Dartford Harriers Club Champs 2016

The Dartford Harriers Club Champs are held each year at the end of the track season and is an informal event which lets athletes compete in any event they wish. It's a great opportunity for runners to try their hand at a field event and vice-versa. Even though it is informal and friendly, the races are all officially timed and included on the Power of 10 website [my athlete page].

Although the opportunity was there I decided to play it safe and stuck with the track for my events. I had put my name down for the 400 metre and the 1500 metre races. We wandered over to Central Park Athletics Arena with plenty of time for me to collect my race number and we found a decent spot to hang out and watch the proceedings.

1500m start and early race

My first race was the 1500 metres, a distance I had never raced before. Although I have done enough 1 mile races to understand what it would be like. Three and three-quarter laps of the track for this race. The starter's pistol was fired and I headed over the inside lane and settled in nicely behind my team mate Matthew.

The pace felt a little easy through the first couple of laps, but I felt like staying in the position I was in would be best. It crossed my mind a few times to move past my team mate, but I think I was held back because he is a faster runner than me and thought it best to stay behind and trust that he'd drag me along to a quicker time.

1500m mid/end race and bronze medal under the rainbow

Had I been alone I would definitely had run those middle laps harder, but I didn't and I followed my team mate right to the end in an official time of 5.24.87, which was roughly around the time I had thought I would run. In retrospect I think I should have bitten the bullet and pushed ahead on lap 2 or 3 to see what would have happened.

After the race, I had about 21 minutes to rest before the 400 metre race was due to start. For this one each runner is assigned a lane and the start points are staggered around the first bend. This is where I was seriously out of my league! Most of the runners here were track specialists whereas I really am not.

400m start

I was assigned lane 2, which was a familiar place to be as this is the lane I train in when I run my track sessions each week. However it was clear from the moment the starter's pistol was fired that I would be trailing the others by a significant amount.

I ran a 400 metre race in the early summer of 2015 in a time of 67.5 seconds so I had that in mind as a rough time to aim for. However it was a little windier at this event and I was almost blown into lane 3 as I rounded the final bend. The last agonising 100 metres were into the headwind and I knew that I'd be a few seconds adrift from that target.

400m end (I was so far behind!)

My official time was confirmed as 70.29 seconds and I was just happy that I could now stop running at such a hard pace and focus on training for the forthcoming cross-country season. We'd had a nice afternoon out at the club so thank you to everyone that worked hard to make it happen. As a bonus I got a bronze medal in the 1500 metre race for finishing 3rd senior male - to be fair there were only 3 senior males in the race, but it was all for fun and it's nice to have a little memento from the day.

Thanks to Dani and to Richey for taking the photos I have used here.

Links:
Power of 10: 1500 metre results
Power of 10: 400 metre results

The Berkshire parkrun venues

The ceremonial county of Berkshire is made up of the six unitary authorities of Bracknell Forest, Reading, Slough, West Berkshire, Windsor and Maidenhead, and Wokingham.

The pins on the map mark the locations of parkruns within the county. The green pins show the venues I have officially visited while the red pins are venues that I still need to visit. The list below covers 5k events only, not junior parkruns.


 


Bracknell - Great Hollands Recreation Ground, South Road, Wokingham, Berkshire.
Course: 2 clockwise laps
Underfoot: Mixed terrain (grass / dirt / wood-chipped forest paths, tarmac)
Profile: Flat with a couple of gentle slopes
Notes: Worth a visit for the forest section alone 
Further reading: My Bracknell parkrun blog post


California Country parkrun - California Country Park, Wokingham, Berkshire.
Course: mixture of laps and an out-and-back (tbc)
Underfoot: Mixed. Dirt/mud, gravel
Profile: tbc
Notes:
Further reading: not visited

Dinton Pastures parkrun - Dinton Pastures Country Park, Wokingham, Berkshire.
Course: 2 anti-clockwise laps (not identical)
Underfoot: Gravel/stones and dirt
Profile: Flat
Notes: Beautiful views across the lakes
Further reading: My Dinton Pastures parkrun blog post


Maidenhead - Braywick Park, Maidenhead, Berkshire.
Course: 2 clockwise laps plus a start-finish tail
Underfoot: mostly hard surface - a little splashy/muddy in the winter
Profile: Flat, but with a very short, sharp incline which is run twice
Notes: run mostly in a nature reserve, features a section next to The Cut (river)
Further reading: My Maidenhead parkrun blog entry


Newbury - Greenham Common, Newbury, Berkshire.
Course: 1 single lap
Underfoot: Hardpack trail (gravel/stones) and tarmac
Profile: Mostly flat, some some very gentle inclines
Notes: Takes place on former site of RAF Greenham Common. Also has a Star Wars link.
Further reading: My Newbury parkrun blog post


Prospect - Prospect Park, Liebenrood Road, Reading. Berkshire
Course: Two laps
Underfoot: Grass
Profile: Generally flat
Notes:
Further reading: Not visited


