs canine companion was an enthusiastic participant and so was led away to be less distracting, were they made their disappointment evident. Being separated from your companion human is a tough call it seems.

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As the path can be a bit narrow (actually it’s a great width) the RD called people forward to make their way down to the start in order of expected times. Pleasingly, those of us expected to complete in over 35 minutes were referred to as ‘the elite runners’. We elites liked this a lot.

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So parkrunners ready, timers ready, and then awf we went, the finish team watching us disappear down the arch of trees into the land of moss and stone and unicorn and ancient oaks. The timers moving back to the finish funnel area as we departed on our 5k romp round the trails.

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Actually, that photo might have been towards the end of the parkrun with parkrunners returning triumphant, but a bit of artistic licence between parkrunning friends is allowable I’m sure. Awf we went. I slotted in at the back with my nearly a cow companion. It’s nice having a cow to walk alongside, they are soothing to be around. No wonder Jack had such a hard time parting with his cow. Personally, I wouldn’t have sold my cow for any number of beans, not even magic ones. A cow is for life not just for Christmas.

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As it is a one lap course, and me and the nearly cow were mooving slowly at a walk, very quickly the other parkrunners streamed ahead out of sight. You literally don’t see them again, well not until after you’ve finished, I don’t mean they were abducted by aliens and transported to a parallel universe as soon as they got round the first corner, that would be silly. Rather, they did their thing and we did ours. Some even managed en route selfies, hurrah!

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It was an astonishing walk. The forest is truly breathtaking, and although at intervals there were cheery marshals to point us on our way, there seemed to be no-one else about at all. A distant dog walker maybe – the aforementioned unicorns, obvs, but basically we had this wonderland all to ourselves. We were pretty much right at the back, with just the tailwalker behind sweeping the course. He was collecting cones and things as other marshals stood down, including I imagine, winding up bunting, and was a little distance behind. This meant we walked and talked at our own pace, and got to really appreciate our surroundings. Never having been before, I can only assume the forest is always this lovely, with sunshine and every variation on green in the colour spectrum you can possibly imagine and then some more. It smelt nice too. So did my cowmpanion, only she said it can’t have been her smelling all that fragrant in truth, so it must have been her laundry detergent. I do really, really like the smell of freshly washed, air dried laundry. Right up there with coffee and toast in the morning.

Here are some of the friendly marshals who nailed the directional pointing, photogenic posing and generic cheeriness on the way round. It was a good day for standing in a pool of forest sunshine. There would have been quite a gap between us and the last of the parkrunners, but I choose to think waiting for us would have been an opportunity for quiet meditation and listening out for all the sounds of the forest. An exercise in mindfulness.

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And here are some of the many sights we saw or passed en route.

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It was very, very hard to exercise the necessary self discipline to stay on track, with so many intriguing possibilities luring us away. We may have experimented with the see saw to see if it would see saw. It did! Quite spectacularly. I was quite relieved I’d delegated the testing responsibilities to my more able bodied cowmpanion. She aced it. Could maybe have done a bit more of triumphant arms flung outwards on the dismount, but no face planting or obvious injury, so definitely an 8 at least. Well done.

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Twalking is most therapeutic, meditative even. Consequently we were caught unawares when the finish funnel ‘suddenly’ appeared. Fortunately, the team were on high alert in cheery readiness for us. Triumphant we entered the funnel, clicked in, hurrah!

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Shot out of the funnel, we were scanned, and then there was the important business of the cake. I did tell you, cakes had been baked and bought, and the master baker had kept them all safely til the cow came home, so she could break open the Tupperware and dispense her offerings with smiles. They were vegan cakes, cow coloured (well sort of, cows come in many colours after all) and some were gluten free and others presumably had extra gluten. All dietary needs catered for. Happy smiles in abundance as the offerings were passed around. Hurrah!

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Assisted by the sugar high, the business of uploading scan files, gathering up tokens to be sorted and taking down of the funnel was soon underway.

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Crucially though, we managed to pose for the mandatory group shot with the selfie frame before it was also packed away.

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Next stop was the cafe, but en route we passed the most brilliant sign of a load of children sitting on a log, eating cake. I was keen to do a group reconstruction, as we had some parkrunners who would have been an absolute shoo in for some of those casting opportunities. Next time maybe, today, the pull of the prospect of coffee was too strong.

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We left the regulars doing their final tidying up – we did offer to help, but they had it nailed without us, and you know what, it’s not really helping unless you are actually being helpful, too many cooks and all that. We called our thanks though, and they looked happy in their labours. Not just happy to wave us off I think. There had been cake after all. parkrun was always about the cake wasn’t it. Oh no, wait, coffee, always about the coffee. Same thing though really.

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We arrived at the coffee, via a little celebratory outdoor cake moment. The cafe very kindly allowed us to take our cakes inside – we did buy toasties various and drinks and things. Point of information, the only downside of this whole morning, but has to be declared because of the mismatch between expectations generated by the general ambience of the place, presentation of hot beverages and the crushing reality of what was served up, this parkrun venue had quite possibly the worst coffee I’ve ever had at a parkrun apart from at Doncaster parkrun At Doncaster I actually left the coffee undrunk, the coffee here I did consume, but it got nastier with every mouthful. Shame, as the cafe was ace for customer service, cleanliness etc, and vegan options. Bit limited for breakfast choices but fundamentally fine. I digress, we need more pictures, here is the outsidey part:

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Do you like the card with the cow on it? I bought it specially moo-ns ago (see what I did there? Quite proud of that one), in anticipation of just this occasion, very proud of it. Also, quite relieved, as when the time finally came to use it, I thought I’d lost it, there was much late night rummaging I don’t mind admitting!

Then into the cafe, where two of our number had volunteered for token sorting. One token at least had gone awol 86 from memory, but what was really odd, was that the spare number 86 was also missing, and the spare for the spare, and the spare for that one too. How bizarre. A repeat offender? Some secret society’s initiation ceremony, sacred to unicorns or Zog? We may never know. I must google ‘what is so great about the number 86’ to see if I can find out why… ok, I have, it’s associated with all your problems vanishing, which is clearly nonsense, as it’s a big problem for event teams if token magpies are present at an event. Also, weirdly, I’ve not come across this phenomenon before anywhere else. Strange, but true!

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The Freyne Club? That’s for 250 different venues. I know, very impressive. I got to join in on venue number 249 at Millhouses parkrun. There’s a story about that – another time maybe…

And then that was that. I would have stayed a bit longer, but suddenly discovered it isn’t three hours parking on a Saturday morning it’s until 11 a.m. and at 10.59 a.m. I realised if I lingered I’d turn into a pumpkin or something, also needed to get back really, guests checking out and always wise to be home to safety before my leg starts operating either independently or not at all. It has a (deranged) mind of its own at times. Still, one should always leave one’s audience wanting more, isn’t that the saying? Salcey Forest has certainly achieved that, definitely one of my favourites. I’ve loved all the forest parkruns I’ve done, there is something calming about them, particularly the more established ones, you get some sense of perspective perhaps, trees can live for centuries, things that seem to matter right now maybe really don’t in the grand scheme of things.

And so I waved goodbye and wended my way home.

Thanks Salcey Forest parkrun, you were fab. Oh, and if you dear reader want their official event report for triangulation purposes, you will find it on their Facebook page here:

And parkrunner twalking buddy, well done for being such a cow. You did yourself proud!

Same again next week somewhere?

In the meantime, if you want to prolong your parkrun fix, you could always browse through all my parkrun related posts here.  Or not.  It’s up to you.  You’ll need to scroll down for older entries though.

Hope you find a forest of your own to bathe in sometime soon. Catch them while you can. Not sure they have as many years left in the future as they have stood for in the past. Maybe if you find a particularly nice tree, take the time to give it an appreciative hug. It will make you feel all nice and warm and squidgy inside. Bits of bark might get down your top and be a bit itchy, and you could end up with some leaf litter in your shoes, but it’s fundamentally grounding, give it a try. Thank me later. You’re welcome.

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PS did I mention the extra fluffy dog? Amazing! A quarter spaniel, three quarters yeti. Nice.

Iconic Irchester Country parkrun with Coronation Colours

Well, that really was a spectacle of splendour, opulence, pageantry and glory if ever I saw one. Irchester Country parkrun really is a pretty stunning venue and the event team literally get the flags out to welcome arrivals at their parkrun party week in week out. It was a bit of a trek for me from Sheffield, though granted it was probably speedier and more practical to travel in an 2007 toyota yaris than a Diamond Jubilee State Coach from circa 2012 or indeed the Gold State Coach from 1760, and I fancy my maintenance charges are considerably more manageable, though I suppose if the taxpayer pays for everything that’s less of a consideration.

Why Irchester? Why I? Or Wye aye even?

