Sunday, 30 October 2016

Kent Fitness League 2016/17: Knole Park

I've done a few training runs and races in Knole Park over the last few years, but this was the first time I had been in a position to run the Kent Fitness League cross country race here. I won't waste any time talking about the history of the building or the park as I have covered these details in previous posts:
After missing almost all of the previous season's races, I was fired up and ready to go by the time this race came around. I parked the car in the Sevenoaks Leisure centre car park (free-of-charge on Sundays), popped in to use the facilities, and headed into the grounds of the Knole Estate, which covers 1000 acres of beautiful parkland. It's stunning setting for a race and at this time of year the trees and foliage are looking great as their autumnal colours are starting to emerge.

knole park

The weather had been dry and fairly mild for the time of year so the ground underfoot was actually pretty firm and the course itself has a long section on a stony path, so I had brought my trail shoes with me rather than my spikes.

I met up with my Dartford Harrier team mates and the chat instantly turned to shoe choice. We had all sorts being used. I had already decided to wear my light trail shoes as I had come to the conclusion that as we had had barely any rain in the last month that the course would be dry enough for them. Plenty of other runners had gone for spikes - if the weather had been wetter I would probably have chosen spikes as well.

I soon set off for a warm up jog up to Knole House to find a toilet, and then back along The Gallops which is the valley that runs north-south along the western side of the park. 11 o'clock soon came around and after a quick team photo, the runners assembled for the start of the 2016/17 KFL cross country season.

dartford harriers

The start is at the northern end of The Gallops at the lowest part of the course. The first 300 metres are almost flat, but then the next 2km are all uphill, starting with a steep section that leads up to the level of Knole House. Here the runners run parallel to the wall that surrounds the formal garden. 

This eventually leads the runners onto the perfectly straight, central avenue of the park, Broad Walk. This path is all uphill and is where the gravelly path is found, however any runners that have opted for spikes can take to the wide grass verge on either side of this path.

The end of Broad Walk marks the end of the long uphill climb and after a curve at the southern tip of the park, the runners head down a very steep slope into The Gallops where they head north for about 400 metres before heading off to the left to go through a wooded section which lasts for about 600 metres.

around the course - the gallops and the short, sharp incline

Dropping back down into The Gallops, the runners soon rejoin the uphill section to start a second lap of the main loop. At the end of the second lap, the runners head back towards the start area which is now the finish.

My race: I lined up quite close the the front, but wasn't aggressive enough with my start and before I knew it I was trotting along at fairly sedate pace behind the hoards of runners that had streamed past me in the first 50 metres. By the time I reached the first short, sharp incline, I knew what a huge mistake I had made and had to now try to recover as many positions as possible.

I made good progress along Broad Walk where I made up quite a few places. Then as we went through the single track wooded section, I got caught behind some more runners that were slowing and had no choice but to wait until we rejoined the wider path in order to move in front.

around the course - section near the house

The second lap was much less congested, but the damage had been done. I continued to make up places during the second lap, but suffered a stitch during the last 2 kilometres, which I pushed really hard to get through. As I entered the final 400 metres I glanced to my left and saw some runners coming out of the woods at a different point to me. It turns out that a whole bunch had taken a wrong turning in the woods and added an extra half-mile to their races.

In the last 200 metres, I got involved in a crazy sprint finish with another runner, but it turns out that we unleashed our inner Bolts way too early. We both kept pushing really hard and as I crossed the finished line I was convinced that I was going to see my breakfast again. Luckily, I didn't. I recorded the route on Strava so if you're interested in that, you can find it here: Strava - KFL Knole Park 2016

I picked up my raffle ticket and saw that I finished in 100th position out of 561 which initially I was fairly happy with as my goal before the race was to finish in the top 100. However after thinking about my poor start and seeing how much difference even 20-30 seconds would have made to my finishing position, I became a little disappointed with my performance. Another runner I know, who I would have expected to have been very close to, finished almost 50 seconds ahead of me. That's what happens when you start poorly in a cross country race.

around the course - finish approach

Disappointment aside, I really had enjoyed the race. I've always known that cross-country races have very aggressive starts and I know how important it is to get a decent position early on, but somehow I managed to forget this detail whilst waiting for the race to start. I'm making a mental note for the rest of the season.

