The Bedfordshire parkrun venues

The historic county of Bedfordshire is made up of the unitary authorities of Bedford Borough Council, Central Bedfordshire Council, and Luton Borough Council.

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





Bedford parkrun - Bedford Park, Park Avenue, Bedford, Bedfordshire
Course: Two and a half laps
Underfoot: Tarmac
Profile: Flat
Notes: Fast and flat course - good for a pb attempt
Further reading: My Bedford parkrun blog post

Dunstable Downs parkrun - Dunstable Downs, Whipsnade, Dunstable, Bedfordshire
Course: One lap
Underfoot: Grass and trails
Profile: Undulating
Notes: Dogs not permitted at the event. Contact team for advice re buggies (from official page)
Further reading: My Dunstable Downs parkrun blog post

Great Denham parkrun - Queen Eleanor Driver, Great Denham, Bedford, Bedfordshire
Course: Two anti-clockwise laps
Underfoot: compact sand/gravel and tarmac
Profile: Flat
Notes: A pavilion with toilets is being built, but as of June 2018 there are none
Further reading: My Great Denham parkrun blog post

Henlow Bridge Lakes - Henlow Bridge Lakes, Bridge End Road, Henlow, Bedfordshire

Course: Two and a half laps

Underfoot: Dirt, grass, wood-chip

Profile: Flat

Notes: 

Further reading: My Henlow Bridge Lakes parkrun write-up from June 2024

Houghton Hall parkrun - Houghton Hall Park, Houghton Regis, Dunstable, Bedfordshire
Course: A short half-lap round to the finish point, followed by two full laps from the finish point
Underfoot: Hard standing paths, even through the wooded sections.
Profile: Flat
Notes: Fast and flat - quite twisty in places.
Further reading: My Houghton Hall parkrun blog post


Luton Wardown parkrun - Wardown Park, Old Bedford Road, Luton, Bedfordshire
Course: Three and a bit laps
Underfoot: Mostly tarmac but with a short section on grass (run four times)
Profile: mostly flat with a short incline at the northern end of the course
Notes: PB Bell!
Further reading: My Luton Wardown parkrun blog post


Millennium Country parkrun - Forest of Marston Vale, Millennium Country Park, Marston Moretaine
Course: Out and back
Underfoot:
Profile: Flat
Notes: No dogs permitted at this event
Further reading: not yet visited

Rushmere parkrun - Rushmere Country Park, nr Leighton Buzzard
Course: 2 laps
Underfoot: Forest trails
Profile: Undulating / hilly
Notes: PB gong! (Official address listed as Bedfordshire, but the entire course is in Buckinghamshire - parkrun have this event listed in the South East England region which would suggest it is in Buckinghamshire as Bedfordshire is in the East of England)
Further Reading: My Rushmere parkrun blog post

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.

 

The Suffolk parkrun venues

The county of Suffolk.

The pins on the map mark the locations of the parkruns within the county. The green pins show the venues I have officially visited while the red pins are venues I still need to visit. The map below covers 5k events only, not junior parkruns or those not open to the public (prisons).





Alton Water - Alton Water, Stutton, Suffolk

Course: Two laps (plus finish tail)

Underfoot: Gravel, stony paths, dirt paths, grass, tarmac.

Profile: Very gently undulating

Notes: Very peaceful. Has Highland Cows.

Further reading: My Alton Water parkrun blog post

Brandon Country Park - Brandon Country Park, Bury Road, Brandon, Suffolk
Course: One-and-three-quarter laps
Underfoot: Forest trails / dirt paths / sandy paths
Profile: Long gentle incline and decline
Notes: Look out for the mausoleum in the forest
Further reading: My Brandon Country Park parkrun write-up 2023


Bury St Edmunds - Nowton Park, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk
Course: Two laps
Underfoot: grass / dirt etc tbc
Profile: sounds like there is a hill (tbc)
Notes:
Further reading: not yet visited