Reading - Thames Valley Park, Reading, Berkshire.
Course: Lollipop (start/finish tail and two loops of the sweet part)
Underfoot: Towpath and gravel footpath
Profile: Flat
Notes: The land sometimes suffers from flooding
Further reading: not yet visited


Sandhurst Memorial - Sandhurst Memorial Park, Sandhurst, Berkshire

Course: small lap, then two large laps (course may change at times)

Underfoot: Grass, paths, and woodland

Profile: Flat

Notes: Buggy runners should consult the team before visiting

Further reading: My Sandhurst Memorial parkrun blog post

Upton Court - Upton Court Park, Slough, Berkshire.
Course: Two anti-clockwise laps (not identical)
Underfoot: Grass and tarmac
Profile: extremely gentle undulations
Notes:
Further reading: My Upton Court parkrun blog post


Woodley - Woodford Park, East Reading, Berkshire.
Course: 3 clockwise laps (lap one slightly different)
Underfoot: Grass and tarmac
Profile: Mostly flat, but has a short, sharp incline next to the lake
Notes: Earphones not permitted (or one earbud only) here due to safety reasons
Further reading: My Woodley parkrun blog entry

Please note: Information contained within the blog posts, such as the course configuration, parking arrangements, availability of toilets etc, may change. Please always check with the relevant events' web page and social media channels for the latest and most accurate information.

If you find the write-ups useful and wish to support the blog, please consider doing so via the button below. Thank you.

 

parkrun tourism tips

So you've discovered parkrun, have run at your home event a few times and maybe even volunteered too. But now you want to branch out a little. I've visited a few venues now so here are a few hints and tips to help with planning your parkrun tourism.

Finding a venue to visit

• The parkrun events page: The number one place to go to find a venue to visit is, of course, the main parkrun events page. You can get a closer view on an area by clicking on the region you are interested in or you can simply just zoom into the map. hovering over a venue's map pin will display the name and clicking on it will take you to the venue's homepage. [Link: parkrun uk events page]

• Start Time: While venues in England have a 9am start time, this isn't the same in other places. For example, Northern Ireland and Scotland parkruns start at 9.30am and Australian parkruns seem to start at 7am or 8am. I understand that venues in the USA can start at varying times too. So always check (and don't rely 100% on what I have written here - cross-check that too!) Oh, and be in place around the start area before this time so you can listen to the 'first-timers' briefing and then the main briefing.

• Other parkruns nearby: Also, every parkrun venue's homepage (uk) has a list of (up to) its 10 closest venues (as the crow flies) so this is another handy place to get a quick heads-up on an alternative venue. Watch out for venues that have rivers in between them as the actual difference can vary greatly from the straight line distance. Always cross-check the journey distance and predicted travel time with a route planner.

• tourist tool: There is also the tourist tool which is very useful for finding the closest venues to your current (or indeed any) location on the map. It also gives you the approximate travel time to the venue and can include the locations of Premier Inns if you wish. [Link: tourist tool]

• Christmas Compendium: If touring on non-standard parkrun days over the festive season (Christmas Day / New Years Day) then you may find the Christmas Compendium [Link: UK Christmas Compendium] quite a useful resource. It shows which venues are planning to put on extra events on these days and also the time that they will take place (start times can vary from the norm on these days). Christmas Day is fairly straight forward as only one run may be recorded per runner, but on New Years Day runners can record a maximum of two. The Christmas Day UK parkruns map and the New Year's Day UK parkrun map are unofficial resources which helps with the planning of visiting venues of this period. It is particularly useful for working out which venues could be doubled up on New Years Day. There is also the unofficial 'parkrun New Years Day Double Finder' - The link changes slightly each year, so it's probably best to search online for the latest version [2017 is here]. To give you an idea of what it looks like, here the links to some previous versions [2014 / 2015 / 2016]. There is a map of the 2018 New Years Day confirmed events, here - NYD 2018.

• Deciding where to go next: Once you have visited your nearest venues it can become tricky deciding where to go. Many tourists try to complete certain sets of runs in order to become a 'regionnaire'. These regions are already defined on the parkrun events page. Some people like to try to complete all the runs in certain counties or collect certain sets. Some tour alone while others have formed touristing groups who will purposefully head to a certain venue on a pre-arranged date or event number.

• Other: Other ways to help with venue selection are to use the first letter of the venue and run the full alphabet (or as close as the available letters allow) to become an alphabeteer or some will spell out a word or phrase like I did for my #7weeksofparkrun challenge.