Well, it was a last minute thing to be honest. I’d read the previous week’s rather excellent write up for event number 110 and it made it sound really fantastic, with bluebell possibilities. It has been on my radar for a little while. Another parkrun beginning with the letter ‘I’ is always a win (second alphabet completion from the original Running Challenges badges AND an Old MacDonald completion from the 5k app). Oh, and it is a Nelson number too, albeit one I already have. It is a long way from Sheffield but the main pull for this weekend in particular, was that as I was browsing through possibilities I came across this post, declaring a ‘walk with Karen‘ parkrun, which they do on the first Saturday of every month, to try to encourage people to come and walk the course. This is an initiative close to my heart. I’m desperate as a walker to find events where I feel genuinely welcome and a large part of that is finding I’m one of many other parkwalkers. Also (shhh, not official yet) I’m in discussion with a local event about how to make their parkrun more walker friendly, so it would be good to see how they do things at Irchester. I was a bit worried about the length of the drive, driving seems to cripple me more than anything, and general fatigue. In the event, I was awake and blinking in the small hours anyway, so decided to go for it on the morning.

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It was a long but quietish drive. I think the secret to doing long parkrun tourist trips is to pick national holidays or special events to undertake them as I can only assume many were staying home to bake their coronation quiches and fine tune their bunting before firing up the tv and settling down for the duration. It was a mild day, but humid and I drove towards rain.

Right, before I go on, let’s get the official blah de blah out of the way. According to the Irchester Country parkrun website:

The course is at Irchester Country Park, Wellingborough. The course is run entirely on trail paths.

Course Description
The Irchester Country parkrun course is run on well surfaced trails through diverse woodland that reveal elements of the park’s ironstone quarrying history as well as its Jurassic limestone geology.

The course follows an out-and-back route with a 1km loop in the middle. Starting outside the railway museum, it finishes on the Royal Meadow close to the café. Please stay to the left-hand side of the path at all times, and follow the marshals’ directions. Take care when approaching the finish line, as the meadow has uneven ground with some molehills and rabbit burrows.

Facilities
Toilets are located in a block adjacent to the café. Irchester Country Park has an adventure course with zip lines, a children’s play area, and a diverse network of trails in a 200-acre area of woodland.

and it looks like this:

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Lovely. Look at all those trees! A forest bathing opportunity as well as a Nelson, an I, a parkrun, a welcome to parkwalkers and bunting too. What’s not to like? The map diagram reminds me of a caterpillar, the loop is its head, and then it’s body is sort of undulating behind, as caterpillar bodies too. You have read The Very Hungry Caterpillar right? Good. Well in that case you’ll know exactly what I mean. Do you see it too.

It was pretty straightforward to find the country park, though with the benefit of hindsight I can cast a few pearls of wisdom your way. I parked at the top car park, the first one I came too. In fact if you are early, you can drive on down to another car park a lot nearer the start. It’s not too far to walk to be fair, even for me, but might be a consideration if you had mobility issues or stuff to carry. The other thing was I really struggled with the car park machine. I don’t begrudge paying, but I do begrudge the faff of incomprehensible instructions on the machine. It took me several abortive attempts, and then I stood aside for someone else to have a go. They were able to fathom it – albeit not immediately – and the supervised my doing so afterwards. Car park marshals in high vis appeared shortly after I’d parked possibly to shoo people down to the other parking areas. The machine was a complete pain, and in fact the start was delayed because people were still queuing to pay because presumably everyone using it for the first time also had several attempts before nailing it. Oh well.

Paid up, I pootled down towards the main visitors centre. Already I was feeling ‘ooh, well this is rather lovely’, mainly because it is. Trees and exciting little pathways entice you into the woods, but in a nice, warm fuzzy feeling way, not in a being lured to your death by an axe murderer sort of vibe. You can see the buildings of the visitors hub, with loos etc from a distance, hurrah! The loos are worthy of a mention in their own right. Grand that they were not only open but clean. There were some very specific rules regarding trainer pants though. I didn’t know trainers had pants as an optional extra. Every day a school day it seems. Again, I appreciated the attention to detail re kite flying as well, those high voltage power lines can be real killjoys. I did a parachute jump decades ago, and one of the safety things they really hammered home was around ‘what to do if you land entangled in high voltage electricity cables’ basically shoo anyone who comes to help away. Don’t let anyone near you or it will end badly. I think you are ok once the fire brigade arrive, but just say no to any have a go heroes. They also covered ‘what to do if you land on a moving vehicle’ and ‘what to do if you land in water’. It was all quite off putting, but it must have been a really good training course as I remember it all. Anyway, the point is, that Irchester Country Park is clearly actually rather fabulous, with loads of facilities as well as fun activities, of which parkrun is clearly the most fun of all.

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In face Wikipedia pleasingly makes an explicit mention of parkrun in its blah de blah about Irchester – look!

Country park

The village has a large country park managed by Northamptonshire County Council,[37] created after local open-cast ironstone quarries were allowed to revert to the wild, having been worked out some decades after the war. The removal of the ironstone and some limestone that overlaid it has lowered the land around the working face by several metres, though this is not apparent except near the vehicle entrance. The park has an unusual ridge-and-furrow topography with several metres’ relief, marking the movement patterns of the machines that stripped the overburden to expose the ironstone. The park offers maturing woodlands (planted about 1965) and grassy meadows with surrounding trails. There is also a children’s play area and a café.

Irchester Narrow Gauge Railway Museum in the country park shows working steam and diesel locomotives among more than 40 items of rolling stock. A 250-metre demonstration track can be seen.[38]

Since November 2019, Irchester Country Park has hosted a free, weekly parkrun timed 5-km run/walk, every Saturday morning at 9 a.m.[39]

This, it seems, is yet another venue that I left wanting to come back to see more next time, though it is a loooong way for me, so not sure that’s exactly on the cards. Do as I say, not as I do, and do yourself a favour and allow more time to explore post parkrun, it won’t disappoint. On the subject of ‘I do’ did I mention that one of those attending today was doing a pre wedding parkrun. His own wedding! Hurrah. Most thoughtful to involve the whole parkrun community in his big day.

As I descended from the car park and the buildings came into sight, you could see the volunteers gathering in the carpark area. Some early bird on course set up had already put a sign up directing new arrivals to the start area which was a hundred metres or so on from the car park. I followed a volunteer down to the starting area, which was also the finish funnel. Oh no wait, you go past the finish funnel in fact and down to where the pop up sign is, not miles away but a few hundred metres from where you’ve parked so you need to allow a little time for that to be fair. I was quite taken by all the fallen seed heads and blossom that gave a white hue to the sides of the paths, like a dusting of snow or a deep late frost, most picturesque. Check out how lush everything looks too, rain may be wet and all, but it is jolly good for greening everything up, the Country Park was looking fabulous. This is a venue that would also most definitely reward coming back at different times of year and different times of day, I bet every day you come you’d notice something changed or new.

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Also picturesque was the finish funnel decked with joyful bunting, and a table groaning under the weight of coronation themed cupcakes.

On the subject of big days, yes we were, earlier on, keep up, you might have clocked that today was also coronation day for King Charles III. I’m not a fan of the monarchy to be honest, but credit where credit is due, the royal family was much in evidence at todays parkrun. Both King and Queen put in a stint of volunteering at Irchester Country parkrun this morning before rocking up for the coronation later on, that must have been cutting it fine. Almost as fine as the parkrunner who was attending today pre their wedding this afternoon, finding time to write the run report at some point as well. Sometimes it really hits home just how much of an underachiever I am. Still, I can make other feel all the more productive and glorious by comparison. Also, it’s not helpful to compare your situation to others, it only leads to bitterness, self-pity and existential angst. Or is that just me. In any event, the royals were in full on Santa territory, taking in pretty much every parkrun across the kingdom in one short morning, and still making it to the church on time. Look if you don’t believe me! Granted, there are fair few minor royals I don’t recognise, but enough pomp and paraphernalia to make me confident they were carriage bound for the Abbey straight after they’d been scanned and returned their barcodes as is the parkrun way. And as all parkruns take place at the same time on a Saturday, they may even have been channeling their inner Hermione Granger Time Turner skills, not to be confused with Tina Turner skills. Mind you, that might have been beyond fabulous at Westminster Abbey don’t you think – a bit of ad hoc TT inspired karaoke would most definitely have livened things up. What do you reckon – ‘(simply) The Best’ or maybe ‘We don’t need another hero’ possibilities are near endless. Oh what might have been. Anyway, check out the pics and the tributes too. This is just a shameless way to shoo in photos of other parkruns into this post and capture them for posterity. Would be shame if all that effort was to just fade away.

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Anyways, those were other parkruns, doing their admirable thing whilst I was at the main event at Irchester. I made my way to the start area, and despite being somewhat curmudgeonly about the whole coronation thing, I am at heart more of a joiner in and I will concede that watching people arrive in red, white and blue, or besporting flags was exceedingly jolly. The morning did have the air of expectant celebration. People were in a good mood and it would have been mean spirited not to go with the swing so to speak. I did my paparazzi impression pointing and pushing and taking random photos. I am loving my new phone and its camera, even if I am not quite sure how to use all its many impressive features.