Chilton Fields - Chiltern Fields, Stowmarket, Suffolk

Course: Three laps

Underfoot: Mixed terrain

Profile:

Notes: No dogs permitted at the venue

Further reading: not yet visited


Clare Castle - Clare Castle Country Park, Clare, Nr. Sudbury, Suffolk
Course: 3 laps
Underfoot: Paths, generally firm. A little muddy in winter.
Profile: Flat
Notes: Some paths are very narrow
Further reading: My Clare Castle parkrun blog post


Felixstowe - Promenade, Felixstowe, Suffolk
Course: Two different out-and-backs along the seafront
Underfoot: tarmac
Profile: Flat
Notes:
Further reading: My Felixstowe parkrun write-up from 2023


Great Cornard - Great Cornard Sports Centre, Great Cornard, Sudbury, Suffolk
Course: 2 small / 2 large laps
Underfoot: Mostly grass, but also some tarmac
Profile: Flat
Notes:
Further reading: My Great Cornard parkrun blog post

Harlestone Magpies - Harlestone Magpies Hockey Club, Diss, Suffolk

Course: 3 laps

Underfoot: Grass

Profile:

Notes:

Further reading: not visited


Haverhill - Puddlebrook Playing Fields, Haverhill, Suffolk
Course: 2 small laps, three larger laps, 1 small lap
Underfoot: Looks like mostly grass (tbc)
Profile: tbc
Notes: Limited facilities / No on-site toilets / No public transport (tbc) [starts 10 March]
Further reading: Not yet visited


Ipswich - Chantry Park, Ipswich, Suffolk
Course: One lap
Underfoot: Mostly grass/dirt but also some tarmac/gravelly paths
Profile: gently undulating
Notes: Very enjoyable course. Venue changes to Christchurch Park in the winter.
Further reading: My Ipswich parkrun (Chantry Park) blog post


Kesgrave - Millennium Jubilee Hall, Millennium Field, Kesgrave, Ipswich, Suffolk
Course: Two small loops followed by a long out and back
Underfoot: Grass
Profile:
Notes:
Further reading: not yet visited


Lowestoft - Lowestoft Promenade, Lowestoft, Suffolk
Course: 1 and 3/4 laps
Underfoot: Tarmac, concrete, and gravel
Profile: Flat but with an uphill slope which is run twice (tbc)
Notes:
Further reading: not yet visited


Rendlesham Forest - Rendlesham Forest Centre, Tangham, Woodbridge,

Course: 1 lap(ish)

Underfoot: Mixed terrain

Profile: Mostly flat - 1 gentle incline

Notes: May be unsuitable for some buggy runners - speak to team before visiting

Further reading: My Rendlesham Forest parkrun blog post


Sizewell - Beach Car Park, Sizewell, Leiston, Suffolk
Course: One lap / Out and back with a loop at the far end
Underfoot: Sandy grassland tracks
Profile: Generally flat but does have some gentle undulations
Notes: Takes place in front of the Sizewell Nuclear Power Stations
Further reading: My Sizewell parkrun blog post


Thomas Mills - Thomas Mills High School, Framlingham, Suffolk
Course: Two laps
Underfoot: Grass
Profile: tbc
Notes:
Further reading: not yet visited

Thornham Walks - Thornham Magna, Eye, Suffolk

Course: Two laps

Underfoot: Mixed terrain

Profile:

Notes:

Further reading: not visited

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.

 

Ipswich parkrun (Chantry Park)

The county town of Suffolk, Ipswich has been continuously occupied since Anglo-Saxon times, and lays claim to being the oldest English town (ie founded by the English rather than Romans etc..). The current population of the town is currently around 135,000 with the outlying areas taking that total up to somewhere in the region of 180,000.