• Inaugural events: In the past, attending an inaugural event was actively encouraged by many within the parkrun community and by parkrun themselves. In fact, attending 5 inaugurals used to be a quick route for participants to earn a place on the official 'UK most events' table, plus it was the best way to meet other tourists. However due to the growing popularity of parkrun and parkrun tourism, leading to very large turnouts, attendance at inaugurals is now gently discouraged. Local event teams, other park users and local residents can all be quite overwhelmed by a sudden influx of hundreds of runners on the first Saturday morning of a brand new event. The total number of attendees at an inaugural event can be double (or even more) than that of subsequent events. I know parkrun are actively taking steps to make information on forthcoming events harder to find in advance, but even if we do come across this information, we all need to do our bit and resist the temptation to attend a new event on day 1. It is now good practise to give new events a few weeks/months to bed in before visiting as a tourist. 

Checking for cancellations

Checking that the event you plan to visit is actually going ahead is vital to make sure you don't waste your time and money travelling to some far flung location. So how are you going to be sure?

From my experience I have found that during the summer months most cancellations will be known in advance and are mostly for other big events such as summer fairs etc. Watch out around bonfire night as quite a lot of parks host fireworks displays and the setup for these will usually mean the parkrun cannot go ahead.

In the winter you are more likely to encounter last-minute cancellations due to bad conditions. Check the weather in advance to see if there is a risk heavy rain, snow or ice. Tarmac courses are more likely to be affected by these conditions than 100% off-road courses, which do not usually have the same issues with slippery surfaces. Managed parkland such as Royal Parks and National Trust have policies in place where they will close their grounds in certain conditions. In stormy conditions, winds of 40 mph and above seem to be the threshold for many of these places.

However, Run Director's have to consider more than just the course (car parks / general road conditions around the venue etc) so always check!

• The parkrun official cancellations list - A simple list of parkruns that have used to the official system to register a planned cancellation of their event. [Link: parkrun cancellations]

• The venue's homepage - The front page will show the date of the next known cancellation in red (if there is one) providing the event team have notified parkrun HQ via the official channel.

• The venue's social media pages - Most venues have a Facebook page and a Twitter feed so 'like' or 'follow' these in advance. Before relying on these sources it's best to have a look through some older posts to make sure the team actively use these channels. If a cancellation happens at the last minute, the majority of venues will communicate this via social media as this is the best way to reach the majority of their runners at short notice (and can be easily posted from the run director's phone if they are cancelling whilst standing in the middle of their venue).

• The venue's volunteer roster - Open up the future volunteer page and have a look to make sure there are volunteers assigned to the date that you are planning to visit the venue. It's not a complete guarantee, but it is quite reassuring.

• The venue's news page - Have a scroll through the last few news reports to see if there has been any mention of future cancellations in a previous report. It is possible that a cancellation could be mentioned here, but not appear on the venue's homepage.

Finding course information

• The venue's course page: Each venue has a course page which outlines useful bits of information regarding the course, travelling to the venue, car parking information and toilet information. The amount of detail given seems to vary between venues. Some venues have different courses which they switch to for various reasons and some even move to a different venue altogether during the winter - make sure you read carefully before leaving home.

• Photo Albums: Have a look through the venue's photo albums to get a better idea of what the course is like. Mostly you'll find that the photographers have used different positions around the course on different weeks, so have a good look through. This should also help to give you an idea of what shoes might be required for the course. Originally, most venues would upload photos to Flickr, however I am finding that Facebook has become more popular platform over the last couple of years - the point is, check both. Also search for youtube videos to see if anyone has filmed the course.

• GPS Data: Look for other runners' GPS data on websites like Garmin Connect, Strava and Map My Run (etc). A quick search online should give some results. If not go onto the respective website and use their search feature to find the course. Another option is to go into the latest results page of the event in question and find someone who has linked their Strava account to parkrun, click on their Strava icon to take you to their profile where you should hopefully find the course data. Take a close look at the date of the run and cross-check it with the official course map to ensure that you haven't accidentally clicked on an old course or alternative course. This is also good for checking the hill profile of the course.

• parkrun Elevation Rankings: A webpage which ranks the UK parkruns in order of total elevation, so if you're looking to find a pb course or the complete opposite, this may give you a good idea of where to head to - Jegmar - parkrun Elevation Rankings

• The parkrunshow podcast: Listen to some of the archived episodes of the parkrun show, which can be found on the marathon talk website and I think also on itunes. If you read the text underneath each episode it'll tell you which event was profiled on that episode. Remember the episodes are a few years old now so always cross-check the information with the event's webpage in case things have changed. Also, if you haven't listened to the entire back catalogue then you should - it was a great show and I miss it. [Link: Marathon Talk - The parkrunshow archive]

• With Me Now podcast: Essentially this is the parkrun show reborn. Join Danny and Nicola as they chat about all things parkrun as well as giving profiles on the venues they visit. [I don't think there isn't a webpage as such, but you follow the podcast on Facebook and/or Twitter]

• Free Weekly Timed podcast: A new UK podcast started in April 2018. At time of writing, it's so new that the exact direction it will take in terms of providing information which will be useful for tourists is unknown. Still, it's nice to have a weekly UK podcast again, so have a listen and see what you think. [link: Free Weekly Timed]

