Great Yarmouth North Beach parkrun

There are several parkruns entirely on beaches, but not loads, so I decided not to miss my chance to fit another in. This is a fairly new parkrun, in that this was only the 18th event, but it started before everything closed down in 2020, so it is a year and a half old.

‘Caution Runners’ sign at the top left of the course, near the boating lake.

There is a car park right next to the start, and there are also toilets there. The car parks along the sea front are all quite expensive, though, so for cheaper paid parking, park in town or on the sea front itself. In town, it’s £1 an hour, on the road at the front, £4 for 3 hours. Alternatively, a little further North, there’s free parking. I parked in Salisbury Road, from where it’s about half a mile to the start, and there are more toilets on the sea front at the end of the road. Parking by the sea is free here, too.

The start is further in to the beach, to the left of this picture, but you can’t miss it – the Beach Hut on the right is on the map.

As well as being a run entirely on sand, which I thought might be kinder to my knee (it was not), this is a relatively small one in attendance – we had 39, which is fairly typical at this point in its life. The record is 160, from the first event, but they’ve only three subsequent times had more than half that.

Early on, having turned towards the sea.

It’s useful to listen to the first-timers’ briefing if you’ve not been before, as there are a few important instructions. First of all, don’t run in front of anyone fishing – it might be annoying, and they might be casting. Keep on the sand, and don’t run on the dunes once on the town-side part of the course. There are plenty of ‘keep left’ signs on spades, which was a nice touch, and a couple of marshals patrolling to keep us honest.

All of this means that there are only a couple of places with firm footing. There’s an area which has enough grass in the sand, up towards the boating lake. And you get the chance to run nearer the sea once you turn at that end – though the temptation to stay there, in front of fishers, must need a bit of controlling. We were told there were lots of fishers, but that turned out to be just the one, who seemed unbothered by our presence.

Other than that, it’s soft sand, then soft sand with some pebbles, and an occasional tiny incline that feels, thanks to the soft sand I must remember to mention, like a big hill. It is very tough. I have run Woolacombe Dunes, famously hard thanks to having an actual hill up a dune, but was significantly quicker there (over 8 minutes). I am, admittedly, a different runner now, with only one good knee, but gosh, this was hard. The Dunes run has a lovely downhill bit. This one, flat. With soft, soft sand.

Still, don’t use my times as a guide. Expect to be a minute or so per kilometre slower than a fast course – it was more than that for me.

Some slightly harder, but still soft, sand near the sea.

It is absolutely lovely, though. The conditions will vary wildly with the seasons, and even from week to week. We had some crazy clouds, and a bit of a headwind for the South-bound section, but it was pretty good. A cold start, but this is an ideal way to warm up, and running (or struggling) through (I use the word advisedly, and not “on”) the sand with the sound of the sea rushing in to shore is a glorious thing.

The lovely finish. At times it really felt like it wouldn’t, but it does end. After 5k, in fact.

Other than the run the Venetian waterways, right next to the course, were renovated in 2019 and look great. There are hotels all along the front, and also several cafes, which combined to torment us with the smell of breakfast on the entire route. The Beach Cafe itself opens at 10, though looked open when we finished, so may have clued in to the fact that some customers are appearing from the beach at 9:30. I managed to resist, walked back along the front past people setting up for the Fire on the Water festival, and drove along the sea front to soak up a little more sea air.

Results from Great Yarmouth North Beach parkrun, event 18, 16/10/21.

Oct 16, 2021 0

Bressay parkrun, Shetland

Bressay parkrun route. Start at the top, run all the way to the bottom, then back up to the finish – c.2 miles out, 1 mile back.

Bressay (pron. “Bressy”) is an island to the East of the Shetland mainland, just a few minutes on a ferry (officially 10, which is possible if you include mooring time and the ferry is full of cars you have to wait for before you stroll off, but no matter – it’s a short trip). It’s a scenic part of the world, even on a drizzly day such as we had.

Looking back at the ferry on the stroll to the start.