The town's name comes from the medieval name Gippeswic, but has also been known as Gyppewicus and Yppswyche. Famous historic people associated with the town are Thomas Gainsborough, Charles Dickens, Lord Nelson, and Thomas Wolsey. World cup winning England manager Alf Ramsey was manager of Ipswich Town FC and has a statue outside the football ground, I hear he is also buried in the town.

chantry park

To the west of the town centre lies the town's largest public park, Chantry Park. It is set in the former private grounds of Chantry Mansion which had its first incarnation built in 1668. Over the years the mansion has been enlarged and is now a grade II listed building. It is currently leased by the Sue Ryder Foundation as a home for people with complex neurological needs.

The grounds, which are grade II listed on the English Heritage Register of parks and gardens, are laid out in an Italianate style. They cover 124 acres and contain a mix of formal planting around the mansion, a cricket field, and grassy meadows. The mansion and grounds were saved from private development and came into public ownership in 1927. The park was formally opened in 1928 by Princess Mary, Viscountess Lascelles. In 2005 the park was designated a conservation area.

start

On the 8th of September 2012, the park became home to Ipswich parkrun. I drove to the venue with my friend Richey on 28 October 2017 and parked in one of the on-site public car parks, adjacent to the mansion house. Had we travelled by train, we would have alighted at Ipswich train station and walked the kilometre or so to the park.

Once in the park, participants head towards the Ipswich and East Suffolk Cricket Club pavilion near the southern tip of the park, where they will find tea and coffee facilities, toilets and an extremely warm welcome. Attendances have steadily grown since the inaugural event, and as of October 2017 you should expect to find around 300 participants here.

early lap and eastern half of the park

A first-timers briefing was held outside the pavilion, and this was followed by a walk to the opposite side of the cricket pitch where we all congregated on the start line. A full briefing was held here and we were then sent on our way around, what is essentially a single lap, anti-clockwise, 5k course. Underfoot is mostly grass and/or dirt paths on gently undulating terrain.

The course itself is quite difficult to describe in detail after just one visit, as it weaves all around the wonderfully picturesque park. It's not easy to figure it out the exact route from the official course page, so I'd recommend having a look at a GPS trace of the course if you want to try to get your head around it before visiting.

near the mansion

However, I will give a brief run through of the course as I remember it. It starts with a loop around the cricket field which is smooth underfoot and has ample space for people to slot into their desired place within the field of runners.

After a full loop, the course breaks off and follows the park's southern border to the east where underfoot gets a little less smooth and the path narrows a little. After crossing the main central tarmac path, the route continues to weave around the grassy meadows in the eastern half of the park, gradually making its way into the north-east corner which is the lowest point of the course.

around the central-western meadow area

The route then generally starts to meander and weave its way back towards the central part of the park and then switches to tarmac/gravel paths where it heads along an avenue of trees and directly past the south face of the mansion. It then returns to grassy meadows, this time in the central/western area of the park. At 4-and-a-smidgen kilometres, the course passes the cricket pavilion via a short, sharp incline.

With a kilometre left to go, the course has one large loop left which features some more tarmac and another trip along an avenue of trees. Finally it's back onto the cricket pitch for the final stretch and the finish line is found right outside the doors of the pavilion. Barcode scanning took place inside the pavilion and had I not shot straight off to take some photos around the course, I would have enjoyed a nice cup of tea.

during the last kilometre

I really, really enjoyed running this course. It's off-road and goes all over the place, which is just the kind of thing I like. It has enough undulations to keep things interesting, but not so many that it becomes a chore to run. As we visited during the early autumn we were lucky enough to see the park just as its autumnal colours were coming through, which helped to show off its stunning scenery to its fullest.

The results for the 306 participants were processed and online later that morning - I received my results text while having a quick drink and pastry on the way home. I recorded the run using my Garmin and used to Relive app to create a course flyby video - the links to these are at the bottom of the page.

finish / inside the pavilion

Lastly, before I sign off. While Chantry Park is the main venue for this parkrun, over the winter the course can get saturated and potentially dangerous to run on. So the event moves a couple of kilometres to the east and is held in Christchurch Park (approx Jan-Apr, but I'd imagine that can vary), so if you're running at that time of the year, it's definitely worth checking before you leave home. Of course, if I make it over to Christchurch Park I will write a blog about that venue too.