The amount of runners at this race was unprecedented and it looks like it has not only surpassed the previous highest attendance at this venue by more than 100, but it also became the highest attended race in the history of the Kent Fitness League, beating the previous record by 24. Usually the most popular event is at Swanley Park, so it's possible that we could see another attendance record in a few weeks time.

the finish area

The official results are now online, here: KFL - Knole Park 2016. I finished in an official time of 39.25 in position 100 overall. My gender position was 95th out of 371 and that gave me a rating/score of 74.66. The rating is based on the percentage of the field that a runner finishes ahead of - so I finished ahead of roughly three-quarters of the male runners and ahead of over 80% of the entire field, which doesn't seem so bad.

Lastly, the photos in this blog have come from many different sources and I have lost track of who took each one, so a big thank you to everyone that has been kind enough to take and upload the photos.

Link: For details on all of the Kent Fitness League courses please see this post: Kent Fitness League

Posted by at 21:42
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Thursday, 27 October 2016

Kent Fitness League

The Kent Fitness League is a series of seven non-elite cross-country races that take place in Kent each winter. It is open only to runners (first and second claim) that belong to one of the 18 member clubs (see below). The courses are all between 5 and 6 miles in length.

Below you will find some information on each of the venues used for the series, including links to my GPS data and to any blogs that I have written about each race. I have now run at all of the current venues so hopefully there are a few nuggets of information that will come in handy. If there's any info that you're looking for that I haven't covered, please feel free to contact me via Facebook or Twitter.

The map below includes the GPS trace of the course and locations of car parking, café and toilet facilities. If you zoom into the venue that you are interested in, you'll see the pins much clearer.



Where I have listed footwear, this is just a rough guide as I don't have a huge amount of experience at cross country running. However, I have learnt that just because other (more experienced) runners are wearing spikes it doesn't mean that they are always the right choice. Also, a course that spikes were perfect for one year, might not be required the next - it's all about conditions underfoot on the day.

Also the distances are approximate as they are taken from my GPS readings so they may not be 100% accurate.

Website: Kent Fitness League

Knole Park, Sevenoaks

Swanley Park, New Barn Road, Swanley

Oxleas Woods, Eltham / Shooters Hill

Fowlmead, Sholden, Deal (venue has been renamed 'Betteshanger Park')

Nurstead Court, Nurstead, Meopham

Minnis Bay, Birchington

Blean Woods, Rough Common, Canterbury


the eighteen affiliated clubs / colours [image: kent fitness league]
Posted by at 09:43
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Sunday, 23 October 2016

Canons Park parkrun

In the 13th century a vast estate occupied the land which is now the affluent residential London suburb of Canons Park. Its name came from the canons (or monks) of the Augustinian priory that occupied the site at the time. After the dissolution of the monasteries, the estate was sold into private hands.

A modest country house, 'Cannons', was built. When the estate was acquired by James Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos, in 1713 the house was enlarged, the formal gardens created, the grounds landscaped and impressive water features added. The 1st Duke was a patron of the arts and from 1717-1718 George Frideric Handel was the house composer and wrote some if his famous pieces of work here.

canons park [photos: 7t] 2016

The house and grounds at this stage were so beautiful that large crowds of visitors flocked on a daily basis to gaze upon their magnificence (apparently a one-way system had to be put in place to manage the crowds). However, the family's finances were in trouble due the South Sea Bubble, a financial crash in 1720. The 1st Duke passed away in 1744 and the estate passed to his son Henry, 2nd Duke of Chandos. There was very little in the way of liquid assets in his inheritance and in 1747 he held a 12-day demolition sale where the contents and the very structure of the house were sold leaving a ruin.