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Whilst I was faffing, a regular at the parkrun filled me in on its finer features which was welcoming. I’d given myself away as a first timer by my desire to photograph anything and everything as a way of locking every moment of it into my memory. After a bt though, I was called away to the first timers’ welcome. This was a jolly affair. Quite interactive. Hands up if you’ve come for an ‘I’; ‘hands up if you’ve come for a Nelson’. Everyone pretty much called out where they were from, there was a scattering of first time everers which was good to see, though I fear that starting on such a high will make future parkruns have to work hard to maintain momentum! Someone had a birthday and the first timers spontaneously sang a rousing chorus of ‘happy birthday’ which was delightful as well as mostly tuneful. People had milestones and some donned tabards or shirts accordingly. It was all very friendly, delivered with confidence and clarity. In response to ‘how flat’ we were informed that compared to Norfolk no, compared to Woolacomb dunes probably yes. It was most good natured. And who doesn’t like a sing-a-long at a parkrun? We were warming up nicely.

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A little later, we were gathered to start and for the Run Director’s Briefing. King Charles himself took on the role this morning and did pretty well really. There was an address system, lots of communications between car park marshals and the RD. People were still queuing to get into the carpark and to pay so there was a short delay. The briefing alerted us to milestones, thanked the volunteers, pointed out the Karen we could all walk with, let us know about the person getting married today who would also find time to write the run report. We were told of cakes at the finish, I think there was a group doing some sponsored thing or a running group of some sort but I got confused and distracted by all the bunting and flaggery so I’m not honestly sure. I am sure the tail walker had an actual tail, I always appreciate this. Seemingly a dinosaur tail, I’m not sure if they brought it with them, or got lucky exploring the dinosaur trail in the park first thing. Sometimes it’s tactful just not to ask isn’t it.

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The RD waited as long as she/they possibly could, but eventually the shout for awf went up and off everyone went. It was a chaotic but courteous start. Regulars were in position at the front, but others spread widely across the ground, narrowing to join the path and string out ahead. Onwards, past the finish funnel, a dog leg by the visitors centre and suddenly you were in the park proper with gorgeous mature trees towering overhead. Lovely!

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Also hugely refreshing and lovely about this event was the number of walkers. A proper army of people walking. There weren’t people in the blue parkwalker bibs as such for some reason, but in addition to a couple of tailwarkers there was a posse of volunteers sporting the pink high vis who were clearly walking. I don’t know why I came over all shy but I did, and therefore didn’t particularly join the walkers which was a shame as I’d have loved to learn more about how their walking initiative was going. Inevitably, with me getting progressively slower because, well you know dear reader, this body of mine letting me down – and taking photos as I tried to rebalance for the upward flat sections I ended up on my own in the twilight zone between the parkwalkers ahead and the tailwalkers behind. This was my choice, I was quite enjoying the solitude and greenery and didn’t feel like being social.

There is so much to see on this course too! As well as the cheery and astonishingly attractive marshals at intervals, there are all sorts of discoveries to be made on and adjacent to the trails. From the wooden troll figures to the super-sized ants. I’m all for encouraging wildlife, and indeed, have recently been occupied with constructing a bee bank for solitary bees in my very own back garden, but not gonna lie, if these moved in my back garden I might not call pest control but I’d definitely be closing my curtains and keeping the lights off in order to avoid drawing any attention to myself. Impressive though aren’t they. Impressive, but not law abiding, they are clearly ignoring the ‘do not climb’ signage, or maybe they can’t read? Or maybe they can read it’s just that English isn’t their first language? Whatever. You’ll find them shortly after you enter the woods, peel off to the left, and then there they are, you can’t really miss them to be fair, unless you are running so hard and fast sweat from your forehead has streamed into your eyes, stinging them and causing temporary blindness. If this is the case, next time wear an attractive towel sweat band, or better yet, a parkrun buff, and then you’ll be able to spot them. It would be well worth the investment, pus those parkrun buffs are fab. That’s why I was wearing one, even though it was a bit hot and sweaty doing so. parkrun call them snoods. How odd, must be like hoovers and vacuum cleaners I suppose… Mind you ‘buff’ is a stupid word as well really. ‘Running in the buff’ jokes wear thin pretty quickly, but still worth a shot now and again I suppose…

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The shape of the course means that you return on the section you head out on. It logically follows that the back of the packers will meet the fast (but hopefully not furious) parkrunners heading back as they head out. I quite liked this. The track is pretty wide so you aren’t likely to crash into one another on the contraflow section, and there are signs and marshals to remind you to keep left and to even point in a lefterly direction if you are struggling with your lefts and right. It was quite social, and lovely to see cheery runners flying past on their way back. Hurrah! Don’t they look jolly! Spoiler alert, that’s because they were!

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I particularly appreciated the parkrunner(s) who did aeroplane arms going round the corners. I’m a huge advocate of this at junior parkrun, where I try to encourage participants to execute these aerial assisted manoeuvres on the down hill sections as it is a FACT (a Lucy Fact granted, but a fact all the same) that shouting ‘wheeeeeeeeeeeeee’ and sticking your arms out like aeroplane wings when you run down hill makes you go way faster as well as hugely amusing the marshals. It was beyond heartening to see this FACT being applied to parkrunners cornering uphill, positively innovative. I bet the guy in the photo got a new PB, he deserved one at least.

The outward bit eventually ends and you are directed on to the loop which involves pretty much a right hand turn. Then it becomes quieter, because by this time I was way at the back and couldn’t really see any other participants, a glimpse of walkers through trees ahead and the tailwalkers behind but no more approaching parkrunners to cheer on. This was a more contemplative section for me. I appreciated the trees a lot. There was a lack of bluebells, I’d been expecting loads, but was either too late or too early, there are plenty around, just not yet in flower for the most part. There was lots of animal habitat, and curiosities too. A viewing point for the original quarry workings and a sort of overground/underground station that might have been for the railway or possibly zip wires, I didn’t have adequate time to explore.

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Loop looped, I was falling further and further back. Marshals stood down shortly after I passed, and started to swell the numbers of the back escort, carrying assorted cones and signage and coronation paraphernalia back to the start. I was heading back along the outward track, past elaborate root systems, under calming forest branches, back to the wooden carving and enormous ants, past marshals still in situ where I’d passed them on the way out. Eventually I was back with just 200 metres to go, the finish in sight!

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And then a little beyond, the finish funnel in all its glory, still fully flanked by a guard of honour.

Just behind we were the tail walkers and a parkrunner with a dog who was very excited at the coming back shenanigans and bounced around with considerable energy albeit misdirection as her accompanying human hilariously tried to steer her across the finish line. It mattered not. It is important to let everyone appreciate and participate in parkrun in their own way after all. Go Tild! Go random royal coming in behind. I get them mixed up, William I think. Because he isn’t sporting a beard, but I’m surprised to see him with so much hair? Mind you, people do always look a bit different in real life than they do on the telly I find.

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So all in all quite a lot to celebrate this weekend, weddings and walkers and milestones and birthdays. Excitingly though, it was also this weekend where the number of members of the parkrun 500 club tipped over 500. That’s such an amazing achievement. I remember seeing people in 50 milestone t-shirts when I just started at parkrun and that seemed extraordinary enough, and yet how the milestones grow. What really blows my mind is the junior parkrunners who have grown up with parkrun, assuming parkrun achieves its goal of being free, for everyone, forever, I wonder what milestone numbers parkrunners may reach in the future. Some run directors, event directors and volunteers are so committed to parkrun that I am confident even as worlds come and go, their ghostly presence will still be seen from space, placing cones around 5k routes that once were there, and cheering and clapping as best as a formless presence can, their calls of ‘well done’ and ‘nearly there’ echoing through space and travelling ever outwards to infinity and beyond, their shouts travelling with the ever expanding universe to new galaxies far far away. Probably. Point is, one day there will be a thousand members of the one thousand milestone club for sure. I wonder what colour that top will be. Teal is very much of the moment – oooh how about doing some fancy Anne Bolyen milestone headbands to go with them only with the parkrun logo rather than the poundland one. Go on Google it, once seen, it cannot be unseen. You know what, I’m going to spare you the trouble, hang on …

I still loved the look though. I’d totally wear a cape and a hat like that if I got the opportunity. A thousand parkrun milestone would be as good a reason as any. That sword was seriously heavy though by the way, and the crowns that King and Queen were sporting. A lot of media coverage banged on about how hard it must be carrying a 2kg diamond embedded crown around all morning, but Penny was carrying a sword that weighed a mahoosive 3.6 kg , and to be fair, that would be tough holding at that angle for so long, but I’m not giving away too much of a spoiler if i say I regularly carry around way more than a 4kg excess with me at all times and I don’t get anyone massaging vegan oils into my chest and giving me a fly by at the weekend. However, pity me not dear reader, since I did however get a cheer through the parkrun finish funnel at Irchester Country parkrun which is worth way more. Priceless in fact.

parkrun finished, I did a bit more floating about and photo shooting. Including a quick foray to get a snap of a little clump of bluebells in a nod to the flower I’d hoped to see in a great blue sea across the forest floor. They must be beyond spectacular when they do bloom. People were socialising round the cake table, or availing themselves of the now open coffee place. It had a nice vibe.