The ferry is £6 return, payable on the way out only (cash or card). Locals and long-stayers can currently get a ferry card for cheaper travel. The ferry itself is easy to find, right on the waterfront in Lerwick – you can see the route on the map above. I walked past it by accident the day before while strolling round town after I’d got off the larger ferry from Kirkwall (Orkney) which docks further to the North of town. The event team meet the ferry to point everyone in the right direction and greet volunteers, though it’s fairly straightforward to follow people on the short walk to the hotel and round to the side where the parkrun flag flies, above the painted start line.

The start line, painted, next to the Maryfield House hotel.

Although fairly remote, as the North-most parkrun in the UK (Norway, Finland, Sweden and Russia have more northerly ones) this is a destination event for parkrunners, so I wasn’t totally surprised to not be the person there with the most completed parkruns, even in a field of just 46. It was a little more of a surprise that I actually knew the person who had run more, though it took me several glances to realise. We’ve not been in the same place since a trip to Poland in 2013, so I let myself off, even though I’d said good morning to her on the way to the ferry and then smiled when she let the event team know she was from Bushy. Two big clues, but it was something in the way she walked to the start that reminded me – wait – Gdansk and Gdynia?!

There were a few other tourists, including a couple from Alaska who I assumed were in Shetland for work – there’s a lot of well-paid jobs here in oil and gas. Others, including my friend, had run the Loch Ness marathon the weekend before and could enjoy a more relaxed weekend this time round.

The course is a long out and then shorter back, as you go past the finish line after just under a mile, head further on down the road before a right turn, turn around a cone and back to the finish at Speldiburn cafe. A quick left-turn into the cafe car park and you’re over the painted finish line and can go for drinks and breakfast baps next door. It’s pretty much the perfect setup.

The mail shop. A right turn to follow the course. The low wall held our bags. The finish is to the left after the low wall (but is almost straight on from the road on the right when you actually run/walk it). Credit: Google maps.

There’s no bag-moving service, so those in the know, and those of us who always travel with a running bag just in case, set off with our bags on our backs, then cast them aside at the mail shop, which marks the corner before the finish. A helpful marshal was there to take them from us and arrange them nicely on the wall. That helped me greatly. For one, I didn’t want to run with my bag the whole way. For two, I had offered to scan barcodes once I’d finished, so being able to collect my bag for the last 200m without having to find wherever I’d dropped it was super efficient. I have run and scanned before, but it always feels like a bit of an indulgence, and not necessarily that helpful unless you know you’ll finish first, as someone else has to be there to scan at least till you get there (and realistically, why would they then stop?). Now I’m several minutes slower than I was, even more so, but they were still looking for people at 7pm on Friday and wanted two scanners, so I figured offering would help make sure the event went ahead and my lack of pace wouldn’t be too awful – a look at previous events suggested I ought to be fairly well in the first half of finishers. It worked out, at any rate – and I’d happily have dropped out had a third person offered. As it was, I was able to finish, scan several of the people behind me and get to chat to several of them after they’d finished, as well as some of the other volunteers.

The route itself is undulating. They did warn us of a hill, and there is one, but it’s short and mean rather than a huge obstacle. The start is downhill, which is always exciting, and then it’s a case of up, flatten, down, up, up, flatten, and so on – a classic example of a course that rarely lets you go. That hill is towards the end of the long out, so reappears into the final mile, to test you, and there’s a little more uphill heading towards the finish itself to keep everyone breathing heavily.

As for returning, it’s possible to finish and walk/run the mile back to get on the 10:30 ferry, but I joined the crowd in the cafe. Table service at the moment makes it very simple, and you don’t even have to keep an eye on the clock with the 11:30 ferry in mind: there was a general movement at 11:00, some finishing of drinks and conversations, and a fairly leisurely walk up Gunnista road (not on the course) and left to make it to the ferry without rush.

All parkruns are great, and each have something to recommend them, but there’s a lot in the combination of hopping on a ferry, running somewhere remote with scenic views, and most of the participants being able to fit in the cafe, a cafe right on the finish line, to make this a really special one. Book your ferry!