Links:

• Official results for event 268
• My GPS data of the course
• My relive course flyby video
• The Suffolk parkrun venues

Kent Fitness League 2017/18: Knole Park

The 2017/18 Kent Fitness League cross-country season got underway at the stunning Knole Park in Sevenoaks. For details on car parking, toilets and an in-depth course description please have a look at my main Kent Fitness League information page or my blog post from 2016's race.

The run up to the race had been pretty good, topped off with a sub-20 5k at Southwark parkrun just two weeks before the race - this meant I was in roughly the same shape (if not slightly faster) as I was a year earlier. 2017's event saw slightly fewer participants than the record-breaking 2016 event, but there was still a very high turnout of 493 participants.

At the starter's orders we all shot off on our first KFL outing of the year. I had already had a decent warm-up and flowed with the pack as we negotiated the early part of the course. By the time I was nearing the top of the long, gradual incline I could feel my stomach starting to tighten. I held my pace and focussed on my breathing in the hope that I could bring it under control.

It seemed ok until I hit the short, sharp downhill section at the far end of the course. At this point the feeling in my stomach changed to a stitch or possibly a stomach cramp on my left hand side, and it was the worst running pain I've ever had. My pace slowed and runners from behind started to stream past. I shuffled on, maintaining a pace, but it was not much more than what I would run during an easy run.

All the way through the second lap, runners continued to catch and pass me, and there was nothing I could do. The pain was too intense. Then, with about a mile left in the race, another pain which felt more like a traditional stitch appeared on the right hand side. I had no choice but to stop and walk - I strategically picked the incline into the woods to do this so as to lose less time than on the flat.

At the top of the incline I shuffled back into a run and before I knew it, I had completed the last kilometre and crossed finish line. I was handed finish token number 146, which is my worst ever KFL finishing position.

After looking forward to this race for so long, it was a huge disappointment that it panned out how it did. However, I mustn't linger on it and I suppose I should be happy that I finished only about two-and-a-half-minutes slower than in 2016 despite the horrendous race I'd just had.

Links:

• Official results
• My GPS data
• The relive fly-by video of the course

Castle Park parkrun

Please note: The course has changed since my visit. I understand it is run in the opposite direction and may feature a couple of new paths.

In the summer of 2017 it was announced that Hatfield Forest parkrun [venue blog], in Essex, would be closing down. Heartbreaking news to parkrunners near and far to be losing a run in such a special location, however this pristine forest area had served the parkrun community well and it was time for the event to move on. So in September 2017 Hatfield Forest parkrun held its last event. Seven days later, like the mythological phoenix, a new event rose from its ashes.

It is called Castle Park parkrun and takes place in Castle Park and Grange Paddocks which are green spaces in the historic town of Bishop's Stortford. The town is 5.7 miles (by road) or 5 miles (as the phoenix flies) to the west of Hatfield Forest. As well as moving physical location, the event also changes from being an Essex parkrun venue to being a Hertfordshire parkrun venue.

castle park, bishops stortford

Bishops Stortford currently has a population of around 38,000 people and has grown around the River Stort. Known in Saxon times as Steort-ford (the ford at the tongue of the land), the town actually gave its name to the river when 16th century cartographers assumed that Stortford must have been named after it. The Bishop's part comes from William the Norman, Bishop of London, who bought Stortford Manor in 1060.

Around the same period, a motte and bailey castle 'Waytemore Castle' was constructed - this was improved over the centuries and the Grade I listed remains of the 12th century rectangular tower can be seen atop the mound in Castle Gardens. You can't currently access the mound itself, but plans are being put in place to provide some kind of access to this historic site in the future.

shared use path / grange paddocks leisure centre / river stort

On the subject of plans, the park is currently undergoing a bit of a transformation thanks to a successful application to the Heritage Lottery Fund. There are two different areas that make up the park and these were historically managed as completely separate spaces. A joint effort between Bishops Stortford Town Council and Hertfordshire County Council has recently lead to the formation of Castle Park which brings together Castle Gardens and the adjacent Sworders Field.