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and that was that. I was too shy to broach the cake offerings, but there were still a great many left by the time I got back, always a boon. I said my thanks and farewell to the team and the RD. And I meant it. The thanks I mean, this really is the most amazing event. I think I find the forest parkruns especially calming. This was a lovely relaxed, supportive and enthusiastic parkrun, a parkrun fit for a King you might say, but more importantly, fit for anyone, it did feel chilled and inclusive and unhurried. I left the party in full swing for my journey home. Thank you Irchester Country parkrun I was happy and your parkrun was glorious. Hip hip, hooray!

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Oh, and for triangulation purposes, check out these official event reports from the day – in particular the bride and groom who shared their wedding day with the most splendid of parkruns, I hope Irchester didn’t entirely upstage their actual wedding, whatever, I’m sure they will have had a day to remember as well as an abundance of celebratory cakes. Yay for parkrun passionistas who share their big day with other parkrunners!

And if you want more you could always browse through all my parkrun related posts here.  Or not.  It’s up to you.  You’ll need to scroll down for older entries though.

Til next time then, happy parkrunning, and hold out for a cape when we make it to a thousand parkruns. It’ll happen for some, for sure! If you have already been to Irchester Country parkrun you know how fab it is, if you haven’t, check it out, forest bathing, bunting and a friendly welcome. Lovely!

Thanks for sticking with me, appreciated.

🙂

Jolly Jovial Jocular Jubilee parkrun #100

Well, that was most satisfactory.

Jubilee parkrun has been on my vague ‘to do’ list for ages, in honesty, largely because of the alphabet challenge, but also new place to visit, good vibes, in reach of Sheffield, the usual tick list of gloriousness. I picked this week because who wants to go to Norway for their extra parkrun day anyway, bet they don’t get complementary rhubarb at the end, or even rude vegetables I would imagine. Did you know that ‘Rhubarb is technically a vegetable, but is legally considered a fruit. In 1947 a New York court declared rhubarb a fruit because it’s most often cooked as one in the United States’, well it is according to Huffpost, which is good enough for me. Also, today was the occasion of their 100th event, and therefore officially party time. Or would be according to their most recent Facebook post.

Balloons a boon for sure. I do like a pop up parkrun party. I’d get to complete my alphabet, which is officially a thing what’s not to like.

Apart from the stupid o’clock start that is. Having said that, as a chronic insomniac, I’m usually just lying awake wishing I wasn’t, awake that is, so having a purpose to get up for in the small hours is also a boon. I was awake from about 4.00 and there were the most amazingly noisy birds at that time. A couple of owls, though some calls I couldn’t recognise at all, giving way to a rousing dawn chorus. It looked like it was going to be a bright sunshiny day too, hurrah. I headed off up the M1 feeling uncharacteristically cheery. The sun was burning off a deep mist, and it was gorgeous out. Or it was for the first bit, as we got further north it gave way to a less than cheery mizzle and fog, but that’s ok too, because rain is good. I hadn’t checked much in advance beyond a postcode to head to. I read that there was free parking in the town centre too, walking distance from the park, but was hoping I’d get near to the park as I worry about adding on extra walking to a parkrun distance. In fact, as I approached the postcode, I saw signs for free parking in one direction and to the Jubilee Park in the other, so figured it really wasn’t far at all, so parked up. There seemed to be ample parking, though I was a bit confused by the prevalence of royal mail red postal vans, which made me wonder if I’d encroached on their parking. But fear not dear reader, I hadn’t it was fine, it was free, and it was but a very short walk to the park gates, even by my somewhat feeble walking endurance standards.

Here it is, the entrance to the park, oooh, exciting!

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See that sign? More of that later.

But I’m ahead of myself. I’ve been now, but you might not have been, so let’s check out the course blah de blah on the official Jubilee parkrun website, and the map too, which is pretty hilarious.

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The course is at Jubilee Park, Spennymoor. The course is run on a mixture of tarmac paths and grass.

Start at the bottom of the park next to the Villiers Street entrance. Travelling in a clockwise direction, complete 3 full laps plus 1 part lap to finish at the top of the park next to the bowls green. The course is an undulating mixture of grass and paths. Trail shoes may be advisable in the winter. Unfortunately dogs are not allowed at this event.

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OK, that sounds straightforward…. however, it looks like this:-

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which is basically headache inducing. Not even sure if they’ve printed the map the right way up to be fair. Hurrah for marshals, they will be much needed here. A rare benefit of being a walker at parkrun is I don’t have to worry about being a pathfinder on an unfamiliar course, this looks complicated.

In I went, and it was a revelation. This is a pretty bijou park it’s fair to say, a true pocket park, but it was beautifully landscaped. Colourful packed displays of planting in formal beds set off traditional features like a rather fine bandstand. Then there were contemporary additions like a play area, a formal arch for the Jubilee of 2000, though in fact this is Victoria Park not one for Elizabeth II as I’d assumed. There is a skate boarding area, a Victoria train station, all the things! Also, this sign, which amused me…

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It was the reference to no person whilst in the park shall – ‘play unauthorised golf’. Is this a known public disorder offence in these parts. I was very confused. Confused that is, until I stumbled on the in situ crazy golf course. This is genius, and probably merits a trip all on its own. It’s a carefully landscaped area, designed around the ‘accomplishments’ of the Victorian age. I say ‘accomplishments’ but presented as it was, a moment in history for every hole, was genuinely educational, let’s just go with it wasn’t an especially woke time. Kudos to whoever designed this feature though, edutainment at its best, much like parkrun itself!

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This made a bit more sense of the golfing directive. Other directives were also made very clear:

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Fair enough, a lot of work had gone into the planting schemes just look:

But although you could not ‘tread, mosey, hop, trample, step, plod, tiptoe, trot, meander, creep, prance, amble, jog, trudge, march, stomp, toddle, jump, stumble, trod, sprint or walk on the plants, parkrun takes a different view. With the possible exception of trampling (it’s definitely frowned on to mow down other park users or fellow parkrunners as you participate so to go on to trample them altogether would definitely lead to tuts and passive aggressive sighing from fellow parkrunners at the very least) – you can complete a parkrun however you like. Which is lucky for me as I’m definitely a plodder at present.

Despite being a plodder, the park itself invited a bit of pre parkrun exploration. I was super impressed to find cones and signs already in situ, volunteers were also very focused on balloon tying and bunting display. Jazzing it all up joyfully you might say. I helped hugely by holding one end of a strip of bunting to assist in its disentanglement, and then securing it in situ with a bow under the direction of others. Every little helps, hopefully 🙂

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Even more excitingly, some had broken out the bubbles. I know! Epic.

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All looking very promising, but wait, there was more! There was a large set of buildings adjacent to the finish funnel and immaculately manicured bowling green. In it were loos, hurrah. Also clean and ample in number, with one of those automated soap, water hand driers. That in itself is perhaps unremarkable, we are used to such fripperies and indulgences in this decadent age. What was eye catching though was the laser light show as the machine operated. No really, it was quite astonishing, whether this lumiere display was in honour of the 100th parkrun or a regular occurrence I have no idea, you’ll have to go back and check it out for yourself. Prepare yourself to be truly amazed, the wonder of discovery at a new to you parkrun continues to be delivered. Here is a teaser, doesn’t really do it justice, I failed to capture the glitter ball for example, but you should get the gist. What brave new world is this indeed!

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Please don’t tell me I need to get out more, such slights degrade you, not me. Just sayin’

Ablutions completed, I followed the direction of the balloon and sign carrier to locate the start area, which wasn’t too hard to find on account of it being right near the gates you have previously entered.

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The pictures aren’t really capturing the ambience of the park. I admit, my heart sank a bit when I realised it was essentially a four lapper but honestly, the park is so full of little corners of interest, and zig zagging paths there is something to see at every point on the park. Add in balloons and cheering marshals and it’s just as well you get to go round more than once or you’d miss so much of the good stuff. Spring flowers in wildlife areas, formal beds, stone staircases and iron arches, it has it all. Add to this the fact the the event team are on a role with the celebrations and you have it made. They celebrated their flake run (number 99) last week, today is their 100th event (obvs) and then next week they will no doubt have the bunting out all over again for the coronation celebrations, with a name like Jubilee parkun how could they not?

Despite the rarity of the letter ‘J’ in parkrun land, this wasn’t a massive parkrun by any means. Small and perfectly formed. A call went up to welcome first timers, and a group of us duly assembled. Tourists had come from all over, I think from Dorset was the furthest but I lost concentration so might have hallucinated that. Also, I was distracted by the hugely exciting combo of milestone parkrunners. There was an adult on his 100th parkrun, accompanied by a junior on his FIRST EVER parkrun and another junior with a sign on proclaiming his 7th parkrun. This innovation is splendid! Numbers are pretty arbitrary so we should basically celebrate them all, hurrah! Loving the signage, genius. Our official welcomer explained that the purpose of the first timers’ briefing is to make the course sound as complicated as possible. It is really hard to describe to be fair, but when you come to complete it, it does make sense, the magic combo of marshals pointing and cunning cone placement mean it would be really difficult to get lost. This part of the briefing was reassuring. We were also forewarned though that although the park appears pretty flat, there is a bit of a gradient which, in conjunction with the multi-lap routing means you basically run up the same hill 8 times. It’s true, it is deceptive in that respect, good to be warned. Anyway, all very helpful and very jolly, with a backdrop of other volunteers perfecting the event decor. Those numbered balloons won’t hang themselves!