• parkrun adventurers podcast: I have to be honest and say that I've never listened to this podcast, so I don't really know what it offers. Still, it's got to be worth having a listen [link: parkrun adventurers]

• Blogs/videos: Search for the venue you are thinking of visiting followed by 'blog' on google to see if any bloggers have written any interesting things about the venue - they may cover details that the course page can't and they'll probably also have some useful information regarding shoe choice etc. A few useful blogs which might give you some tips are:

• abradypus (written by Louise Ayling)
• All Scottish parkruns (written by Scott MacMichael)
• Andis Ozols (full length course videos - filmed by Andis Ozols)
• AnnaTheApple (written by Anna Smith-James)
• blog7t (written by Steven Stockwell - that's me)
• Capital Adventures (written by Mark Layzell)
• Dancing At Lunacy (written by Linda Harley)
• Geofftech (written by Geoff Marshall)
• Get Down, Shep! (written by Ali Sheppard)
• Ian & Riley's Adventures (videos by Ian Pullen)
• Ian Runs (Written by Ian Ashcroft)
• Ingo Runs
• markrun (course videos)
• Maria Runs (runningcupcake)
• parkrun courses in 5 minutes (5 minute videos - videos by Andis Ozols)
• parkrunfans (set up by ian wilkinson and has articles written by around 50 other parkrunners)
• parkrun touring (written by John Matthews)
• paul-jeffrey.com - parkrun tourist (written by Paul Jeffrey)
• Rory parkrun fun (Written by Rory Burr)
• richardgower (written by Richard Gower)
• Running + Exploring - Our parkrun Tales and Treasure Trails (written by Geoff and Kathy Brown)
• Running Dan (written by Dan Houghton)
• Running in Series (written by Ben and Lolly)
• Sixty-one not out (written by Nick Sirs)
• 50 Club in 50 Courses (written by Ashley Cowley)
• 52 parkruns, 52 weeks, 52 places (written by Emily Hopkinson)

• more links to follow: I know I must have missed some blogs and YouTube channels, so please feel free to remind me of the ones I have forgotten to add - remember this list is for blogs/channels that truly give good information about the venues, not simply good blogs, of which there are many.

• Toilets / showers: Check the arrangements for toilets in advance as this can vary considerably between venues. If no toilets are available at the venue, do some research as to where the closest ones are. Use the local council's website to find out about any public toilets in the area and also find out where the local fast food chains, pubs and supermarkets are as you can usually nip in discreetly beforehand. It's also worth bearing in mind that it is quite common for toilets to run out of toilet paper when a large number of runners are around, so consider taking you own supply with you. When it comes to showers, as you'll be away from home you might wish to locate some before continuing with your day. It's not the kind of information that is always listed on an event's homepage, so you may need to contact the event team to ask for local advice. If you decide to source your own, look for council run leisure centres that may allow access to showers without requiring you to pay a full entry fee for the facilities. Some parkruns may be located near running tracks who may be willing to accommodate the needs of fellow runners - if there is a track you could just pay the entry fee, use the track and then the shower facilities. Some large train stations have showers that can be used for a fee (These seem to be more widespread on mainland Europe than in the UK, but worth checking anyway).

Travelling to the venue

• Google Maps: Whichever method of travel you use, Google Maps is a great tool to help get a feel for what the local area looks like. Put it into street view and use it to have a look around the train station, car parking areas or entrance to the venue. For some venues you can also see parts of the course in this view. An excellent tool! Also I always leave home with enough time to reach my chosen venue 1 hour before the start time (I plan to arrive at 8am in for venues in England) - it might seem a little early, but I have needed this extra buffer time on more than one occasion.

• Road: Check for roadworks in advance especially if using areas known for disruption and/or motorways. For me that mostly means checking the M25 and the Dartford crossing, which I quite often have to use and are known for disruption. Don't forget to pay any tolls (eg: Dartford crossing) within the required time period - I always pay mine the night before via the online payment page. On the morning check for any incidents on motorways which could cause delays. If using a Sat Nav make sure it is guiding you to the exact destination you need to go - there are some venues where Sat Navs frequently take the runners to the wrong part of the venue or somewhere else entirely. Always check the car parking arrangements and make sure you have plenty of change on you in case the information you have read is out-of-date or if the parking situation changes at late notice. Some venues give free or reduced-fee parking to runners providing they leave a barcode in their window, so always have at least one extra copy with you to cover for this. Also make sure you have enough petrol in your vehicle for your journey before the morning of the event.