Sworders Field contains many traditional park elements such as a bandstand, children's playground and skate park. It was gifted to the town by local businessman Joe Brazier in 1928, but the field itself is named after Herbert Sworder who, upon his death in 1933, bequeathed the town £450 for a children's play area in the centre of the town, which was formally opened in 1951. This area provides the start and finish for Castle Park parkrun.

grange paddocks

I visited this venue and ran at their 4th event, I travelled by car and parked in the adjacent Link Road pay and display car park. There are plenty of other parking options including the Causeway car park, but the official venue course page specifically requests that a few other specific car parks are avoided. Had I travelled by train, Bishop's Stortford station is only about five minutes walk away. I didn't see any cycle racks in the park, but there were some across the road outside the library.

There are currently no toilets in the park, so a trip across into the town centre is necessary if you require use of the facilities. The Jackson Square shopping centre is recommended as the best place to go - the toilets here are on floor 0, however they were closed when I visited. The second recommended option is Sainsburys which is in the same shopping centre. Fortunately their toilets were open when I visited. It is also worth noting that the lottery fund cash for Castle Park does include a plan for new toilet facilities to be built.

grange paddocks

The run briefing takes place at the bandstand in Sworders Field, and after this the participants form on the start line adjacent to the train line. The course here is flat and made up of a short start tail followed by two full clockwise laps. At the end of the second lap the runners head back onto Sworders Field for the finish. Underfoot is a mixture of grass and tarmac, however there is more grass than tarmac and it will be pretty muddy during the winter.

The lap itself follows the shared-use tarmac path (watch out for the waist-high posts in the centre of the path) adjacent to the River Stort all the way up to the Grange Paddocks Leisure Centre at which point the course transfers to grass and follows what is officially a grass running track which circumnavigates Grange Paddocks - from what I can see this grass area is not technically part of Castle Park. Grange Paddocks seems to have previously been part of the grounds of The Grange, a large house owned by Sir John Barker of the Barkers department store in London and is still a separate area to the park.

returning to sworders field

Grange Paddocks is laid out with about half-a-dozen football pitches, but around the edge of the open grass field is the aforementioned running track - it's essentially just a slightly mowed grass path which meanders around the field. It is marked with two parallel white lines which make it easy to follow. The parkrun course breaks away from the marked path at the far north end of the course and again follows the river for a short stretch - it was already very muddy around here. The section around Grange Paddocks does require some self-discipline as it is very easy to cut the corners.

After turning and heading back to the south, the course follows the train line back towards Sworders Field. As it leaves Grange Paddocks, underfoot returns to tarmac and there's a chicane to negotiate next to large, imposing, metal footbridge. The path then leads the participants past a playground and the skate park back to the beginning of the loop. Once a second lap has been run, the course turns back onto the open grass area where it heads back through the start and loops round in front of the bandstand until reaching the finish funnel.

finish

Post-run the team head into the town centre for breakfast in The Port Jackson wetherspoons pub. The results for event #4 were processed and published a few hours later. I recorded my run with my Garmin and you can see the GPS data from the course on Strava, I also used that data to create a course fly-by video using the #Relive app. You can view them both via the links below;

Links:
Castle Park parkrun course GPS data
Castle Park parkrun #relive fly-by video
Results page for event 4

Hockley Woods parkrun #138 (my second visit)

I originally visited Hockley Woods parkrun with my daughter and ran it with her in her running buggy, so when the opportunity came up to head over for a solo revisit, I thought it would be a good opportunity to see what kind of time I could run on this course.

However, the date we had picked coincided with the first of the Kent Cross Country League races so in the end I had to keep my pace under control in order to save some energy for later in the day. This opened up the opportunity to run the course at an easier pace and to really take in the location.

First of all, apart from the car park, start line and a couple of points on the course, I couldn't really remember much detail about the route apart from it being almost two laps. Runs in the woods can have this effect as everything looks the same most of the way round.