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We were all jumping up and down with excitement at the prospect of our Jubilee Jog or Jeff around. I was mostly jumping on the inside.

Next stop was photo posing, well it was an especially photo worthy occasion. Jolly balloons, jaunty volunteers, a jam packed parkrun awaited us. Here though first are the high vis heroes!

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Aren’t they lovely? Of course they are.

It wasn’t even raining, positively clearing up, despite a bit of a nip in the air earlier. I tried to get the volunteers jump on three for a photo, but it wasn’t really their thing. However, judging by the roar of laughter that went up from alongside in the start funnel behind me I have a strong suspicion the run director may have had a shot at getting airborne, I’d like to have seen that, maybe next time.

Run Director’s briefing followed. It was really good. It covered a bit of the history of how the parkrun started up, which of course I have now almost entirely forgotten. I do know that but for the pandemic they’d have had a lot more parkruns under their name, I have a feeling it’s start was delayed by the whole lockdown thing. There were the usual thanks. The park is exceptionally well maintained, it looked like someone was doing a litter pick and restoring some flowers to beds where they had been rudely ripped up by some ne’er do well the night before even as we gathered. Welcomes to tourists, milestone shout outs. I don’t think anything was missed. Oh – the no dogs thing for this particular parkrun – it is a park rule, and also adults were instructed to keep up with their accompanying juniors. And cake at the end, by the finish. A great incentive to get around. All good. Then the call went out ‘timers ready?’ ‘Yep’ then we were awf!

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And off went all the parkrunners, one marshal scampered balloon laden to her marshal point, and I tucked in towards the back. You start up a gradient, but a chalked sign reminds you to keep going, and then a bubble monitor at the top of the slope guided you onto a grass section to the right, down hill, past daffodils and more bubbles, a veritable bubble path on the way round should you wish it, and then a bit of a cone directed zig and marshal directed zag and back up the hill the other side. It makes perfect sense in the doing, but none whatsoever in the describing of. You’ll just have to jog along and tackle it yourself.

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You soar by a children’s play area, formal planting, the mini golf course, and up to the point where there is a marshal you pass by three times and then on the fourth occasion turn sharply into the finish tunnel. It is important to be able to count to three and remember what your count is as it is a tad disorientating with everyone else also parkrunning around in all directions, harder than you think to count to three sometimes. Fun though. I liked that you passed marshals more than once, though after the first lap some had repositioned themselves to support the finish funnel high japery. Cones remained in situ though, and it was fine to navigate around once everyone was in motion, pretty much always someone to follow.

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There was a good vibe to the parkrun. Passing parkrunners called encouragement, and the volunteers appeared to be genuinely having a ball. Music was playing near the finish area, and at one point I could hear ‘Come On Eileen‘ blaring out from the sound system whilst Team Bubble were giving a stirring rendition of ‘I’m forever blowing bubbles‘ I do appreciate a bit of gusto at a parkrun and Jubilee was jam-packed with jollity and enthusiasm along those lines! I tried to take photos on the way round, a smorgasbord follows, including some taken by others on the day too. I’ve borrowed from the Jubilee parkrun facebook page, I’m sure they won’t mind too much.

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Maybe the pictures are in fact beginning to put you in the picture. I’m hoping so.

As I was lapped I suddenly spotted some familiar merchandise – a buff linked to the With Me Now podcast – About parkrun passion by passionate parkrunners. It’s a weekly podcast about all things parkrun, and has just had its 250th pod, which is no mean feat. It’s worth a listen if you like to keep up with parkrun related news and hear about other parkruns. More importantly, it has a community of listeners who got to know one another especially during the lockdown period when the With Me Now team astonishingly, managed to do pretty much daily live streams just to keep people connected. That could be a bit of parkrunpedia (history of particular parkrun courses); parkrun pictionary; parkrun pets; parkrun people; allsorts really. It’s led to really strong friendships and much sharing of parkrun tourism adventuring now we are free to go out and about. Give it a listen, but in the meantime, shout outs to these fellow podders, even though I hadn’t met them before, I feel we belong to the same tribe! ‘Dolly or Bev!’ I don’t often see With Me Now merchandise in the wild!

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Oh, and I also thought the floral planting display looked a bit like the With Me Now logo, so that seemed especially apt too.

Where was I, oh yes, making my way around the course. It did feel like more uphill than down, which I know can’t be true but well, just saying. I did most of the first three laps in limbo land between the parkwalker ahead and the tailwalker behind, but for the final one I dropped back a little to join the tailwalker. It was nice to chat to a key member of the team who takes pride in welcoming walkers every week. Accompanying us was someone who used to live in Spennymoor but moved away and was back visiting, so I was in safe hands. The final loop went quickly. We passed the gathered parkrunners who had already finished and were having a nice social parkrun party. Marshals stood down as we passed, and cones were collected and balloons gathered in. The last of the bubbles distributed, and the final parkrunners flew home down the finish funnel.

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Eventually, I joined them, hurrah!

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It’s weird that just as parkruns always surprise me by starting, they equally catch me out at the finish. It all feels a bit abrupt. You’ve made friends with lovely people and lost your heart a bit to a new lovely place and then it’s all over, no sooner seemingly than it has begun! Oh well, timed in, scanned, and all done…

except it wasn’t! This was the parkrun that keeps on giving. More surprises.

The biggest surprise was finding there was still cake and flakes and sweets aplenty for us final finishers. Also more 100 decorations AND (and I really like this idea) a visitors book too! Beautifully made, that I was encouraged to sign, and duly did. Others had too. I like this innovation, I’ve not really come across it, and it’s hard to implement I think, but was done well here. But dear reader, there’s more! Rhubarb! Lots of rhubarb! An abundance harvested from one of the core team’s allotments. I was encouraged to help myself and did so with enthusiasm. I don’t know if there is always such rich pickings, but it wouldn’t surprise me if there were.

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There isn’t a cafe on site unfortunately, though I was encouraged to join them at another cafe, which I couldn’t because I needed to get back, and really was feeling it a bit, it is the driving as much as the walking unfortunately, and I was flagging. However, for future reference fellow tourists, on the first Saturday of the month, there is a more deliberate get together at the cafe linked to a nearby Methodist Church, so for any massive parkfaffers out there, that’s probably the Saturday to choose.

Having said that, I think I chose pretty well, I was a jammy parkrunner to jog up to Jubilee parkrun for jovial celebrations today!

Thank you all for the lovely welcome and jolly Jubilee park. Hope our parkrun paths cross again soon. Hope you have a good one next week- how could you not! I shall be marking the coronation celebrations by eating my body weight in rhubarb crumble, it’s going to be grand. #loverhubarb They really should make more of this availability of rhubarb as Jubilee parkrun’s USP, or maybe it is just a merry Jubilee Jape on their part, to keep the element of surprise? I hope I haven’t spoilt it.

Thanks for staying with me, hope you’ve had jolly japes wherever you went even if you didn’t get to have a full on personalised bubble bathing experience on the way round. I’m sure wherever you were was jolly nice in its own way.

Usual reminder you can browse through all my parkrun related posts here.  Or not.  It’s up to you.  You’ll need to scroll down for older entries though.

May you too stumble on a parkrun with surprise offering at the finish, I’m delighted with my rhubarb, but whatever floats your boat. Every parkrun will give you the warm glow of a shared experience and memories to treasure, even if it cannot guarantee to deliver on a fruit fix every time. Still not a bad return for our free, weekly, timed fix.