Results from Bressay parkrun, event 120, 9/10/21.

Oct 9, 2021 0

Kirkwall parkrun, Orkney

Kirkwall parkrun route. Start behind the small boathouse, head South then turn left, turn around the cone and come all the way back round the outside, round the cone at top right, then back and left to go past the start. On the third time, miss the second cone by heading right to finish where you start.

Although I missed the summer, and hit a windy weekend, I made it to Orkney in time to see it at its best, in sunshine. The ferry from Scrabster, at the very top of Scotland, takes under two hours, and leaves you in Stromness, where I had decided to stay.

As a result, I had to hop on a bus to get to Kirkwall, but the 8:10 got me there for 8:40, leaving plenty of time to stroll around the town and have a look over the course. It’s easier to do than to describe, with nearly three laps going back and forth past the Peedie sea (Peedie is an Orcadian word, for ‘small’ – it used to form a natural harbour). There are plenty of places to stay in Kirkwall if you’d rather, with the Peedie hostel overlooking the route.

There’s plenty to see from the bus, with views of the sea on both sides at one point. The fields are full of sheep (sheep) and cows (coos), for extra highlights.

View over the Peedie Sea from near the second cone. Start and finish at the small boathouse in the middle of the picture.

In the sun, the place looked gorgeous, but the wind blowing towards the sea at our backs was enough to slow us all down as we ran across the middle of the course. Turnout, at 34, was a nice size for a course that has two out-and-back sections on narrow paths, though they’ve had over 100, which must have been a little more chaotic.

Blue cones mark the finish, runners head left to right on the path.

It’s all on paths, so unless the sea floods in you’ll have no difficulty with grip. And although the course description sounds complex, it’s very easy to follow. It’s also very easy to find – I hopped off the bus beside Tesco, knowing that was on the route, but if you stay on till the travel centre in Kirkwall, you’ll still be in sight of the course.

The course is distant (but not far) in between the lampposts.

View from the second cone – boathouse centre-right.

After a lovely run, as the weather brightened and the wind seemed less significant (more because I wasn’t trying to run into it, I suspect, than because it had disappeared – it only got stronger towards Sunday), I had a wander round Kirkwall itself, which is a charming town with a small centre.

Kirkwall. Shops; St Magnus Cathedral, built by the Vikings; Orkney Library.

The parkrun is also near the harbour, where they play the Ba game. I chose purely to imagine how it would feel to score the winning goal, fully immersing the ball in the sea – the sign nearby points out that players often immerse themselves, too, and it’s hard to imagine being given the time to score while pursued by a scrum of players without hurling yourself into the cold-looking water. I sat overlooking it in the sun, instead.

Results from Kirkwall parkrun event 111, 2/10/21.

Oct 2, 2021 0

Dundalk parkrun, Ireland

As parkrun returned in Ireland, I decided that heading a short distance across the border wasn’t too out of keeping with the spirit of things, and the fact that Dundalk was well under an hour’s drive away sealed the deal.

Dundalk parkrun route. Start at the pictures, into the middle and round the roundabout, then three anti-clockwise laps and back down the middle section.

Dundalk parkrun sign at Dundalk Institute of Technology.

As it’s only just starting back and they’re feeling their way, there are no facilities on site – use the hotel was the general idea. There is plenty of parking, free on a Saturday, though that didn’t stop many people bumping onto the pavement by the yellow lines. Let’s be charitable and there were many people who figured 5k was their absolute limit, so walking an extra 150m would be too much.

There’s a lovely big windmill on campus, which is a feature you can’t miss.

View of the windmill from the middle of the park.

The start is just behind the zebra crossing. The laps run left to right.

As a multi-lap route running round some fields, this could be uninspiring, but I found plenty to look at, and the course twists just enough to keep it interesting. One side is slightly downhill, the opposite slightly up, but otherwise this has the potential to be pretty quick, so long as you can get round everyone. Not an issue I had, so this was my quickest of the year again – I’m not running much, but it is still getting easier now I can parkrun regularly.

Cross the zebra crossing and follow the path round.