The next owner of the estate, William Hallett built the current house in around 1760 on the foundations of 'Cannons' and changed the name to the current spelling (just one 'n') 'Canons House'. Over the years, the estate changed hands a number of times during which time 'The Temple' folly was constructed - it once had a glass palm house on the south front but now just the stone folly remains. There was also a period where the estate was under the ownership of William Harvey du Cros (who, along with John Boyd Dunlop, founded the pneumatic tyre industry).

meeting point [photos: 7t] 2024


The gardens were redesigned and over time the estate began to be subdivided and sold off for residential developments. The house and the formal gardens eventually became part of the North London Collegiate School complex which remains to this day. Also, some of the original garden features still exist in and around the adjacent side streets such as the 'Seven Acre Lake' plus the Pond and 300 year old trees which line Canons Drive.

Around eighteen hectares (44 acres) of the original estate were purchased by the local council as demand for recreational facilities grew and 'Canons Park' opened. In the 1930s, the council laid out the George V Memorial Garden within the walls of the original houses' kitchen garden - it is said that Queen Mary (wife of George V) visited the gardens but they were closed, so she departed. The memorial garden is an immaculate, serene space and well worth a visit.

pre-parkrun and start [photos: 7t / dani / official photographer] 2016


The modern day park features a combination of various outcrops of trees and open grass areas and if you look closely, signs of the past like the tree-lined Whitchurch Avenue which ran from the house down to the church. There is also a fair-sized children's playground, tea/coffee hut, and a woodland walk through an area called The Spinney which linked the house to St. Lawrence Church, this was originally a medieval church, but the main body of the original building was rebuilt by the 1st Duke, but its original 13th century tower was retained.

So after that rather long introduction, we should really move on to the point of this blog. On 8 October 2016 the park became home to its very own free, weekly, timed 5 kilometre event called Canons Park parkrun, which is open to all abilities including those who wish to walk. We first visited the venue to take part in event number 3. We travelled to the venue by tube and alighted, unsurprisingly, at Canons Park tube station which is on the Jubilee line. There are no mainline stations within a reasonable walking distance of the park, however the 186 bus which stops outside the park, runs direct from Harrow and Wealdstone train station to the west or from Mill Hill train station to the east. The 79 and 340 buses both also stop outside the park.

the first part of the lap [photos: 7t] 2016


In January 2024 we drove to the venue for our second visit and parked on a side road to the west of the park. The streets here have yellow lines, with the parking restrictions only applying between 2pm and 3pm Monday to Friday. There's an entrance to the park at the north end of Howberry Road and there is an alleyway which passes over the train line and leads directly into the park further to the south. To the east of the park, Canons Drive has some free on-street parking bays. There are also some on-street parking bays on Donnefield Avenue that allow paid-for parking. This road is also the location of the Canons Park tube station car park, but again a fee applies.

The meeting point is in the central northern area of the park, right in front of the cream-coloured folly called 'the Temple'. The front of the folly is slightly covered and provides a nice spot to store jumpers and jackets during the event. Adjacent to this is a small brick building called the 'Bothy'. This building houses the one and only toilet in the park, but please note that the official course page advises that it is not always open (it was not open when we visited in 2024 and a sign on the door said that it is not currently open on weekends). Should a guaranteed toilet be required, there is a 24 hour McDonalds just to the north of the park, in Stanmore which should do the job. If travelling by tube, the TFL website advises that Canons Park station has toilet facilities, so to be on the safe side, use those before leaving the station. There are some bicycle racks next to the outdoor gym which is adjacent to the Bothy and the Temple.

Just before 9am the first timers' and main briefings take place at the Temple and the participants are then led a few metres onto the path near the Bothy to the start line. The start in 2016 was on grass, but on tarmac when we revisited in 2024.

the spinney [photos: 7t] 2016


The course itself is made up of three anti-clockwise laps of the park plus two separate short start/finish tails. The surface underfoot is a split between tarmac paths, a gravelly path through The Spinney and a little bit of grass. Road shoes should generally be fine for this course all year round, however I put on my trail shoes when we visited in 2024 as the park was extremely wet following a continued period of persistent rain. Those wishing to participate with a buggy will be fine here, as will wheelchair users providing the gravel and grass does not present a problem.

It is worth noting that the paths are not terribly wide so filtering through can be tricky at certain points around the course. The rule at this venue is to keep to the left and let others overtake on the right. Marshals can be found at a few key points around the park, plus there is also signage where necessary.

