This is the second of my nerdy updates where I try to rank the difficulty of the various Parkruns I've tried. I said i'd do it every three and with the completion of Preston Park i'm now at 9 so here it is!
It's worth noting that it is all my personal opinion as I've said before.
One amazing revelation I have come to since last time (thanks to the pancake flat Eastbourne) is that I don't actually think flatness necessarily equals easiness. The presence of Preston Park and Hove Park near the top are because I think there is the 'right amount' of hill....for me anyway. I don't represent everyone!
So, in order of difficulty, the easiest (in my opinion) first:
1) Preston Park, Brighton - total ascent: 32m - PB: 20.01
2) Nonsuch Park Course B, Cheam - total ascent: 33m - PB: 20.24 - compensation vs Preston Park: +0.5%
3) Hove Park - total ascent: 52m - PB: 19.57 - compensation vs Preston Park: +1%
4) Richmond Park, London - total ascent: 57m - PB: 20.37 - compensation vs Preston Park: +2%
5) Eastbourne Summer Course - total ascent: 18m - PB: 21.05 - compensation vs Preston Park: +2%
6) Banstead Woods, Surrey - total ascent: 76m - PB: 21.36 - compensation vs Preston Park: + 3%
7) Tilgate Park, Crawley - total ascent: 63m - PB: 21.02 - compensation vs Preston Park: + 4%
8) Clair Park, Haywards Heath - total ascent: 89m - PB: 20.45 - compensation vs Preston Park: + 5.5%
9) Lloyd Park, Croydon - total ascent: 63m - PB: 21.22 - compensation vs Preston Park: +7%
The compensation vs Preston Park (the one I now deem easiest) is based on all conditions being the same. Obviously my PBs don't back up these figures, but this is because they were all run at different times and in different states of mind! I reckon that for each of these runs, if you ran them at your peak fitness with no illnesses in the same weather conditions etc, the figures I have added in red will be a fairly accurate indicator of how much additional time you can expect to add to your 5k for each of the ones on the list. This didn't make sense last time and therefore it still won't, but hey, these stats aren't the bible, and I'm not God!
