Banstead Woods

http://www.parkrun.org.uk/banstead/

This Saturday (29th of March 2014) Hannah and I went to possibly our most exotic parkrun to date. Well, it seemed exotic to me as it was the first one I have run in an unfamiliar park. Not to Hannah though as this one is right on her doorstep and takes place in a park she used to frequent in her youth.

The first thing that struck me about this one was the long climb from the car-park to where the race began. I think we were both a little worried that this was going to be part of the course because it was tiring just doing that bit! Luckily, it later transpired that it wasn't. Phew!

The course for this one turned out to be about 1.8 laps around the woods all on trail. There was a gentle incline at the beginning and a bit of a steeper hill leading up to that, which thanks to some sensible planning, you only have to run up once, as you begin the second lap. The downhill stretch leading up to the '200m to go' sign was nice and long allowing a runner to really open up some pace without any real risk of a tumble. I imagine in the winter during the rainy season this course could be quite slippy, but we were lucky enough to only have a few puddles to contend with.

I am going to post some boring stats now because, after all, I wear glasses therefore I am an annoying stats boffin! Banstead has a total ascent of 76m according to my watch (vs a descent of 90m). This compares to 89m (vs 94m) at Clair Park, 74m (vs 74m) at Lloyd Park Croydon, 63m (vs 64m) at Tilgate Park Crawley and 52m (vs 54m) at Hove. These stats sort of back up my current thoughts that Banstead belongs in the middle somewhere in terms of difficulty with Hove & Tilgate both easier and Clair (marginally) & Croydon both harder. 

My time for this was 21:36 which may contradict my recommendation that this one is slightly easier than Haywards Heath, but (just like a proper British athlete) I did have a couple of excuses. Namely I felt like I was getting a bit of a cold when I woke up in the morning and secondly I was very achey indeed from the long run I did on Thursday night. I don't actually say this to excuse myself, I was happy with the time, I just say it to assert my comparison with the other events I have reviewed. Hannah got a PB though (she's told me off for not originally mentioning it!) which goes to show that it is a potential PB course.

There was a fairly decent turnout at this one of 166 and as you'd expect with a crowd that size it was fairly diverse in terms of ability and with the assistance of the medium difficulty route, there were 14 sub-20 runners which was impressive. I gathered from the marshals and runners that there was probably quite a 'close knit' vibe to this one, just like with Clair parkrun in Haywards Heath. The marshals and runners seemed to know a lot of each other's names, but a couple of people did make an effort to speak to us including one chap who talked to us all the way to the car so it did ultimately feel welcoming and I reckon anyone pitching up 2 or 3 times would quickly integrate.

On the whole this was a very nice parkrun set in some lovely scenery. The majority of my current readership are probably unlikely to want to travel so far to sample this one, but I'd be happy to attend this one again if I'm in the area.

Pictured above: Me stood by a tree!

Hannah took this for me in the car-park before the race. I look a bit miserable, but we both felt a bit silly taking a photo in the car-park so far from the start line!

Clair Park (Haywards Heath)

http://www.parkrun.org.uk/clair/

This one is my home parkrun and is organised by the club I belong to (Burgess Hill Runners) and our local allies, Haywards Heath Harriers. I'll probably sound really biased about this one, especially as I think Neil will read this and I can't say anything bad! But I assure you, I will be honest in my review (hopefully I'll be allowed back after this).

This parkrun is a pretty new one compared to many of them out there but it's one that took off pretty quickly. I think both clubs did a pretty good job of advertising it to their members and, being in Mid Sussex with no other parkruns directly on our doorstep, it already has a big core turnout. I know Neil was pleased to hear that by the time he was on event 2 or 3, the following it had was significantly bigger than the one I'd experienced in Croydon who were quite a bit further down the line (no disrespect intended to Croydon when mentioning this by the way!). 

The course for this one is quite tricky. It's all on paths (apart from a short mudslide to the finish during the winter months!) and comprises of 4 and a bit laps. Hilly laps. There are some pros and cons to the laps, but it's still a really nice park that I used to live overlooking and also enjoyed sitting in during my lunchbreaks when I went to Haywards Heath College.

My PB for this course is 21:09 at the moment and I set this at a time where I feel at the peak of my short distance running, so I think you could easily take at least a minute off that when run on a flatter course. I have also found that due to tree coverage the pace and distance on a satellite watch is rarely accurate so it makes it quite hard to rely on this sort of technology to get your pace right.

Obviously, it might just be because I know a lot of people in the Burgess Hill running club, and starting to get to know a few Haywards Heath Harriers too, but this one feels like the friendliest parkrun I have been to so far. The volunteers each week are extremely encouraging with an almost endless amount of energy for cheering and clapping the runners of all ability. The runners taking part always have time for other runners and nearly everyone seems to finish this one with a smile on their face. The regular set of core runners I mentioned mean that nearly everyone knows each other's names (it's a bit like the 'Cheers bar' of parkruns). Don't let this put you off if you're new though, you instantly feel one of the gang and will be welcomed at this Parkrun (they'll learn your name quickly if you attend a few times and want to be known!). 

Getting to this one is nice and easy too, with a short walk to Haywards Heath station and the use of the free car park at Clair Hall. 