Same time next week then, at a parkrun near you? Good oh. 🙂

From Tu tu to ta da! Sashaying round Sutcliffe parkrun #86

It is arbitrary I know, but three hundred. That’s loads of parkrunning around, even if latterly it’s been more of a solitary shuffle than an athletic sprint. Surely worth celebrating. I know it’s not an official milestone, no t-shirts, congratulatory telegrams or even cake, but even if not going down the lines of celebrating as such, marking with something memorable at least would surely be in order. No idea how many parkruns I have left in me, so good to lay down a marker at this point. I wondered initially about going with a theme like The 300 Spartans, but that’s probably been done before and maybe a bit low key for such a mighty achievement. Also, the whole ‘tonight we dine in hell‘ thing for the more recent version is somewhat off message for parkrun methinks. It’s supposed to be fun for all remember. Also, the spartan theme is somewhat male centric, I’m tired of that. I’ve been trying to get parkrun to look at the changing the listings for each individual parkruns’ top 500 fasted finishers to a top 500 percentage age grading instead. Or better yet ditch it altogether. I think it’s problematic just listing those parkrunners with the 500 fastest finish times for loads of reasons. Firstly, it goes against the whole ethos of it not being a race, secondly, fastest finish times miss the subtleties of differentiations by age and gender. This matters, because the longer a parkrun has been around for, and the more participants attend, the more women are erased from that listing. Because the average male can run faster than the average female, inevitably female participants are squeezed out. It might be unconscious gender bias, but it’s a neat little example of everyday sexism. For example, if you go to the listings for Bushy parkrun fastest 500 today, there are just 13 females listed in that tally of 500. Yet, the age graded record is apparently ‘Age graded record: Jane DAVIES – 100.23% 21:30 – Event 645 (24 Sep 2016)’ She doesn’t even get onto the fastest 500 list at all. That seems wrong. In addition, in a time when parkrun are aiming to be more inclusive for walkers and celebrating therefore slower average finish times, it’s a total distortion or at least misrepresentation of parkrun’s proclaimed values. I really don’t get it. And yes, I have raised it, every year for the past three years. It’s been acknowledged as anomaly, but yet it remains. It grates especially on international women’s day. I’m feeling especially hurrumphy about it at the moment. Nope, I can do better that having 300 spartan soldiers to mark the occasion of my 300th parkrun. No harm in having a little peek at the film posters again though, for old times sake. Yep, posters look very much like the gender composition of the 300 fastest finishers at Bushy parkrun, but with fewer visible milestone tees and rather more shield bearing and helmet sporting. I can do better than this. Though invincible flying wedges do sound sort of fun to hang about with if I’m completely transparent about my feelings on this front. Even more so if they were invisible, which is how I first read the poster. Oh well.

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I looked around at other celebratory rituals, and thought maybe something on the lines of the forthcoming Coronation Procession might be more appropriate, but closer scrutiny seems to suggest it’s the King what does the processing, and although he has a lovely carriage and a crown and everything, I thought maybe I’d rather other people did the processing past and I got to watch it all. I did like the dressing up ideas though, and the making a weekend of it. Obvs there’d need to be a parkrun involved. I had hoped to make it to Somerdale parkrun for their curly wurly, that would have been something extra memorable. However, that was just a drive to far, so reset. There must be something I could do…

I know! How about a spontaneous demonstration of adoration in the form of a procession of 48 thousand runners streaming by waving and so on. That would be grand. The backdrop of London would do, make it the Sunday, so time for people to travel down and get organised, and I’d stay with a friend and we could do a London parkrun the day before. Lovely, ’twas a plan! And as for dressing up, well, parkrunday was the twenty second, so that’s 22 which is two two, which is tu tu, presto, parkrun tu tu day, it’s a thing! Yay, loads of people would don tutus, it was but a short leap of the imagination to presume they would all be doing so for me, the parkrun world over. This is how to do it! Check out the event report for Neckarufer parkrun if you don’t believe me! Viele tutus indeed!

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Saturday tu tu parkrun, Sunday 48 thousand 599 people processing past, perfect way to make the weekend a memorable one, hurrah! But which parkrun to choose.

We were originally going to cavort round Catford parkrun, my parkrun buddy and London host being in search of seas for her seven Cs and an R parkrun Pirate Challenge (try saying it out loud). However, we had to set sail elsewhere as, turns out, this was cancelled due to Eid celebrations in Mountsfield park. Not to worry, plenty others to choose from. From Cats to Dogs. We considered Barking parkrun, but I’m a slow walker at the moment, and there were no parkwalkers on the volunteer roster for any week, so that raised a doubt about whether or not they would be welcoming to non runners. Our gaze went to Super Sutcliffe parkrun instead. Oh look, three tailwalkers and two parkwalkers, that looked more promising. A Sunny Sutcliffe Saunter for me it would be! Armed with tutus away we would go.

It was a short drive, lengthened only by having to stop to see if we were going the right way, we were. It turned out to be a fine choice of venue. Loaaaaads of parking, always a good start, and adjacent to an enormous leisure centre which meant there were actual loos. Bonus, their was a unisex queue for the four cubicles available for use, so this kept everything flowing so to speak, and there wasn’t that frustration of having a gazillion women queueing for their designated loos whilst men whizzed on through so to speak. Talking of keeping everything flowing, how about this for dedication to a cause:

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I know tu tu impressive!

Still, I’m jumping ahead, let’s take a moment to look at the official Sutcliffe parkrun website blah de blah:

The course is in Sutcliffe Park Nature Reserve, London

Three laps on a mixture of tarmac and gravel round the perimeter of the Nature Reserve. The start and finish are close to the entrance to the Sports Centre and the main car park.

ooooo kaaaaay, fairly minimalist description, though I’m liking the reference to a Nature Reserve. The route looks like this:

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A fairly bijoux park perhaps, but you can be small yet perfectly formed.

We arrived, we spotted the funnel and the cheery volunteers assembling. We paused for our obligatory tutu shot. Spotted the bucket slalom course and signage various. There was a very fine tree that was a bit of a focal point, not dissimilar to the Bushy parkrun tree, which apparently is not the tree on the parkrun logo as such, but may as well be. Trees are fabulous are they not? Handy too. Rhetorical question by the way, yes they are!

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The tree had a handy course map tied up to it. In a nod to nerds, they had embraced the technological innovation of the what3words app, and included this on their map. Guess what? Nope you won’t be able to guess, it’s too hard and also too brilliant, the what three words for this course appear to be three.identical.laps!!!!! I know what are the chances. Properly amazing!

Only not really though obvs. But for your edification and merriment, the actual location of ‘three.identical.laps’ is in fact

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not in existence, the nearest approximation being tree.identical.labs, but I’ll take that. It is a three metre square that is so remote it is in the middle of unchartered territory in Western Australia, amusingly nearish (relatively speaking) to a place called jigalong, which I now wish to go visit. If you are into your Nelson numbers this might be a good destination to seek out. The registered population of this remote aboriginal community is apparently 333, approximately, or it was for the census in 2016. I suppose if you went you’d ruin the maths of it anyway, but quirky observation nevertheless. Little things as they say, I know, well it pleases me, and I’m celebrating.

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Anyway, we didn’t need to jigalong to Western Australia because we had already joggedalong to Sutcliffe park. And very fine it was looking too. I never tire of the new places parkrun takes me too, corners of the country I might never have otherwise had cause to visit. This was all tu tu exciting!

We indulged in a little pre parkrun pootling. Examining the tree – which seemed also to serve as a place to leave bags, and availing ourselves of the facilities. After a little while a shout went up for the first timers’ welcome, which was also to take place below the sheltering branches of the lovely tree. But, in a dramatic twist, no sooner had the clarion call for assembly gone up, and a high vis hero started to move towards the tree, a shout went up and another volunteer, with the hugest hound ever, sprang into view. For ’twas she who was to deliver the briefing, working most efficiently to ‘just in time’ principles. Soon an attentive and enthusiastic crowd of first timers surrounded her, including, impressively, some first time everers. A few claimed to have come for the London Marathon. I didn’t want to let on that I knew this was just a cover story for those who were to process past me the following day, but was happy to feign ignorance so they could maintain the illusion of it all being a huge surprise. I would need to stay up late tonight practising my waving, but I’m sure I’d nail it.

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A fine welcome it was too. The course was described in loving terms. Three times round the tree, turns out, those cones around it aren’t just to mark out the space, but also part of the course. A turn around point, that you go round three times, pretty much like Somerdale pavilion parkrun Curly Wurly after all! Hurrah! Oh and it’s a nature reserve so there may be ducks and things and there is absolutely definitively an avenue with cherry blossom that has come out especially for us. Wow, this I was not expecting. Hurrah.

First timers’ welcome done and dusted, a bit more ambling, and then we were called together by the Run Director. The numbers were greater than usual apparently, partly by Lucy 300 cheerers or ‘London Marathon Participants’ wink wink; and partly because of displaced people from nearby Catford. Plenty of regulars too though, and a cheery atmosphere despite a slightly overcast day.

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and then we were all at the start and set awf! I did my now usual of watching the runners depart before slotting in at the back. What a merry band of parkrunners they were too. A vision of loveliness, their collective athleticism matched only by their collective positivity and goodcheer!

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Disappointingly few had got the memo about mandatory tu tu wearing, but maybe they were all too focused on preparations for the morrow. Fair enough. You have to respect the right of everyone to participate in parkrun in their own way, them’s the rules.

This is a three lapper course, and a very pretty one at that. It’s quite a teeny park really, and if you look inwards there seems to be rich habitat for wildlife and if you look outwards you can see tower blocks that surround the green space. Because it’s pretty compact, you can see the other parkrunners ahead of you at first if you are slower, and later on behind you as they come up to lap you, and then ahead of you again once they’ve passed. I got lapped more than once by some, so plenty of opportunity for ‘hellos’ and mutually supportive acknowledgements.

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The first lap I did solo, pausing to acknowledge marshals as I passed. Hurrah for the high vis heroes, who were universally chilled and cheery as well as often cheering which is always a parkrun win. Aren’t they all gawgeous! And just like quality street chocolates, each one is someone’s favourite, personally, I can’t put a barcode to choose between them. The loveliest marshal is always the one you have seen or interacted with most recently.

