Horsham parkrun

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

On Saturday 6th of September a small group of us from Burgess Hill Runners went along to join a parkrun that was special for very different reasons to the long running Bushy Park. Horsham Parkrun was launching its very first parkrun although, as a few observed, you wouldn’t know. If the organisers had had any fears as to whether anyone would turn up, they needn’t have worried as 366 runners showed up to sample what it had to offer. I don’t know whether other ones in the area, such as Tilgate, took a hit or whether Horsham is just going to have a huge pull from the immediate locality, but it was great to see a fledgling event host so many keen runners.

The course is 3 laps of a gently undulating park opposite the train station. Having commuted to Horsham for work for a year, I can say that despite the change of trains at Three Bridges, it does make it a viable option for public transport. The 3 laps were no walk in the park (have I already made that joke before? Probably!) and it was weird how the small inclines seemed to feel so tricky and every lap seemed longer than previous, but it wasn’t the hardest one i’ve sampled. The start of the course was very cramped and I got shoved into a lamp post as everybody eagerly legged it off the start line. Hannah says she had to walk over the start line due to the bottle neck. I won’t whinge, I know the organisers of Parkruns study the various options they have available and I imagine they thought it was better to start there than essentially alongside where the finish funnel would be. 

There was a bit of mixed terrain on this one, with some concrete paths, light trail and grass all of which could be tackled easily in road shoes but may get churned up in the Winter.

For all the difficulties we experienced at the beginning, the rest of the course opened up and allowed for some overtaking. The finish funnel was extremely well organised and despite huge queues, there was a feeling that they were coping well with the numbers. The locals turned out to cheer on the runners which also made for a positive experience. 

I put in a hard effort with this one, although kept in mind that I had a league race the next day. This gave me a time 17 seconds away from a PB. I’d say that this one will always bring me in with a slightly slower time than the likes of Preston Park and Hove.

A great start for this further alternative option and I really hope it thrives.

Pictured: Starting to plot these on a map of South East England. The dots are roughly in the right place (and in BHR colours)!

Bushy Park

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

Yet again I’ve been a bit delayed in writing these up but I’m sure you have coped and have found some other things to do with your time. Perhaps things that are even more exciting than my blog? On the 23rd of August, mainly thanks to the logistical overlord Neil, a handful of us (actually it was probably two or three handfuls) from Burgess Hill Runners went to visit Bushy Park in London to try out the Parkrun that started the whole Parkrun explosion. 

First off, as residents of Mid-Sussex, the concept of going to London for a Parkrun seemed a bit like planning a trek in the Andes, but as it happened it wasn’t as long a journey as you might think (many thanks to two of our awesome friends from BHR who drove us there). In fact, at probably an hour’s drive away there are almost certainly Parkruns within Sussex that would take us longer to get to. That in itself was quite an exciting thing to take in for a Parkrun nerd like me, although I appreciate that as a non-driver I am reliant on the kindness of others a bit!

Obviously, being such a long running Parkrun it was absolutely rammed….there were just over 900 runners I think. We’d experienced three hundred and something runners a few times but this was unlike anything we’d seen before. Being a chap that likes to run off quickly at the beginning I tried to push as close to the front as possible but really didn’t make a lot of progress. For the first time ever at a Parkrun, when the race started I had to walk to the start line then sprint as fast as I could to make up the time. It’s not a great way to run and I probably started the run almost burnt out already!

However, although I would’ve liked to have clocked sub-20 there, I knew right away it wasn’t going to happen and settled in to absorb the experience. This Parkrun is just one lap as the park is enormous. It’s a scenic park with a relaxing feel to it and although my heart was pounding like it wanted to get out, it felt like an enjoyable place to be with various wildlife hiding somewhere (I saw the poo, dead giveaway that is!) and some early morning boot campers doing their thing. 

The course is mainly on dusty trail and probably better for road shoes than off-roaders. It was also as flat as a pancake. What did I say before about not enjoying flat, one lap courses? I guess it does have some PB potential versus some of the other ones we’ve done but I never seem to find the flat ones comfortable.

Having been going for 10 years it did have some real boasts though. Firstly, they are obviously very well organised in terms of the race logistics and so that went really well and although the massive finish funnel tricked me into starting my sprint finish a bit too soon, it also made for easy filing at the end. Also, having seen a massive turnover of runners in their many years of existence, the runners were all very receptive to a chit chat and it was great to be approached by a few and asked about, where we’d come from, our local Parkrun and what we thought of Bushy Parkrun. There are a few cafes in the park and we stopped to have a coffee in one before leaving which was great as a post-race social. 

I’m really glad to have ticked this one off as it is such a special Parkrun and it was made all the more enjoyable by my fellow BHR day-trippers.