Let me jump you straight past the fact of three laps to the finish. I was moving fairly well, and looking forward to the finish and a guarantee of being quicker than previous weeks. As a result I perhaps switched my brain off, and accelerated towards the very obvious finish line, next to a container in the middle of the park. We had run down there already, so I knew it. I accelerated to use up whatever I had left.

And was applauded as I past the finishing line, pointed towards the roundabout, which now seemed an implausible distance away. I had overcooked it, because the finish line had shunned me, facing the other way and waiting for me to return. I had thought my watch was going to make this course a little short, rather than reaching the more obvious conclusion that having run 4.7km, the finish line was not quite as imminent as I was attempting to make it.

There you have it – be careful with the finish, it may be slightly further away than you think it is, if you forget about the loop.

Past the finish, round the roundabout and back to finish.

Otherwise there were no dramas, plenty of happy people and a few – though not too many – visitors from elsewhere, glad to be back at a parkrun with .ie in the URL. The playing fields were fairly busy, so be sure to follow the crowd, and paths, rather than any small groups who might break off to run across the grass, but otherwise you can’t really go wrong.

Till the finish.

Results for Dundalk parkrun event 247, 11/9/21.

Sep 11, 2021 0

Dungannon Park parkrun, NI

A novelty – a parkrun that still has the extra word ‘park’ in the name.

The route – two clockwise laps. The start is on top of a hill.

Although I could see where the run was, I wasn’t sure where to park from the website, so trusted to the directions, which said to look for the sign to the park from the road. I was relieved, then, to see volunteers gathered by the car park.

Even better, behind those trees there’s a sign that clearly says start. I relaxed a little too much at that – once I got closer after some faffing, I realised that it was pointing towards the start, not its actual location. I had plenty of time, but it’s worth bearing in mind, especially as the start is on a large clearing up a cruel hill, so you don’t really want to have to rush up it.

It really is a very large clearing. As a result of all that space, and the first path being downhill, the start was tremendously exciting, and definitely got legs and blood moving. The surface is hard-packed, if a little rocky – think big gravel, not the stuff you’d put on a driveway – so watch your footing. You’d probably be fine running in shoes without much cushioning, so long as you’re not blasé.

A sweeping downhill turn to get to the lake.

A downhill path brings you to this uphill section, and a sharp left turn to take the path on the right.

The view from the downhill path, which I missed both times. Lovely, though – the boards near the car park have more info about building the water feature.

You’d do well to spot this on the run, but it’s there.

View over the lake, more or less on the run route.

The course is two laps, clockwise round the lake, past the campsite and through the woods. And, of course, up that sodding hill a couple of times. The route picks a less cruel incline than the one we walked up to reach the clearing, but still – it’s a fair way up. The finish is lower, though, so it is at least a net drop. And, as ever, the total elevation was disappointing (20m) given how hard the hill felt.

Some of the paths are fairly narrow, so pick your spot to overtake carefully – the start is an excellent spot, as is the long straight just afterwards, which becomes the finish. From there it is twisty and narrow, round the lake and over the bridge above.

Climbing the hill takes you to the highlight, the section through the woods. It is darker in there, and still slightly uphill, but it’s a lovely spot, with the course snaking through and back up to the clearing.

After doing the whole thing again, you can gallop as best possible down the tremendously exciting start (I didn’t find it quite as exciting the third time), take a right turn at the bottom and along to the finish, next to the campsite.

The finish line, with scanning immediately at the finish.

The cafe is right next to the car park, and with toilets behind it – those were open even though the cafe is currently closed.

Flowers by the bandstand. Behind is the start sign, which actually points you towards the start, a few hundred metres away (but up a hill. Did I mention the hill?)

It’s a lovely run of many features, and a nice park to have a stroll round afterwards. Dungannon itself has a series of interlinked parks, and near to Dungannon Park is a posh, if under-rented, outlet centre ensuring that not only can you get refreshments, but also a whole new wardrobe – of clothes and probably an actual wardrobe, if you’re short one. I didn’t even get to the centre of town, as the parks are a little outside, but enjoyed both a run and a walk, plus doughnuts from a supermarket. Everything I needed, and plenty I didn’t.