• Train (National Rail): If railway companies decide to do any works they mostly tend to do so on weekends and/or overnight, so check in advance. Train operators will have this information available on their website. Also don't just travel to what sounds like the right station as this can be further away from the venue than a not-quite-so-obviously-named station. Always check on the event's course page and also check the distance from the station to the venue. If possible do not take the last possible train that will reach the venue in time just in case it is cancelled; planning to take an earlier train will give you a fall-back option. Also if travelling from within London make sure you check to see if you will need to buy a traditional paper ticket or if your Oyster card will get you to your destination (Oyster works out cheaper, but some stations towards the outskirts of London might not be within the Oyster zone). [Link: National Rail Enquiries Planned Works Checker]

• Train (underground / metro): Repair works etc almost exclusively take place at the weekend on the underground sometimes resulting in long sections of lines completely closed for a whole day or longer. If it's a London venue then you'll find the latest information on forthcoming planned engineering works on the Transport for London website. As I understand it, there are four cities with underground networks in the UK.

• London Underground - TfL Planned Engineering Works Calendar
• Liverpool Merseyrail - Merseyrail Planned Engineering Works
• Glasgow Subway SPT - Glasgow Subway - SPT Modernisation
• Tyne and Wear Metro - Tyne and Wear Metro (main page)

• Cycling: I have cycled to a few venues and have always found it useful to know that if I have a malfunction (most likely a puncture) I can still reach the (or a) parkrun in time. So make notes on any potential train stations that you'll pass on the way to the venue. If you have a serious malfunction you may find that you can switch to the train instead.

• Other: I have on occasion been known to save the numbers of local cab firms into my phone just incase I have issues with other forms of transport. I imagine this type of information can be looked up if required on-the-day or you could probably use an app like Uber to summon a taxi if in need.

Social

What would parkrun be without its social side? While not compulsory, many tourists will want to engage in at least part of the social side of an event.

• Spotting fellow tourists: During the event you may want to keep an eye out for fellow tourists. Sometimes they are impossible to distinguish from other runners, however things to look out for are the official apricot parkrun tees - these can be customised at the point of purchase to include the name of the runner's home venue. Also the Cow-Cowl is something to look out for, while completely 100% unofficial this simple item really does help fellow tourists pick each other out of the crowd.

• Post-run chatting and the cafe: It's always great to spend some time chatting to fellow runners and the event team. While chatting to other runners is easy to do at the finish line, the event team will be better to chat to once all the participants have finished running and they can relax a little. The perfect place is the post-run social venue. Check out the details of where they go beforehand and take note of any important points.

Finally...

The other thing you can do, of course, is to talk to other people and ask questions. Whether it be the event team through email or their social media pages or to other parkrunners through twitter or one of the many groups you'll find dotted over the internet.

Also, always make some kind of backup plan just incase things don't work out on the day. Make a note of other reachable venues and check all their details in advance too. Also, independently verify every piece of information possible (including everything you've read on this page or in any of my venue blogs).

When you have run at twenty different UK venues you will appear on the UK most events table. At this point you would have become an uber-tourist and also earned entry into the UK parkrun tourists closed group on Facebook.

So that's about it for now. I hope this comes in handy and please let me know if there's anything you think I've forgotten to mention.

Twitter: @copy7t
Facebook: blog7t


And finally, finally...

Always thank as many of the volunteers as you can and...

 ... don't forget your barcode!

Harwich parkrun

Harwich is the most northerly seaside town in Essex and is most well known as a shipping port. The town got its name from the Old English word 'Here-wic', which means 'military settlement' and the Royal Navy established a dockyard here in 1652.

The military are no longer here, but you can still see reminders of the town's military past, most notably the Harwich Redoubt, a circular fort built in 1808-10 to defend the port from the Napoleonic invasion. It is now surrounded by houses, but would have once stood proud, alone atop the hill, visible for miles around as an intimidating deterrent to potential invaders. You can visit the fort and go inside for a small fee (£3).

dovercourt / cliff park

We travelled over to the far side of Essex to visit Harwich parkrun, which actually takes place in the seaside town of Dovercourt, Harwich's older and larger but less well-known neighbour. They used to be two completely separate towns, but are now contiguous.

Dovercourt was an extremely popular seaside town back in Victorian times and owes a lot of its popularity to a merchant called John Bagshaw. Despite his eventual bankruptcy he was responsible for commissioning some of the town's best known buildings and was an active part in bringing the railway to Harwich/Dovercourt, which of course was key to its popularity.

start of run in the park

One of the buildings he built was a mansion called Cliff House (1845), where he lived. However after his death in 1861 the house remained empty for many years until being demolished in 1909. Two years later the grounds of the house had been remodelled into 'Cliff Park' and this is where Harwich parkrun is based. The parkrun had it's inaugural event on 1 August 2015 and attracts around 100 participants each week (official average at time of my visit was 78.9).

We drove to the venue and parked on Barrack Road which is just next to the park. There are other nearby side streets that allow parking, but if there are no available spaces then the Milton Road Car Park (68 spaces) is the next best option. From what I can see the fees are 80p for an hour, £1.40 for two and £3 for up to four hours which should be enough to cover a parkrun visit.

dovercourt bay (opening section)

Had we taken the train we would have alighted at Dovercourt Bay station which is approx 5 minutes from the park. Cyclists can tether their steeds to the cycle racks which are located next to the children's playground in the park. There are toilets in the park and these are located in the 'Dovercourt Cliff Park Cafe' building which is also used as the post-run tea/coffee social venue after the run. The toilets have seasonal opening times however this doesn't affect the mornings which are set at 8am all year round.