The parkrun starts at 9am and the lap follows the tarmac path running south past the basketball court, the climbing boulder and the playground and then turns left just before the Donnefield Road entrance. Participants then follow the meandering path, which then straightens until reaching the southern end of the park adjacent to Whitchurch Lane.

end of lap [photos: 7t] 2016


Here another left hand turn takes the parkrunners onto the gravelly path which weaves it's way past the church and through the wooded area called 'The Spinney' where evidence of a Roman tile kiln has been discovered. Just after entering this section, watch out for the low hanging branch, especially if you're tall. It was marked with a hi-vis vest when I visited and described as being an extra marshal (I love these quirky extras that some venues have). I hear that there is a lovely display of bluebells here in the spring. This part of the course features a long, very gentle incline until the path reaches the end of the wooded section and turns left to cut through the trees onto a short section of grass (our 2024 visit had a slight diversion at this point to avoid some very slippery mud on the corner).

This feeds the participants back onto the tarmac path which follows the wall of the George V Memorial Garden. At the end of this path, the parkrunners turn left to start their next lap. Once all three laps have been completed, they turn right and head towards and into the finish funnel. Barcode scanning takes place immediately after the finish line.

finish [photos: 7t / official photographer] 2016


On our first visit in 2016, 87 people participated. The results were online about an hour later. I recorded the route with my Garmin and the GPS course data can be found on Strava, here: Strava Canons Park parkrun #3. The Relive course fly-by video, made from that data, can be found on YouTube. Our second visit in January 2024 was at event number 314 where there were 141 participants. I should also note that the start and finish points were in ever-so-slightly different places to where they were in 2016, but the rest of the course was identical (diversion aside). The GPS data and Relive video from our 2024 visit can also be viewed online.

The post-parkrun social would usually take place at the Good Friends Cafe, but with no seating or indoor areas this is probably going to be less popular on the wet and cold days (note: the cafe is closed at present (Jan 2024), but there are plans for it to re-open in the spring of 2024). As of our January 2024 visit, a table with hot drinks was set up at the Temple. Should you require something more substantial, there is a cafe and a bakery within the parade of shops next to Canons Park tube station.

post parkrun [photos: 7t / dani] 2016


For me, event 3 turned out to be quite sociable as I bumped into quite a few familiar faces during the course of the morning. It was also my first face-to-face encounter with the elusive parkrun 500 club shirt (only 6 in existence at time of writing (October 2016)). It was also good to see a fair number of locals taking part who were run-walking or walking. In fact at our first visit here, 10% of the field finished in over 50 minutes. It shows that after only three weeks this event is already seen as inclusive to all abilities, which really is a great position to be in. No doubt this is down to plenty of hard work by parkrun and the local event team. To add a quick update, as of 2024, there are still a fairly decent number of walkers taking part in the event, which is a really great thing to see.

This parkrun has a great community and we chatted to quite a few of the locals, who made us feel like we were part of the family. A huge thanks goes to all the people at Canons Park parkrun, especially the incredible team of volunteers who put the event on.


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Posted by at 19:59
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Sunday, 16 October 2016

Bognor Regis parkrun

Bognor is one of the oldest recorded anglo-saxon names in Sussex and was recorded in 680 AD as Bucgan Ora (meaning: Bucge's shore or landing place). For centuries it was a small fishing town which, like many other south coast towns also had a reputation for smuggling. In the 18th century Bognor became an attractive home for wealthy Georgians, who came in small numbers and built large houses. One of these wealthy people was Sir Richard Hotham who purchased 1,600 acres of land and began developing Bognor, which was essentially a tiny hamlet, into a town. This included the building of his mansion 'Chapel House' which later became 'Bersted Lodge' then 'Aldwick Manor' and then 'Hotham Lodge'. It is now known as 'Hotham Park House' and has been developed into luxury flats.