Due to lots of chatting and not much planning, we ended up starting right near the back of the field, which meant trying to filter through during the run. The paths can be a little narrow in places so this wasn't as easy as it could be on some courses.

It took almost the whole of the first lap to really find some clear air and run at my desired pace - not too fast, but not too slow. A little faster than easy pace, but not quite tempo. At this kind of effort, I felt like I was getting a nice workout, but at the same time was able to take in the beauty of the woods. And they really are beautiful.

Since my last visit, the relive app has been developed and I can now use the it to create course fly-by videos, so I did that with my GPS data and the result can be seen here - Hockley Woods parkrun relive fly-by video. The full results were up online later that morning and can be found here - Hockley Woods parkrun event 138.

At 24 minutes and something, it was a new course best time, which was nice but inevitable. So not quite as fast as I can go on this course. The good news is that there is another visit planned and this does not clash with cross-country so I will be able to put in a proper time trial effort, but will need to be a bit sharper when it comes to the walk to the start line.

My original blog post - Hockley Woods parkrun event 50
All parkruns in the county - The Essex parkrun Venues

Ultm8 Warrior (Mud Runners Ninjas) 2017

My daughter is still enjoying running at obstacle race events and she is always keen to take part in them as often as possible. We headed over to East Grinstead where she had booked in to take part in the Ultm8 Warrior Mud Runners Ninjas event which was being held alongside the adult Mud Runners event.

It was the second time that we had been to this venue, but the previous time the kids event was linked to a different adult event, Mudstock. The junior obstacle course was set up in the same area as the last time we visited but had a different course configuration and used a different part of the adjacent woods for the muddy sections.

The races/runs are split into age groups of 4-6, 7-9 and 10-13. The main difference between the groups is the total number of laps they run - it's either 1, 2 or 3. Saying that, it is a very relaxed affair and although the kids largely stick to the plan, some kids might end up running more, or less, or something else completely. The main thing is that they are all out there having some fun.

We had also asked one of my daughter's friends to join us and he was keen for me to run with him around the course, so I did that while Matilda headed off at her own pace ahead of us. We all had a lot of muddy fun and the kids were awarded their Mud Monsters Ninjas medals at the end.

Some photos...

Meridian Line parkruns

A list of all parkruns that are either on, or fairly close to the meridian line. For the record there are only two venues which the line actually passes through and only at one of these does the line cross the actual course.

Anyway....

All venues from South to North:

• Peacehaven - passes through the town, just to the west of the parkrun venue
• Malling Rec (Lewes) - passes about 500 metres to the west of the course
• East Grinstead - Passes through the venue itself
• Bromley - passes just to the west of the park
• Beckenham - passes a few hundred metres from the course
• Catford - passes less than a kilometre from the venue
• Hilly Fields - passes approx 1.5km from the venue
• Greenwich Peninsula (possible future venue)
• Wanstead Flats - passes approx 1km from the venue
• Hackney Marshes - pass approx  1.5km from the venue
• Walthamstow - passes a few hundred metres from the venue
• Gunpowder - Passes through the venue itself (course crosses the line)
• Westmill - honourable mention - passes the east side of Ware
• Boston - honourable mention - passes through the east side of the town
• Cleethorpes - passes through the town, just to the east of the parkrun venue

Top tier: (line passes through the venue/course) (aka 'Direct Hit!')

• East Grinstead (blog) (passes through venue)
• Gunpowder (blog) (passes through the actual course)

Second tier: (line passes within a kilometre of the venue) (aka 'ooh, so close!')

• Peacehaven (blog)
• Malling Rec (blog)
• Beckenham Place (blog)
• Catford (blog)
• Wanstead Flats (blog)
• Walthamstow (blog)
• Cleethorpes (no blog - not visited)

Third tier: (line passes over a kilometre from the venue but still in the locality)

• Bromley (blog)
• Hilly Fields (blog)
• Hackney Marshes (blog)
• Westmill (blog)
• Boston (no blog - not visited)

Southwark parkrun #209

Working Monday to Friday and having weekends off is very convenient for me as a parkrunner as it means I never have to factor work into my weekend plans. However, the opportunity to work some overtime came up and I fancied doing it. My only proviso was that I would visit a parkrun before heading to work.