The parkrun HQ is set up in and around the bandstand which you cannot miss as the park is actually pretty small. The run briefing took place a few minutes before 9am and on the hour the runners were sent off to complete their regular Saturday morning 5k.

dovercourt bay (award beach)

The run starts right next to the bandstand and features 1.5 meandering clockwise laps of the tarmac path around the park where the keen-eyed runners will see a stone which marks the location of the former Spa, which was built when a Chalybeate Spring was discovered. The runners then zig-zag down a ramp and onto the seafront promenade for a single out-and-back along Dovercourt Bay. Underfoot is 100% tarmac/concrete so road shoes are perfect for this course (I wore my New Balance Zante V2's) and with the exception of the ramp and a small bump on the seafront, it is flat.

A large chunk of the promenade is a shared-use space for people and cyclists so it's important to stay aware of what's happening around you. The organisers also ask that runners keep to the left at all times. After a few minutes on the promenade the runners pass a statue of Queen Victoria, however they probably won't see it as it is on the upper level - it is known as being Dovercourt's most famous landmark, is 14ft. high and weighs 9 tons. It was erected in 1904, three years after her death and stands as a memorial. If you look way into the distance to the south you can see all the way across to Walton-on-the-Naze.

dovercourt bay (the return leg)

The next notable landmarks are the two historic Dovercourt Lighthouses (aka The Dovercourt Range Lights); one was a high light and the other a low light which, when aligned could be used to guide ships into the harbour. They were in use between 1863 and 1917. At around this point the 'award beach' begins; this has been awarded a blue flag certification which means that it has met some pretty stringent standards around water quality, safety, environmental education and information etc. There are also many colourful beach huts to admire in this section and if you wanted to own one you'd be looking at stumping up somewhere in the region of £5000 - £8000. One of them 'My Happy Hut' won an award for the best beach hut of the year 2016.

The promenade soon swings to the right and at the end is a gate and a turnaround point. When I visited the point was marked in chalk with an arrow. Plus it also had a cone as a physical marker to run around. It's worth noting that if any runners were desperate for the toilet there is one right next to the turnaround point. Once around the cone the runners head back (still keeping left) all the way back along the promenade. Looking into the distance to the north the cranes that line Harwich port can clearly be seen and are quite a sight.

back to the park

Eventually the runners reach the slope that they came down about 4.8 kilometres earlier. They head back up and into the park where they re-join the path they ran around at the beginning and follow it back around (still running clockwise) until they reach the bandstand, and more importantly, the finish line. When I visited there were extra volunteers on-hand at the finish as the team from the forthcoming (15 Oct 2016) Clacton Seafront parkrun were receiving some training.

Barcode scanning took place in the bandstand and the results for event 63 were available a few hours later. While I ran, my wife and daughter had been hanging out in the playground which was fairly decent. They were particularly impressed by the swings which face the sea and the pirate ship complete with treasure, seagulls and a mermaid figurehead on the bow. As it was quite a windy day we decided to skip the alfresco post-run social and headed into the centre of Dovercourt where we found a nice little place that served breakfast instead.

scanning, playground and cafe/toilets

What can I say about the course? It was a seafront out-and-back which means that nine times out of ten you're probably going to have to deal with a headwind. During my visit the headwind was a feature on the way out and it slowed me down by about 10 seconds per kilometre vs my return trip with the tail wind, which of course was totally unnoticeable. You can see the course and my splits if that kind of thing is of interest by viewing my GPS data on Strava: Harwich parkrun GPS file

Related: The Essex parkrun venues

Shorne Woods 5 2016

Shorne Woods Country Park is located just off the A2 near Gravesend in Kent. It was formerly part of the Cobham Hall Estate, but the land was used for clay extraction between the 1930s and 1970s. In 1987 the 288 acre site came under undership of Kent County Council, who subsequently turned it into a country park.

The Shorne Woods 5 was put on in September 2016 as a fundraiser with all money going back into conservation in Kent's country parks. I registered online in advance and paid the £15 entry fee (£12.50 plus £2.50 VAT). The entry fee also included parking in the on-site car park which would usually cost £3 at the weekend.

pre-race [photos: 7t]

As I understand it, there have been two previous Shorne Woods 5 mile races. However this incarnation of the event was organised by a different set of people and using a different course. So moving onto the day, the race numbers were collected on-the-day from the kiosk next to the car park. This process would have worked better if on-the-day registrants had a separate queue - it would have allowed the pre-registered people to collect their numbers a little more swiftly.