In 1929, King George V was ill and was advised to spend some time by the sea. He resided for some time in the hamlet of Aldwick, just to the West of Bognor. This led to Bognor attaining the royal suffix 'Regis'. The 22 acre grounds of Hotham Park House were landscaped with the assistance of Kew Gardens, which included the planting of many trees, shrubs and exotic plants, during the early 20th century. After the second world war, the grounds of the house were purchased by Arun District Council and turned into a public park.

bognor regis / hotham park

As of 24 May 2014 , 'Hotham Park' became the home of Bognor Regis parkrun. We visited this venue on 15 October 2016 where I took part in event number 123. We made our way down to Bognor Regis on the morning of the event and parked in the small car park in the north-east corner of the park. At the time of our visit in 2016, the parking charges were 60p for an hour, £1.20 for up to 2 hours, or £2.40 for over 2 hours (we paid the full amount and stayed all day). The parking charges vary depending on time of year [summer/winter] so please check the council's webpage for up to date information. As of 2025 the prices have increased, but it is now possible to pay for parking via RingGo or Mipermit.

As the car park is pretty small it's worth noting that there is another car park, the London Road Car Park - this is adjacent to the west side of the park - it's a little more expensive, but has more spaces. Bicycle users should head straight to the parkrun meeting point where there are some racks and fences to secure their bikes to. 

and we're off..

The nearest train station is Bognor Regis railway station and it's just a short walk to the park from here. It is served by Southern Trains running on the Bognor Branch of the West Coastway Line which runs between London Victoria and Bognor Regis (terminus). A few buses stop close to the venue and these include the 63, 67, 69 and the 700 Coastliner.

Should an overnight stay be required, Bognor Regis is of course a popular seaside resort so has plenty of hotels, B&B's and hostels. The closest Premier Inn is located just outside the town so would require a short journey on the morning of the event. It's also worth noting that Bognor is home is home to a Butlins, and it is conveniently located just across the road from the park. 


around the course

Toilet facilities are well covered - there is one block next to 'Hotham Park House', there's a second set over in the London Road car park, and lastly there are more toilets in the cafe. Although I'd imagine that these should only be used post-run by customers. 

The park itself is lovely. It is quite compact and features a network of meandering paths. It looks as if most of the landscaping has been retained - in a way it's more like a big garden. There are no significant open grass areas to be found and no sports facilities. It does, however, have a miniature railway, two children's playgrounds, a boating lake (pond), a bandstand, a putting green, and a few conservation areas.

around the course

The meeting point for the parkrun is on the path next to the boating lake, which is also in the shadow of the Hotham Park House clock tower, which was part of the original chapel that was demolished during the 19th century. The event itself takes place over four, clockwise laps of the park, with the first lap being slightly different to the following three. Underfoot is all tarmac so road shoes are the order of the day come rain or shine.

The entire route is flat and very twisty - the full lap of the park contains eighteen bends and I'd say six of these are tight enough to cause a reduction in pace. As mentioned above, the first lap is a little shorter than the rest and comes in at about 700 metres in length while the main loop (run three times) is just over 1.4km, this main lap also features a short section that is run along an alleyway just outside the western border of the park.

around the course

It's worth noting that the final section of each lap is also an access road for residents of the flats in Hotham Park House, so there is the possibility of interaction with a vehicle. The course also passes over the train track a couple of times on each lap, but as the train doesn't start running until late morning, there's no risk of a clash.

With this course being four laps, it's not long before the front runners catch up with the back of the pack so wherever you are in the field you will find that you will lap someone, be lapped or even both. The other thing to note is that the paths are mostly quite narrow so filtering through can be a little tricky as the laps progress, especially as this venue attracts almost 200 participants every week. Update: As of 2025 the event attracts over 300 per week.

the finish

Once I had finished and had my barcode scanned (unusually, this happened in the finish funnel itself), I went off for a cool down and to thank/chat to some of the marshals I had spotted around the course. One of them, Derek, has his own permanent marshalling spot and as we chatted, I noticed that all of the runners seemed to know him by name and thanked him as they passed or left to go home.

