Killerton parkrun

Just to make you envious... this is the view from a high point at Killerton looking south-east.  We experience this, and other stunning Devon views every time we join together for our weekly parkrun fix.  (I live, incidentally on top of the hill in the distance).

We'd love to welcome YOU any Saturday morning at 9am!

Roger R.

Inaugural runs: King's Lynn parkrun (10 September 2011)

Yesterday evening, I braved Friday night rush hour traffic in London (ugh!) to drive up north to the wilds of Lincolnshire where I had begged a bed for the night from a marvellous friend of mine.*

The traffic was as revolting as I expected, but the extremely scrummy dinner* and good company went a long to making up for it, as did the cup of tea in the morning* and the lift to King's Lynn parkrun*.

King's Lynn parkrun #1. Three brand new parkruns in as many weeks. I could make it 4 in 4 if I go to Nonsuch Park next week, but tempting though that is, I think I shall save Nonsuch Park for the 24th, as it's nice and local and I have to be in Windsor on the 25th for a half marathon [aaaaargh!].

So. King's Lynn. It's a flat, three lap course on wide tarmac paths. I wasn't sure about the layout of the course when I looked at in on the map, as it includes an out-and-back stretch with a 180 degree turn at the end.

Turns out that this is actually one of the nicest stretches of the course, not because it's the most picturesque bit (that would be the river with the ducks, or possibly the Red Mount Chapel or the rather impressive Gannock Arch).

But the out-and-back section gives sociable people the chance to wave at / encourage / be encouraged by their friends / runners that they chatted to at the start. And it gives competitive people the chance to see whether they are gaining on / being caught up by their arch nemesis / nemeses.

The volunteers were efficient, encouraging and friendly, and two even laughed at my witty banal banter.

The runners I spoke to were an interesting mix. There was a nervous first-timer who looked as though she was about to bolt and who was convinced that she would come last. (Sub 27. Wow!). There was a sub 20 veteran who'd run at Norwich, Milton Keynes and Cambridge. There was an old hand from Brighton, resplendent in her 50 club t-shirt, who had promised her brother-in-law(?) that if he got a parkrun going in King's Lynn she would come up to its launch. There were two local councillors who had been involved in getting the parkrun up and running, and there was a budding tourist who has only a few more runs to go until he's on the table of doom**.

After which it was back to my friend's for lunch* and fresh-out-of-the-oven flapjacks.* And I even got a goodie bag full of flapjacks to see me safely home.*

Life is good.

*Thank you, marvellous friend.





**Old rules

Inuagural runs: Southwick Country parkrun (3 September 2011)

100 miles is too far to travel for a 5km run.

But on Thursday, I got the fidgets and I booked a room at the Polebarn hotel in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, pretty much on impulse. I drove down on Friday evening, into a beautiful sunset and got to see Stonehenge silhouetted against the skyline. Oh, and I got lost. Several times. I really must get satnav.

The hotel guy was perkier than anyone has a right to be (especially compared to the perk-less-ness of me on a Friday night when I've been driving for over two hours). The room was lovely. The windows opened. The bed was comfy. The wifi was free. Perky guy agreed that I could grab breakfast early and check out late so that I could go for my run and then shower afterwards.

I went for a six-mile run round the Southwick Country Park and then chatted to the people who were there for the parkrun and then did the first ever Southwick Country parkrun. It's a great venue (2 3/4 laps, hard gravel course, gently undulating and extremely well organised). It has a statue of the spirit of the parkrunner (he has a name, but I can't remember it) that they unveiled this morning.

Afterwards, at the Squirrels Tearoom cafe , I got chatting to two experienced parkrunners, one of whom knows the wonderful Bedfont Lakes chap who gave me a lift around the longest parkrun and the other of whom used to share my surname. For all that it spans continents, parkrun really does feel like a very small community.

I then went back to the hotel to shower and nearly didn't leave, the shower was sooooooooo lovely. After which I pottered around Trowbridge doing the tourist thing for long enough to justify the journey and then came home. Incidentally, Stonehenge in the daytime with oodles of people around it is a far less impressive sight than Stonehenge deserted at dusk.

Is 100 miles too far to travel for a 5km run? Yes. Is 100 miles too far to travel to meet such wonderful people? No.