There are two sets of toilets available for use in Shorne Woods; the first are at the visitor centre / cafe building and the second are in the kiosk building. Unfortunately the toilets at the cafe stopped working shortly before the start of the race so everyone had to use the smaller facilities at the kiosk, which to be fair wasn't too bad because this was a low-key race with a modest number of runners.

the start [photo: dawn granger]

The start and finish of the race was just a few minutes from the car park, near the children's play area and the lake. A short briefing took place at 9.30am and it was then time to get started. At first the course took in some of the hard-packed easy access paths that are used for Shorne Woods parkrun (to date I've visited the parkrun twice, you can read those posts here and here).

Once this opening section was complete the runners were sent out into the woods themselves, which is one of the reasons I wanted to run this race. I've run and cycled through Shorne Woods in the past and it is a great place to get in some off-road action. It's also a great place to get the legs used to running off-road again in advance of the cross-country season.

about a kilometre from the end [photo: dawn granger]

It's going to be impossible to describe each and every detail of the course, but we were mostly running on dirt paths which were soft but not muddy as it had been fairly dry in the weeks leading up to the race. They twisted and turned all over the woods and featured plenty of climbs and descents, uneven terrain and tree roots. I had a few hairy moments were I almost lost my footing on uneven ground, but that's what trail races are all about.

The route itself had been marked out very well with arrows and plenty of taping, plus there were just about the right amount of marshals dotted around. There was also a fantastic photographer capturing the event and she has kindly allowed me to use some of her photos on the blog, so a big thanks to Dawn Granger for that.

a few snaps on the course [photos: 7t]

As for my race, I started towards the front of the field and mingled into the pack until it started to naturally thin out. A couple of faster runners shot off way into the distance and I didn't see them again until the end. After about a mile I moved up into third position and spent the next few miles thoroughly enjoying everything that the woods threw at me.

At just over halfway through I could sense that someone was gaining on me, but I kept pushing and managed to stay a few steps in front. Within the last mile I started to develop a stitch which I could feel impacting on my pace. On a hill with about 400 metres left to go I finally could not hold on any longer and slipped back into fourth position.

just a couple of hundred metres to go [photo: dawn granger]

At the time I hadn't realised exactly how close we were to the end and I had hoped I might have enough time to fight to regain the place once we were back on flat ground, but as I turned the corner at the top of the hill I recognised the lake and knew that we were already at the finish. It was a good battle but it's never nice to be on the losing side!

The official results have been published online and I finished in 4th place overall in a time of 36.18. My GPS file of the course is on Strava and can be found via the following link: Shorne Woods 5 2016

a bit blurry, but it'll do [photo: 7t]

What can I say about the race? The course was brilliant and it was really well marked out so credit must go to the organisers (largely made up of the core team from Shorne Woods parkrun) for getting this spot on. Given that this race had no chip timing, no post-race freebies (there was a post-race massage tent but I'm not sure if this was free) and a fairly standard generic finishers' medal I'd say that it was a tad overpriced.

I know that the money is going to a good place but I think runners would generally expect chip timing and at least a banana and a bottle of water at the end for £15. Plus it'd be nice to have the results recorded online in a place that felt a bit more permanent than the uploaded spreadsheet document. I'm sure the details will be looked at and if the race returns in 2017 I'd like to be on the start line again because it really is a fantastic race through the woods.

Hastings parkrun

I've been reading about the seaside town of Hastings, East Sussex, and its history is so rich and varied that I really wasn't sure where to start with this blog post. Hastings is of course best known for one of the most famous battles in English history. However the first mention of the town is from the 8th century when 'Hastingas' meaning 'the constituency/followers of Hæsta' is mentioned.

Through the years the town has been linked with smuggling and you can visit the caves that were used. The town was, for centuries, a very important fishing port - in fact Hastings still has the largest beach-based fishing fleet in Europe. Fossils, including dinosaur bones and footprints are regularly found at the far eastern end of the town. Hastings Castle was Britain's first-ever Norman Castle and can also be visited.

hastings

There's tonnes more to learn about and do in Hastings, but this blog is about running so I'll move onto that now. We had come down to St. Leonards, which is an area to the west of central Hastings to take part in the 74th running of Hastings parkrun. The event had its inaugural event on 18 April 2015 and has been attracting around 150 participants per week (143.7 average at the time of my visit).

The parkrun takes place along the seafront and upon arrival we parked on Sea Road in one of the free parking spaces right next to the start/finish area, which is opposite Grosvenor Gardens (or West Marina Gardens according to the signage onsite). I was expecting these spaces to be fairly empty when we arrived, but being free-of-charge obviously makes them popular and there were only a couple of spaces remaining. There are other side roads close-by that allow free parking, but if they are also all full then there is always the option of the pay-and-display car park which is located about 800 metres to the east.

pre-run briefing and meeting another tourist

If travelling by train it is best to head for West St. Leonards station which is the closest to the parkrun start area [500m]. St. Leonards Warrior Square is the next closest [2km], and finally there is Hastings station [3.5km]. Anyone travelling by bicycle would probably find the most convenient place to secure their bike is to the railings on the promenade, but there are a few official cycle racks dotted around along the prom.