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At some point I fell into step with the parkwalkers, briefly. One said ‘I have to ask this, why the tu tu?’ I explained about it being a 22 day so a 22 parkrun. The other parkwalker asked ‘well, does that mean you’d wear a tu tu on the 22nd if it was a work day as well. Dear reader, I had never previously considered this possibility, but it makes perfect sense! Genius even. ‘I’m going to say yes to that’ I replied, enigmatically, because honestly I think I should. Though could be tricky if I was filming a period drama say, but I daresay there would be a work around, either by channeling my inner tu tu, or by recognising work is so thin and far between anway, it’s not too likely to be an issue. Good shout though. They pulled ahead as I slowed. I’m so over this walking thing. I start reasonably perky, but as I progress, I get slower and slower. I feel a need to point out that although I like taking photos en route, it is also partly a masking/ coping strategy as I have to keep stopping. I’m heart broken by my physical limitation it’s not fair, and although in some ways it makes life easier having a hidden disability, in other ways it makes it harder because I feel so judged and misunderstood at times. Some people who try to be encouraging suggesting you ‘just try a little run’ it’s well meant but jars. I know my limitations, and in honesty walking the distance at an even pace and without a walking aid is challenge enough for me for now.

As you get further round the course, we came upon the cherry blossom avenue. Oh wow, this is properly amazing. We picked absolutely the best weekend to do this course for blossom appreciation purposes. It arched over the runners and was properly gorgeous. I tried to take some pics, but not sure they quite do the sight justice.

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After dancing down the avenue, you emerge and you swerve round toward the finish area, which is also the start area, only the opposite direction and then you do a u-turn around the tree, a sort of looping the loop bit. Like I said, very much like I imagine the Curly Wurly of Somerdale Pavilion parkrun to be, only with possibly better visibility for this weekend at least. Then there is a brief contraflow as you head back out again. Like this:

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Did you spot what I did there, I know, sneaky. parkrun pranking you, but you were too smart for me I bet…

I was lapped by some I knew and some I knew friends of friends of. ‘Dolly or Bev’ SURPRISE, I was late with my ‘arbitrary’ which was ironic, as this was after all my very much arbitrary parkrun number, I should have been more on it. Oh well, good to have parkrun friends with me now… I’ll nail it one day.

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I was slowing for the third lap, and ended up with one of the tailwalkers keeping me company. I learned a bit more about the space. Turns out, this used to be football pitches, but just kept flooding massively, so the powers that be gave up trying to hold back the tide and rather embraced it. Now there is a lake and a fenced platform that seems to be quite a distance from it is actually perfectly placed for when it rains as the water level really does come up that high. This means the green space provides excellent habitat, and presumably is protected by dint of the water levels, from being built on, hurrah. Green spaces are at such a premium in urban environments, and this one is a corker.

Round we went. I learned that just at the start of the cherry blossom avenue is a marshal spot where often a tambourine is flourished with aplomb. Today the aplomb was clapping themed, but none the worse for that. About half way round the final lap, my parkrun companions came back to join me for some of the route. We admired the sights together. The tail walker collected cones in our wake. All good.

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As we just came round in sight of the final corner lined with tree stumps towards the finish a volunteer was already removing cones ahead of us. This did make my heart sink somewhat, not gonna lie. They were cheery enough calling out ‘I just got impatient and I’m on course close down so thought I’d start’. I get that, I really do, but I hadn’t finished so… I totally understand it’s not meant to make you feel unwelcome as a walker, but it did make me cringe, . It’s like a fairy dying every time you say ‘I don’t believe in fairies’ except that fairies aren’t real so they can’t die. However, I am very real, an every time I see a course being closed down ahead of me or finish funnel packed away before I’ve been through my parkrun heart breaks a little. Since becoming a parkwalker rather than parkrunner I’ve had a quiet weep on the way back from rather too many parkruns. I hate being the one people got frustrated waiting for but it’s confusing too, are walkers welcome or not. Overall, this was a very welcoming and lovely parkrun, but it made me feel incredibly awkward that a volunteer had felt I took took too long. It feeds my insecurity, I feel I take too long too, but I can’t help it, and I need my parkruns too, maybe more than many of the parkrunners who are able to run in other contexts. It is a battle with myself to go to parkruns these days, I am never confident of whether a particular parkrun will welcome me or not. Never mind, I would have 48,599 people running past me tmrw, I’d focus on that, and up until this point I’d felt ok about being slow. I think people who are fast literally cannot comprehend how long it takes to walk if you have a disability or health issue or are just really unfit. Even when I ran some people would routinely comment on social media that anyone can walk 5k in such and such a time which wasn’t too far off my run time. Well maybe a young fit male could, but that’s only a small cohort of parkrunners. Reference early comments about having a fastest 500 finish times, it all feeds into the same narrative of slower participants not being as important as speedier ones. I don’t think parkrun means to do this, but there is work to be done for it to be truly inclusive in my opinion. Oh well. It is still a lovely parkrun, and I did walk it, and I was made welcome, just a blip…

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Soon the finish funnel appeared, and aren’t they lovely. And yes, I would have finished more quickly had I not paused to take photos but see above, I paused to take photos because I can’t walk continuously. It was lovely to see the whole funnel up, ready and waiting. I crossed the line and entered the funnel was processed and timed in, and scanned and surrendered my token, with the tailwalkers just behind as is the parkrun way. Then the volunteers set about results processing and finishing off the close down, and there were purposeful huddles and important looking cone wrangling going on. Hurrah for high vis heroes. We said our thank yous and goodbyes and left the team to their parkrun purposefulness. It is always remarkable to see how events come together, work their magic and then disappear into the non parkrun universe until parkrunday comes around once again.

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There is a cafe on site, we availed ourselves of this for coffee. The food options are limited, and non existent for vegans, but super friendly, and the coffee I thought was good. Nice to have a brief parkfaff. Hurrah!

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and then, once again, time to depart. Bye bye Sutcliffe parkrun, thank you for the warm welcome to your gorgeous park. Thanks especially to whosoever it was who stuck all those individual pink blossoms to the each and every tree down the central avenue to create an extra special ambience. Your efforts were – indeed still are – very much appreciated. Totes loving your work!

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So you see, tu tu to ta dah indeed, just like I promised! Three hundred parkruns done, tick.

Just in case you were there, and you missed them, photos from today can be found on this google drive link, but only for a week more, then I’ll delete it because my cloud will burst otherwise, but if you want to keep any, you can download yourself. Go wild! But expect to find it pretty empty by the middle of May, you have been warned 🙂 https://photos.app.goo.gl/EeGghfFjorjkEM7FA

Oh you want to know how it went with the procession the next day? Pretty good to be fair. I reckon that I got the waving bit totally nailed, and although I didn’t actually count everyone who passed, it was on the news with 48,599 people along the route – more if you count the marshals and escorts, so I’ll take that. I feel we maintained more enthusiasm and channeled more joy than the actual royals who frankly are looking somewhat stiff and lacking animation, no such half hearted measures on our part. We set out our pitch outside the house I was being hosted in, and then just stayed there all morning whilst people jigalonged by, hurrah!

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Thanks to all who came on by. Awesome to see you all, each and every one!

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And this woman was extra sensational, Go Hassan Go! Feeling the fear and doing it anyway, totally smashed it. I like to think my rattle spinning and enthusiasm helped a lot! Amazing females indeed. Thanks for coming by, appreciated. 😉

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Thanks to the 227 fellow parkrunners and 27 high vis heroes who joined me for my 300th parkrun. I reckon we all jigalonged our tree identical labs very expertly. Thanks too to the 48 thousand 599 passers by who took the trouble to run by me on the Sunday, honestly, you made it pretty special. Yay for the running community who made it so. You are all stars to me.

That’s all for now, but as always, you can browse through all my parkrun related posts here.  Or not.  It’s up to you.  You’ll need to scroll down for older entries though. And don’t forget to check out the pics if you joined the field at Sutcliffe parkrun on tu tu day, you never know, this could be your dream parkrun photo, best of all time. To be fair, that’s pretty unlikely, but you never do quite know. Good luck! Time is ticking though, those pics won’t be there for long… Do what you must.

Oh, but this is cool!! A timely reminder to get yourself on a volunteer roster near you in time for next parkrunday. Go awn, go awn, you know you want to! I mean not necessarily trentham gardens, lovely as that is, you could opt in to your nearest and dearest.

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Volunteering at junior parkrun, all the fun things!

The unabridged version.

So the story is this. I got in touch with parkrun to talk about my perspective on walking at parkrun. I really welcome the parkwalk initiative, but feel that sometimes what happens on the ground doesn’t entirely reflect the welcoming rhetoric that comes from HQ. I ended up having quite a useful, interesting and wide ranging conversation with them, including about how inclusive junior parkrun had been, in practice being more accessible than many 5k events. This led to me putting some text together which has ended up being published today in their parkrun blog, which I’m chuffed about. However, inevitably they have cut it back a lot, and I just though it would be good to share the longer read, just because really.