As we had had a pretty long drive, we decided that some refreshments were in order so we popped into the Hotham Park Cafe for breakfast and a coffee. The building has only recently been built (opened in July 2015) and it offers a lovely spot to relax after a the run. We followed this up with a ride on the 12 1/4 inch miniature railway - we sat in the carriage named 'Pickle' and were taken around by the engine 'Boris' - he got his name from some of the letters contained within the town's name 'BOgnor RegIS'.

post-event

The results were online a couple of hours later and there were 185 participants at event 123. I had recorded the course using Strava and if you would like to see the course in more detail, feel free to have a look at my data: Bognor Regis parkrun. When it comes to cancellations, being a tarmac course means that ice is problematic plus the park has lots of trees so stormy weather can also result in a last-minute cancellation. The park does sometimes host other events, so keep an eye out for pre-planned cancellations by checking the event's webpage, social media or the main parkrun UK cancellations page. If Hotham Park is not available, the run has, in the past, taken place at King George V Playing Field, Felpham, but the last instance of this being announced on the event's social media that I can find was back in 2018,

After spending a few hours down at the seafront (only five minutes from the park), we decided to head home. We'd had a great day out at Bognor Regis so were pleased that we'd made the effort to get up and out so early in the morning to travel down. As for the parkrun, if you like twisty courses around pretty parks you simply have to get down here. A huge thank you to all of the volunteers!


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Posted by at 21:44
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Saturday, 1 October 2016

Worthing parkrun

Worthing is a large seaside town in West Sussex. Its name means "(place of) Worth/Weorð/Worō's people" and over the years has been recorded as Weoroingas, Ordinges (1086), Wuroininege (1183), Wurdingg (1218), Wording or Wurthing (1240), Worthinges (1288) and Wyrthyng (1397). Worthen was used as late as 1720.

It was a small fishing hamlet for many centuries until it developed into a fashionable Georgian seaside resort during the 18th century and was popular with the well-known and wealthy people of the time. The growth continued and Worthing is now also a borough with 9 districts.

Its coat of arms contains three silver mackerel, a horn of plenty overflowing with corn and fruit on a cloth of gold, and the figure of a woman (most likely Hygieia, the Greek God of Health) holding a snake. The town's motto is 'Ex terra copiam e mari salutem' (Latin), which translates into 'From the land plenty and from the sea health'.


We travelled to 'Sunny Worthing' (as the town is known) to take part in Worthing parkrun, which had its inaugural run on 11 June 2016 and since then has consistently attracted over 200 runners - the official average number of runners per week at the time of our visit was 245.3. The course is an all-tarmac (finish line on grass) out-and-back and is totally flat. Please note that the promenade is a shared-use space with cyclists, so try to stay aware of any bikes approaching and don't make any sudden sideways maneuvers without having a quick look over your shoulder.

There is a note on the venue's page that there is the risk of cancellation if the stones from the beach are washed onto the path during inclement weather, so keep this in mind. It's also worth mentioning that the Worthing Festival takes place during the last two weeks of July and this could lead to cancellations, so be sure to check before making plans to visit.


We drove into the town using the A259 Brighton Road and had to find somewhere to park. There were a few options - the closest are the Beach House East and Beach House West car parks which can be accessed from the main road just next to the Splashpoint Leisure Centre. In the end we found a spot on the seafront right next to the parkrun start area and fed the machine with enough change to cover us for three hours which cost 20p per 12 minutes (£1 per hour).

I have a parking tip for you! If you arrive early enough and fancy a warm-up jog before the run - drive along the seafront for about 1 mile (to the west) and park for free in one of the roadside spaces next to the seafront - we considered this option, but as my daughter had decided that this would be a buggy running day coupled with the nasty rain clouds that were rapidly approaching, I decided that we needed to park closer to the finish so we could easily grab a change of clothes and towel post-run (my best decision of the day, I think). No 'Sunny Worthing' for us today!


If you travel to Worthing by train, you have the choice of alighting at Worthing Station or East Worthing Station. The main Worthing Station is a little closer but there's not much in it. There is also a West Worthing Station but this is further away from the start/finish areas. If you travel by train watch out that you don't run into a knucker (a kind of water dragon) during your walk to the beach - folklore says that a Knuckerhole (a very deep or bottomless pond) exists (or existed) not far from East Worthing railway station.