There are public toilets available for use at the eastern end of Grosvenor Gardens / West Marina Gardens but the opening times vary depending on time of the year. From 1 April to 16 October they open at 7am, but from 17 October to 31 March their opening time is set at 9am which means that it's worth planning a pit-stop elsewhere if you're visiting over the winter.

the parkrun stone feeling rather at home i imagine

The first-timers briefing takes place at about 8.45am and this is followed by the full briefing just before 9am. They are held at the shelter opposite the most westerly part of Grosvenor Gardens / West Marina Gardens. I was a little disappointed to hear so many people chatting during the main briefing - it happens at quite a lot of venues and I don't understand how they don't realise how disrespectful they are being to the run director and the other parkrunners.

The event itself starts right next to the shelter and I couldn't write this blog without giving a special mention to the Hastings parkrun start sign which in infamous for the added bits of pen-written text. At first 'parkrun' was written in as 'Park Run', but this has now been covered with some paper and the corrected 'parkrun' has been added. I love it when venues have something quirky to get excited about.

and it begins

The course is a 100% tarmac/concrete out-and-back route along the seafront promenade. It is flat apart from the ramps that transfer the parkrunners between the upper and lower decks of the prom and it's absolutely fine for a spot of buggy running. I wore my New Balance Zante V2 road shoes for this run and there is no way you'd ever need anything else other than standard road shoes here.

After heading off from the start point with the sea on their right, the participants head east along the promenade. The upper path of the promenade features a cycling path which seems to be well used so it is vital that attention is paid to cyclists approaching in both directions and to other users of the walkway. At almost the exact point the course reaches the first kilometre point, the parkrunners head down a ramp and onto the lower promenade.

lower path and bottle alley

Eventually the course passes through the approx-700-metre-long Bottle Alley, which is the covered section of the lower promenade (gps devices may become confused in here). The back wall of this alley is made of 320 concrete slabs decorated with 15 tonnes of broken glass bottle segments hence the name 'Bottle Alley'. Upon exiting the alley there is a short, sharp slope back up to the upper level of the promenade.

The parkrunners head past Hastings Pier, which has had a troubled time in recent history. It received major storm damage in 1990, then had a series of partial closures resulting in a full closure in 2008. In 2010 a fire destroyed 95% of its superstructure, but somehow despite all its woes it has been reconstructed and re-opened to the public in April 2016.

halfway and the way back on the upper level

The 2.5km turnaround point is located about 200 metres after the pier outside The Source Park, which is an underground skatepark built in an old victorian turkish bath building - It opened to the public in February 2016 and I wish I had realised what it was when I was there because I would have loved to have popped in for a nose around. A marshal is posted here and gives out halfway times to the participants as they navigate around the turnaround cone. The parkrunners stay on the upper promenade for the return leg and at around 3.3km pass Warrior Square which features a statue of Queen Victoria which was erected in 1902.

Further on the route passes the grade II listed art deco building that is Marine Court. The building, and specifically the eastern end was designed to imitate the curved bridge of the Cunard White-Star Line (RMS Queen Mary) ocean liner. The parkrunners then go past the Azur restaurant and down a little ramp which leads into the final kilometre of the run back along the opening stretch, but in the opposite direction until reaching the finish line [event 74 results here]. You can see my GPS trace of the course here on Strava, but the line of the course isn't 100% accurate. A certain part of this was caused by the undercover section where I lost signal.

the way back past marine court and into the last kilometre

Being a seafront course it is quite exposed to the weather. I took part here at the end of the summer so the temperature was still ok, but there was quite a strong wind blowing. This was fine on the 'out' leg where we had a tailwind, but the headwind on the return leg was really hard work and that final kilometre was probably the most painful section of a flat 5km run I have ever done; I was making so many involuntary sounds and I had a pain inside my body that was so intense that I could still feel it 15 minutes after the parkrun had finished.

It's worth noting that the Sussex coastline suffers from something called Longshore Drift which is the movement of beach materials along the coastline. In Hastings this can result in the lower promenade becoming covered in shingle. When this happens the parkrun has a backup route which stays on the upper promenade at all times.

finish

Once all of the parkrunners, parkwalkers and tail walkers have finished, the team head across the road to the Bo Peep pub which opens early to accommodate the parkrunners. We didn't manage to make it to the pub as we had decided to hang out on the beach playing chicken with the incoming tide. Once our feet were thoroughly soaked through we got changed and then had our packed lunch on the grass over in Grosvenor Gardens / West Marina Gardens (I still don't know what the correct name is) which was very pleasant. A big thank you goes to all of the volunteers that helped to put the event on.

Related Links:

My GPS data of the standard course (2016)

The Relive Course Fly-by Video (2016)

The Sussex parkrun Venues (blog7t page)