Results from Dungannon parkrun event 89, 4/9/21.

Sep 4, 2021 0

City Park parkrun, Craigavon

City Park parkrun route, Craigavon, Northern Ireland

A one-lapper! I have been indecisive recently – frankly, it seems as if all of Northern Ireland’s parkruns are in gorgeous settings, and I couldn’t decide between a view of the reservoir, another forest park, or the Parliament buildings. In the end, I headed for Craigavon, as that’s where new friends from Moira Junior parkrun tend to be. Several of them were there. And I missed them all on the day.

Post-run view of the leisure centre, over the lake. Civic centre car park behind me.

In part that was because this was the largest event I have done in some time, with over 200 people (and partly because I wandered straight off at the finish to get my camera). I haven’t seen so many at a run since a 10k I did in Hatfield, and not at a parkrun for… some time. It was far from congested, though, as there is masses of room outside South Lakes leisure centre, where it starts and finishes.

A view of the finish. See? Masses of space.

I parked, as the website recommends, in the civic centre, which is right next to the course. Most people park at the leisure centre, which is slightly closer, but either way there is loads of parking. The direct gate from civic centre to the water was closed by the time I got back, around 11am, but it isn’t far to walk round the centre and in through the front gate.

Reverse view from (near) the finish line.

The first section, after the plaza in front of the leisure centre. No one stopped for a drink.

The other bonus of this course is that it’s a one lapper (or one plus a tiny bit, to be totally accurate, given that the start is before the finish line, so the latter is assembled after everyone has set off). After Comber’s four laps, this was quite the difference.

It is also incredibly easy to follow, once you’ve taken the right fork (shown below, and marshalled at the time) at the end of the first straight. That takes you away from the lake just for a short while – it felt a lot longer when walking it afterwards. Other than that, you just follow the lakes round, keeping them on your left, and watch for cyclists (not that I saw any) who might prefer you keep to the pedestrian part of the path.

Take the right fork for the parkrun route.

It’s a very flat course – one small rise during that fork, and a couple of other slight rises that might have been as much my lack of fitness as anything else – and so ought to be a fast one if you want it to be. They have been asking for volunteers on the night before for the past few weeks, but it has always worked out, so long may it continue. On a day like yesterday, sunny throughout and then warming nicely after 11 (I spent the rest of the day at Kilkeel beach – this is one of those countries where they can’t “close the sea”), it was absolutely gorgeous.

Results from Citypark parkrun, event 389, 28/8/21 (235 finishers).

Aug 28, 2021 0

Hillsborough Forest parkrun, NI

Hillsborough Forest parkrun route. 2 laps clockwise, from the path in the woods, bottom left of the route above.

A new event, this started when parkrun returned in Northern Ireland, on 26th June 2021. It partly fills the gap between Craigavon and Castlewellan and, more importantly, is in a gorgeous location.

It doesn’t even need to use all of the available ground, so there’s more park to explore before or after if you want to. The event is two B shaped loops, clockwise in the NE section, beside the lake.

The website suggests parking in town (and that’s where the toilets are), but this was a rainy day and I parked in the Forest Park car park – at the end of Park Street on the left side of the map. This clearly gets busy, as they have marshals there once the morning gets going, but today it was pretty quiet, for obvious reasons. It was dryish as we walked to the start, and rained during the event. This was the perfect run for that, being mostly under tree cover, but that didn’t stop us all getting wet on the way back to the car park.

The start and finish. The start is actually on a path, not as “middle of the woods” as the picture makes it look.

View from the gathering point, right by the finish.

It’s not especially hilly, though it felt it. Whenever you turn away from the lake you’re going uphill, which makes for two obvious hills on the map. The one in the middle of the route is the toughest, especially the second time around. It’s also gravelly underfoot – nothing too loose, but you might prefer trainers with some cushioning to minimal tread.

Heading up the first incline (this lot are cooling down, I wasn’t actually able to keep up with these youngsters).