Cyclists in the town are catered for by the dedicated cycle lanes which run along the seafront, so travelling by bicycle is a real option for many. There are a few different options for securing a bike - there are loads of racks outside the main entrance to the Splashpoint Leisure Centre, there are also more cycle racks on the promenade at the Splash Point (see below for more info) and finally there are some outside the post-run coffee venue 'Coast Cafe des Artistes'.


Toilets can be found along the promenade and the official course page suggests the Pavilion (next to the pier) or the Lido (a bit further along) as the closest toilets to the start of the run. I couldn't find the ones at the Pavillion but did find some at the Lido which worked out fine, but note that they are about 700 metres from the pre-run meeting point so leave enough time to get there and back. I read something on the promenade that suggested that the leisure centre may have some, but didn't pop in to verify this - also as these are not suggested on the main Worthing parkrun page, it may worth avoiding them.

The pre-run meeting point is on the promenade in front of the listed Beach House Mansion (the large bright white building) and the run starts just to the west of the Splash Point - This fairly recent addition to Worthing's promenade features a grove of Tamarisk trees, engraved slate boulders and a water feature. From this point, the runners head to the west along Marine Parade for the 'out' part of their five kilometre Saturday morning run. On the day we visited, the dark clouds had now reached Worthing and the day's 182 runners headed off into a delightfully miserable, rainy headwind.


After 300 metres the runners pass the grade II listed Worthing Pier which was originally built in 1862 and remodelled in 1935 after being partly destroyed by a fire in 1933. It was used on the album cover of Indie band Gene's compilation album 'To See The Lights'. In 2006 it won The National Piers Society's 'Pier of the Year' award. It has also been used since 2008 for the Worthing Birdman competition, however the 2016 event was cancelled and it looks like it may not return.

Further on, the runners pass the Lido - this started out as a bandstand and as the popularity of band music declined, it was turned into an unheated, open air swimming pool. The swimming pool was eventually built over in 1989/90 but retained its name when it became a Family Entertainment Centre. By this point of the run I couldn't actually see anything as my glasses were covered in rainwater so I spent the rest of the run peering over the top of them.


We continued along the promenade, past the Canadian Memorial Stone and flag which honours the Canadian men and women that were stationed in West Sussex and Worthing during WW1 and WW2. There are all sorts of exotic looking palm trees towards the western end of promenade and before I knew it, we had reached the turnaround point which was marshalled and marked with a cone.

Heading back with the wind giving us a nice little push was much more pleasant than the outgoing section had been, but we were already soaked from head to toe and were both looking forward to drying off. During our return journey I managed to spot the Dome Cinema (another listed building) which is one of the oldest working cinemas in the UK. It was constructed by Carl Adolf Seebold (Swiss) in 1910 and opened in 1911. It was originally called 'Kursaal' (in German it's a public building in a health resort, where entertainment is provided) but with the start of WW1, the locals became increasingly anti-German, so a competition was held in 1915 to find a new name.

I've mentioned that this course is an out-and-back, but the finish is not in the same place as the start. So when returning we ran straight past the start line, across the Splash Point, past the post-run cafe and the artist's huts, and were then directed into the grounds of the Beach House where we followed a curved path around to the finish line on the grass.


We were given our finishing token and headed straight over to get it scanned. By this point, the rain had eased off a little, however the dry period didn't last for long so we hurried back over to the car to dry-off and change clothes. We returned about half-and-hour later to have some coffee and breakfast in 'Coast Cafe des Artistes' which was delightful. Behind the cafe, there is a children's playground and the Worthing Sand Courts which can be booked for beach volleyball, beach soccer (football?) or beach tennis (and more).

The results for event 16 were processed a few hours later and despite a very slow start from the back of the field we were pleased with our efforts for the morning. If you'd like to see the course in more detail please head over to Strava and have a look at my GPS data from the run, here: Strava: Worthing parkrun 16. It's a very fast course and could be one for a pb attempt providing you can avoid the wind which seafront venues tend to suffer from. We left feeling happy that we had visited Worthing and the wife says that we should go back, but just maybe when the weather is a little better.


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