After a few days of looking at previously unvisited venues to visit, I decided that I wanted to be somewhere in between Dartford (home) and Central London (work) where I could leave my car and complete the journey into Central London by public transport. That meant revisiting a venue, but which one?

I considered Lloyd parkrun because its off-road course and hills were exactly what I fancied in the run-up to the cross-country season. Then I decided that I didn't want too far to travel post-run so I seriously considered Hilly Fields parkrun, which still had the hills but so much off-road in nature and is closer to Central London. Finally, logic took hold and Southwark parkrun made the most sense.

run briefing [photo:7t]

I headed out on the Saturday morning, parked near Bermondsey tube station and jogged across to Southwark Park (via Seven Islands Leisure Centre to visit the toilets) for my third visit to this parkrun. The first time I ran here was at the test event where I was first-finisher in a time of 20:02. A few days after that, I ran at the inaugural event and clocked 20:14.

Although I hadn't quite been running times as fast as those recently, I was up for the challenge of trying to set a new course best. I knew it'd be a big ask, but there was no reason not to give it a shot. The weather conditions were favourable - it was fairly cool at around 11 degrees and the wind was negligible.

Looking at some of the previous sets of results, I noticed that these days the venue attracts a good share of very fast runners, so when lining up on the start line I filtered in a few rows back in order to give the faster people space and to avoid getting dragged out too fast.

The course is still the same as it was back at event 1. That means 3 identical flat, anti-clockwise laps with the finish line placed just a little further along the path than the start line to make up the full 5k. With the run briefing done, we were sent on our way. I started out fairly well and settled into my pace nice and early.

There were a few people ahead of me that had started at a faster pace than they could maintain and despite a couple of minor hold-ups I pretty much made my way around the first lap in good shape. Back in 2013 I set up a Strava segment for one complete lap (pretty much a perfect mile) and I ran the first lap segment in 6.30 which was a teeny bit fast but still within my desired pacing window.

Onto the second lap and the field had spread out nicely. I maintained pretty much the same pace and started to lap people from around half-way around. The second lap segment clocked in at 6.32 which was good but my stomach was tightening and I wasn't sure if I could maintain the pace.

I picked up a lot more traffic on the third lap and had to take some corners wider than I would have liked as I lapped other runners. I also had a very minor dog-crossing-the-path incident which broke my stride momentarily, but I quickly got back on pace for the final stretch.

After checking my watch on the approach to the finish funnel, I saw that one final hard push might see me dip under 20 minutes, so against all of the messages my body was giving me to slow down, I picked up the pace to a full sprint and crossed the line. The final lap segment came in at 6.34.

I stopped my watch with 19:59 showing on the screen, and after having my barcode scanned and thanking some of the volunteers, headed off on a slow trot back towards the car and then onwards to work. The next few hours were quite tense as I desperately hoped that the timer had clicked their stopwatch at the same time as I had clicked mine. A 20:00 dead time is my least favourite time to run.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the official results were online and I was very happy to see that I had been officially timed at 19:59. I hadn't run a sub-20 parkrun for over six months, so it was a great feeling being back in the teens. I seriously haven't been this pleased with a result for a long time, so that set me up for a very decent weekend!

Related links:

• Southwark parkrun test event (blog)
• Southwark parkrun event 1 (blog)
• Southwark parkrun GPS data (Strava)
• Southwark parkrun Relive Course Fly-by Video (youtube)
• Southwark parkrun #209 Results
• The London parkrun Venues
• Lloyd parkrun (blog)
• Hilly Fields parkrun (blog)

Dartford Bridge 10k and 2k 2017

I first ran the Dartford Bridge 10k or The Bridge 10k as it's also known, back in 2013. That race went pretty well. I paced it perfectly and I came away with a new 10k personal best. This time around, an all-time 10k personal best was not on the cards but I was hoping that I'd be able to shave some time off of 2013's time. For the record it's almost perfectly flat with just a few minor changes in elevation to deal with.