The parkrun blog post ‘a new perspective on junior parkrun’ is here

https://blog.parkrun.com/uk/2023/04/18/a-new-perspective-on-junior-parkrun/

Undigested read follows, of course it does!

Welcome to a parallel universe of positivity – junior parkrun! Come join the fun factory, the more the merrier.

Volunteering at junior parkrun

Volunteer team for Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park junior parkrun, #100 event celebrations

Inexplicably, it seems that there are some people out there yet to discover the parallel universe of positivity which is volunteering at junior parkrun.  This blows my tiny mind.  If you are one such person, then let me open your eyes to what you are missing out on.  Volunteering at any parkrun is super-fun of course, but volunteering at a junior parkrun is super-fun on steroids.  I can think of no other activity that can have you crying with laughter at the time, and then supplied with such a quantity of feel good endorphins in its aftermath that you will be super-charged with happiness for a whole week afterwards.  All of this in return for spending just an hour or on a Sunday at a junior parkrun venue near you.  I mean really, what’s not to like?  Spoiler alert, nothing at all!

To be fair, there was a time when I didn’t know about this other world either, hard though that is to remember now.  I had a vague sense that I wanted to ‘give back’ something to the parkrun world that had changed my life for the better, and volunteering at junior parkrun was a way to do that.  I got in touch, apprehensive about how I might be received, would I be thought a bit weird for offering my services at a junior parkrun when I didn’t have any children myself?  Well, good news dear reader, nope, I was welcomed with open arms to my then nearest junior parkrun at Graves Park, Sheffield.  So it was I found myself stepping into the wonderland that is happening all over the UK on a Sunday morning. 

It’s almost impossible to communicate how much fun junior parkrun can be.  There is the inherent hilarity about turning out in all weathers to watch people running around.  The camaraderie of meeting with the other volunteers, people from your neighbourhood you might not have had any reason to interact with before, but now you are sharing this hugely positive experience together you feel like you’ve known them all your life.  The delight of meeting the junior parkrunner who stopped to show me the biggest feather IN THE WORLD that they’d managed to discover en route before carrying on round.  Then there is the one who has to run around every bollard, lamp post or indeed volunteer on the course as part of their 2k run; the multitude of fancy dress, Gruffalo onesies or simply unorthodox clothing choices ‘just because’; the junior who brings a different cuddly toy with them each week; the participant who accelerates towards you each week for a high five then swerves off at just that moment of connection because they don’t really do contact; the friends or siblings who do the whole route holding hands; the multitude of children enthusiastically flinging their arms out so they can do aeroplane wings for the downhill section at the Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park junior parkrun because it is an actual FACT that this will make you go faster – faster still if you make wheeeeeee noises at the same time.  Or how about the child who last week ran the whole event with a buff pulled over their eyes to a chorus of ‘watch out’ shouts from marshals torn between horror and amusement as they set about shooing them in the right direction.  Or the ones who on the first lap are seemingly going to stroll the whole way round (which is fine by the way) only to be turbo charged for their second lap, leaving their astonished and wheezing accompanying adults for dust.  Every junior parkrunner has a story as does every parkrun event.  Being able to be part of this occasion is not giving up anything, it’s being included in a celebration of life, positivity and a world that is for that pocket of time at least, entirely free of cynicism.  In an age where we are used to talking mindfulness junior parkrun has it nailed.  It’s an all-consuming hour when I don’t think of anything else, just enjoy the moment.  The only really, really important rule for junior parkrun – as far as the participants are concerned – is ‘have fun!’  I include this in all my briefings now, to adults and juniors alike, it is ultimately the essence of parkrun, and junior parkrun manifests this mantra brilliantly. 

Through supporting junior parkrun you are part of a movement that increases wellbeing in young people and hopefully secures the future of parkrun more broadly as a new generation grow up with an appreciation of the values of inclusivity and volunteering as well as a love of being active.  It might be you are nurturing athletes of the future – certainly it is the case that a Sheffield junior parkrunner won the actual London Mini Marathon last year in 2022.  However, amazing as that success is, it’s arguably even more important and rewarding to cheer on those youngsters who might otherwise never enjoy being active, who are won over by the supportive environment together with the enthusiastic cheers and applause they experience just by being there.  They are enough in themselves.  They are truly welcome however they choose to participate.  If they want to pause to admire the daisies or rescue a worm from the course on the way round, that’s fabulous too.  And junior parkrun birthday celebrations are especially awesome, these juniors know how to party – have you seen them in their junior parkrun warm ups. Gorilla stomps, bum kicks and sun jumps are the future.  Surely you want to see these glories for yourself?

It’s maybe no surprise to hear that I am a massive enthusiast for junior parkrun.  It has brought so much joy to my life, possibly even more so than for the junior parkrunners who are supposedly the main beneficiaries.  However, my participation took on a whole new perspective last year.  It happens that I was really ill during lockdown, and nearly died following some medical complications that left me housebound for a while and using a wheelchair for many weeks.  Gradually, I became a bit more mobile, but it was a long old haul, graduating to using a Zimmer in the house, then a rollator to help me venture outside and finally sticks.  I desperately wanted to reengage with people but how?  Long story short, the Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park junior parkrun community were just amazing in helping me get back involved.  They started off by giving me a marshal point really near to the carpark so I could manage to get to it with my rollator.  They then despatched juniors with a high vis for me to wear so I didn’t have to go to the main assembly point which would have been too far.  The juniors would then keep me company until the start of the run.  At the end they collected my high vis and wished me well.  This went on for many weeks.  Over time, as I could manage slightly further distances, I made it to the finish area to give out finish tokens – a job I could still do seated, and eventually took on marshal points at gradually increasing distances depending on how far I felt able to walk.  They did all they could to accommodate and encourage, being understanding too that if I had a bad day, I might have to cancel at short notice.  In fact, I never had to, I think largely because I knew I was going in to a supportive environment where I’d be helped and not judged if things were hard to manage.  In my experience, junior parkrun really is an exemplar of good practice in creating a positive and inclusive environment for both volunteers and participants alike.

My favourite role?  Whichever one I’ve done most recently to be honest.  It’s impossible to choose.  I love doing the first timers’ welcome as you get to introduce new parkrunners to something potentially life changing and broker that relationship.  I adore leading the warm up because, well, inner child will out I suppose.  Conducting a mini cohort of parkrunners to activate their helicopter arms or wave at the tailwalker is quite brilliant, and any excuse to bring along my Giraffe Geronimo to proceedings.  Then again, cheering the juniors enroute swells the heart.  I’m amazed each week at their micro adventures on the way, whether that’s someone who has decided to skip the whole route, the memorable junior parkrunner who interacted as a somewhat ferocious tiger for the duration of one particular parkrun, or the juniors who put on a greyhound sprint leaving their adults for dust.  Junior parkrun takes the principle of ‘respecting everyone’s right to participate in their own way’ and takes it to a liberating extreme.  Be honest, wouldn’t you fancy giving parkrun a go as a tiger given the chance?  Just do it by the way, no-one will care, but in a good way.  Handing out the finish tokens at the end is fabulous too, you get to speak to every participant, and learn the names of all to boot – but let’s not forget the role of supervising the finish funnel, cheering juniors to their sprint finish and whooping them through like the returning heroes they are, well that’s simply priceless.  Try them all out for size, find your happy place.  None of the roles are taxing, all are fun.  There aren’t enough positive adjectives in the thesaurus to communicate the joy!

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Taking part each week honestly reminds me, in times which have sometimes seemed agonisingly bleak, that there very much is still good in the world.  What’s more, you can access it in bucket loads at a park near you on junior parkrun day!  It is a rare privilege in life to be able to both spread and receive happy vibes in equal measure.  This kind of joy isn’t finite, the more it ripples out, the stronger those waves become.  Don’t miss out, jump right on in, the water’s lovely.  If you haven’t yet discovered it, explore it now.  There is a whole new world, waiting to welcome you in, Sundays will never be the same again.  It will restore your faith in human nature and all those belly laughs will do wonders for your abdominal core strength too.  Healing for the body as well as the soul, come join the junior parkrun party!

We may have Paul Sinton-Hewitt to thank for our Saturday parkrun fix, and believe me I do, but thanks too should go to Paul Graham, who was behind the launch of junior parkrun, making parkrun weekends complete – replete even.  Whatever did I do with my weekends before?  Oh, and you can always volunteer on a Saturday as well by the way, junior parkrun can be the gateway experience to that field of glee too.  parkrun in all its manifestations is a force for good in the world in a time when that’s something we really need.  Whichever you choose though, remember Paul Graham’s most important parkrun rule. What’s that?  Oh yes, all together now ‘have fun!’

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Lucy Marris, A448776

March 2023

I’ve also done various blogs on junior parkrun, link follows in case of use:

Party on… Graves junior parkrun Totally Terrific and Two Today!

There’s snow runners like Graves junior parkrunners!

Graves Junior parkrun’s first Birthday Bash – setting the standard for pop up parkrun partying