Starting a Park Run Tour

I have now started to do a few more Park Runs now apart from Hyde Park I have done Harrogate, and Roundhay. When I did Harrogate it was on a windy day and I had normal trainers on and 75% of the course is running around the perimeter of the stray on a nice day it would be perfect for a personal best course.

Last month I went across to do the Wythenshaw Park Run with a couple of friends Geoff, Jason Newell and his son Jamie. This course is flat as a pancake but you would need to wear trail shoes as it’s over Grass tarmac small paths and trail. This is one tough course but again finished with a time of 28:53

I did Roundhay last week and I really thought I would get over thirty minutes as three before I went round with my friend and completed in 31:41 but at that time of the day it was at 13:30 and the temperature was 68 degrees. What I found at Roundhay that they had plenty of people pacing and that helped quite a bit. This is supposed to be the third toughest park run and I thought it was when you’re starting on a undulating slope and finishing just a bit further on from the start so it’s a tough start but also a tough finish. What I found when doing the Roundhay park run is that running past the mansion you can push yourself then at the end you take a sharp left turn down hill then at the bottom another sharp left turn around the cricket Pitch then at the end turn right down towards the café then left back up the hill.

I remember on the last lap that I was talking to a nice lady and she went past her daughter  who shouted out you must be on for a PB if you carry on at that pace so I said to the lady in front what’s your PB and from what I can remember she said 31:30 (Ish). So I said I will stop with you and push you up the hill on the last bit of the course. When we both turned for the last time I started to kick in and she said you go on in which I did and finished with a time of 29:03 and I think the lady finished with a 29:30 (Ish) maybe faster.

This week I am supposed to be doing the Pontefract Park Run but there are quite a few from my run club the Pudsey Pacers who are doing the Bradford Park Run so I may go over there instead.

Since doing the Park Runs has got me involved in running 10k road races, this year I have completed two so far the Dewsbury 10k finished in 58:00 and two weeks ago the Bradford 10k finished in 56:01. I am also in training for the Leeds Half Marathon hoping for a sub 2hour 30minute time

Graham