In the years since the last time I ran this race, the course had been changed at least once, but 2017's race was run on the same route that the 2013 race used. The course starts with a short tail, followed by two full laps of the perimeter road. At the end of the second lap, a smaller loop is run using a the first quarter of the main lap. The course breaks off and leads back towards the main race HQ area where the finish is found.

2017's race really was a great example of terrible pacing. The only consolation I have is that all the runners I spoke to post-race made exactly the same mistake. To sum it up, my current flat 5k times are somewhere around 20.30 which works out at a pace of about 4.06 per kilometre, and I ran the first kilometre of the 10k in 3.52 (according to my Garmin). That pretty much set the scene for a pretty horrendous race experience.

My pace gradually slowed throughout the first half of the race. I ran that first 5k in somewhere between 20.20 and 20.30. The second half of the race was, as expected, quite a painful experience and my pace eventually dropped as low as 4.20 per kilometre. The second 5k came in at around 21.30 rounding off my finish time at exactly 42 minutes. An appalling set of splits considering this was my 29th 10k race and I should know better.

The good news is that I was able to increase my pace over the last kilometre and finished on a high. After putting in such a hard effort run, it took me ages to recover and my chest was still aching about 10 minutes later. Plenty of water and food followed and eventually all was well.

Now the big question is 'did I beat my time from the 2013 race?' - the answer is 'yes' and 'no'. Let me explain. My official chip time from 2013 was 21.50 and my official chip time from 2017 was 22.00, so on the surface of it, it looks like I was slower. However, the 2013 race started about 60 metres further along the road and that means the 2017 course was longer.

Looking at my GPS data, it took me approximately 14 seconds to reach 2013's start point, so if I was to adjust the course in order to make a direct comparison, my 2017 time would have been approximately 21.46 which is indeed faster!

The event also has a 2k kids run and after not being interested for the first part of the morning, my daughter suddenly wanted to enter the kids race when she saw my medal. So after paying the £3 entry fee she got in place on the start line for her 1 lap 2 kilometre run/race. She ran this race once before, in 2014, and back then put in a time of 18-and-a-bit-minutes.

The nature of the course meant that I wasn't comfortable leaving her to negotiate the course alone. It's not that I doubt her ability to follow directions, it's that the route crosses roads and not all of the crossing points had marshals on hand - something that I think should probably be rectified in future years, especially now that more of the land has been built on.

So I filtered into the back of the start funnel hoping to run the entire way with her, but of course she had sped off into the distance with one of her new-found buddies. By the time I caught up with her she was maintaining a decent pace of around 6 minutes per kilometre and looking in good shape. We made our way around the course and were soon heading towards the finish line.

It was at this point that she decided that I was running too close to her and was cramping her style, and she told me to run further away from her. Naturally I dropped back a bit and let her put in her final push for the line. With a finishing time of 11.52 according to my Garmin - If the course was a perfect 2k this means that she smashed her previous best 2km time by over 2 minutes. There were no official results for the kids' race.

It's a lovely event with a great atmosphere and we had a brilliant morning. My result and all the various links are below:

Results:

• Time (chip): 42:00
• Time (gun): 42:02
• 19th overall out of 195 finishers (199 started but there were 4 DNFs)
• 16th male out of 123 finishers
• 7th out of 45 finishers in my age group (M40)

Links:

• Official 10k Results Page
• My 10k GPS data on Strava
• My Dartford Bridge 10k Relive course fly-by Video

• My 2k GPS data on Strava
• My Dartford Bridge 2k Kids' Run Relive course fly-by video

Links to previous event blogs:

• Dartford Bridge 10k 2013
• Dartford Bridge 2k kids' run 2014