As you'd expect, I thoroughly recommend this one and I fully intend to frequent it. I also recommend volunteering a few times (not just here, but at any Parkrun) which really is a rewarding thing to do. If you go to Clair Parkrun, go and say hello to the organisers such as Neil, Nick, Marion, John and Caz (she's often there to advise first timers)....if I missed anyone important there let me know! They will make you feel welcome I promise!

Lloyd Park (Croydon) - Part 1

http://www.parkrun.org.uk/lloyd/

This is another one that needs a more up to date review. I did this one a little while back and I think it was a fairly new parkrun at the time.

The course was all on trail and grass around Lloyd Park (which is right by the Lloyd Park tram stop, a short ride away from East Croydon station if you're a public transport user or you want to park up in one of Croydon's many public car-parks). This one I found particularly tricky at the time (although I managed 21:22) and at time of writing I would say this is the hardest parkrun I've done. 

It starts out letting you think all is fine and dandy, but the two lap course has an absolutely killer hill in it which totally takes all of your pace! It was muddy when I did it which made the hill even harder to climb.

The field was small but had some real quality runners, supported by the wealth of decent running clubs in the local area. There were a few youngsters that shot off at the start, but these weren't the kind of kids that burn out after the first km. They were fast for the full 5k and there were some genuinely impressive performances from them. I assume these kids were under the careful coaching of one of the local running/athletic clubs.

It's a pretty good parkrun, but a long way away from me so I won't make many more visits to it. Definitely one to add to your list though if you want to experience a bit of Parkrun variety!

Tilgate (Crawley) - Part 1

http://www.parkrun.org.uk/tilgate/

This one I have only run once, accompanying my girlfriend who was quite new to running at the time. I haven't run this at my full pace yet, but intend to go back in April 2014 for a proper go at this one. 

It is the most scenic one I have done so far and in the summer has a very pleasant feel to it. It's hard to describe the course off the top of my head as it was a while ago I ran it, but it goes around the lake a couple of times and through a wooded area, with a mix of paths, trails and I think there was a bit across the grass but I could be wrong! It has a large concrete incline at one point but you do only run up it once. It is definitely the nicest one I have run so far in terms of its setting. I'm yet to establish, but it could actually be easier than Hove....we'll see!

The field was quite small both times I went to this as it was a relatively new Parkrun. I expect it has grown in popularity now and I look forward to testing this course out for a more up to date and accurate review.

Brighton & Hove

http://www.parkrun.org.uk/brighton/

This was the parkrun where it all began for me and I used to get the train down there in the morning on a fairly regular basis when I had not much else to do. In fact, I usually over-slept and either had to sprint to my local station, or from Hove station to the park. Funnily enough, I always got PBs when this happened, the mad dash for the start line must've given me a good warm up!

The course is two and a third laps of Hove Park, all on paths. There is an incline with a small plateau in the middle which just adds an extra element to the course, but ultimately it's a fairly fast loop and at the time of writing, probably (see Tilgate) the easiest Parkrun course I have run. This is, therefore where I set my PB of 19:59 (only just scraping the sub 20!) - EDIT: new PB of 19:57 set April 2014. The 'hills' aren't huge and are in the best place for it (mid-lap), allowing you to open up a bit of pace on the down-hill and flat lead up to the finish line. 

Everyone runs these differently, but my recommendation for running this course is to run the first 'third-sized' lap pretty quickly as it doesn't take in the entire hill, take the second lap to ease off a little and top your reserves back up a bit, then pick up the pace for the last lap. The downhill element comes in about 1/2 a km from the finish and allows you to build up some real momentum for the final stretch. Depending on your ability, you can begin building to your sprint finish when you come to the model railway, but bear in mind there's still a good 300-400m to go at this point so don't burn yourself out! There's a slight 'hump' in the path about 150-200m from the end and most people can sustain a sprint pace from this hump to the finish line if you don't want to start it as early as the railway.

It's a pretty well attended parkrun, as you'd expect, as it's in a highly populated area and is one of the older Parkruns in the local area. I haven't been for a while (I'll be going back shortly) and I'm told it's increasing in popularity.

Due to the large turnouts there is a diverse mix of people and ability and highly recommendable for the beginner runner as well as the ultra fast lads and lasses. 

There are also good toilet facilities in the park, a few local roads you can park on (check tariffs first) and the event is well run and rarely seems short of volunteers. I believe they also open up a cafe in the park which people visit after the race. I haven't paid much attention to this, but that's pretty cool. It's also not far from Hove station so public transport to this one is simple enough.

Intro

My name is James, I am 32 and I am a (sort of) Parkrun tourist. Well, I'm not really, I didn't know what else to call it. There are people that go around LOADS of Parkruns (I remember lining up at Hove next to someone from Leeds who'd done 40 or so different Parkruns at the time) and I have seen people raise their hands during the briefings saying they've come from foreign countries to run. 

At the time of starting this blog I have only done 4 different ones (Hove, Crawley, Croydon and Haywards Heath) but, encouraged by a friend who organises the Clair Parkrun in Haywards Heath, I have started a little blog to comment on my experiences of these different runs and the ones I intend to do in the upcoming weeks. They'll probably be heavily based on personal experiences and I know other people will find they have conflicting experiences of these, so please don't treat this as the 'bible' of Parkruns!

I'll start off with a little review of the ones I have already done. Some of these I intend to re-visit because I know these change over time and it's been ages since I've done some of them.