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.
No comments:
Post a Comment