Top of the course, which you cover in both directions.

It is a bit of a hill, honest. But mostly just pretty.

It’s a gorgeous course, and a great park to just mooch around afterwards – trees, lake, fort overlooking it all. People gathered happily under tree cover at the finish before making their way back to wherever they’d come from, and I strolled back round the course, mostly dry despite the rain, taking pictures.

Results from Hillsborough Forest parkrun event #9, 21/8/21 (122 finishers).

Aug 21, 2021 0

Comber parkrun, NI

I had three events about 45 mins away, and on a whim picked Comber. It is four laps, which might normally put me off – too much repetition if you’re not in the mood – but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s very flat, so despite all the turns, this was my quickest run of the year.

The route runs round two fields, which are joined by a fairly narrow bridge – it’ll take a person in each direction, but not much more than that, so just needs everyone to be nice. Which they were on this day. The start and finish, in almost the same place (start on the path at the edge of the field, finish on the path next to it) are just by the bridge, and all are very close to the rugby club – open to use facilities and parking – and the other car park, right next to the rugby club.

Finish between the trees – the block on the left marks the start.

The first field, in which the event starts, runs round playing fields and a showground, lined with trees. The other field is in early stages of development, I think, with trees and other greenery yet to grow much. It is also, as is often the case in Northern Ireland, filled with flags. When people complain that we don’t show enough flags in the UK, it might not be because of oppression but simply that most of our allocation is taken up by this part. The fact that NI marks its 100th anniversary this year (2021) may also contribute.

Flags along the path. Yes, look ahead, flags. Look right, flags. And, trust me, look left and – oh, you’ve heard it.

Turning point at one end – run round the flags.

The run director was warm and welcoming – “There’s a defibrillator. If we have to use it there will be a small charge” – and seemed to know most of the people there, which made for a warm sense of community. The run, as I say, is flat, with the slightest of inclines on the back end of the field of flags, and a facing breeze as we came up it, the only impediments, other than the turns. The surface is good and, on this day, the weather warm, which meant plenty of people hung around for a chat afterwards.

Whereas this is clearly the other field. Car park on the left, rugby club behind the hedge.

The route is marked by permanent arrows.

Just make sure not to miss the scanning, which is not in sight when you finish, being in the rugby club car park, which is itself through a gap in the hedge – covered by a metal contraption (it might be a gate, but seemed more Heath-Robinson than that at a glance) once we’re all done.

Scanning and coffee/tea at the rugby club.

Comber itself is a nice little town, with supermarkets and cafes around a central square just a short walk from the park, and beyond that another small park for a stroll. I suspect they lock the rugby club car park afterwards, so move your car if you’re going exploring.

Results from Comber parkrun event 305, 14/8/21.

Aug 14, 2021 0

Crawfordsburn Country parkrun

This event has a reputation for having a complicated route,though it was fine for me, following people happily in the middle of the pack. There are (small) permanent arrows, and marshals or signs through the course, though fewer at the end – I’m not sure you could follow the course using just the arrows, but might be wrong. I didn’t really know where I was, other than on the sea-front sections, but I also didn’t get lost.

Start line. Just behind the trees to the right is the finish line – the turn is where the people are, on the left.

The start is marked, and shows the small arrows. On the left is the visitors’ centre/cafe.

It was ‘recommended’ to me as a hilly course, and it certainly felt it, though Strava reckons there is only 35m of elevation. You certainly get an impression it’ll be hilly from the start, as a short flat is followed by a left-turn and immediate run uphill.

After that little dogleg – up the hill, along the top, back down the other side, a left turn takes you to the seafront area. This is Crawfordsburn Beach. Helen’s Bay is just North/West of here, and another lovely spot to visit if you have time. The route doesn’t go that way, heading round the field then East/South along the front.

An example small route marker, looking out to sea.

Turn left onto this path, follow it round and right at the end – left to Helen’s Bay.

The beach, and a long flat section till you turn into the woods.

Much of this section is covered in both directions, though you don’t go back up that initial hill again. The loop through the woods is lovely, but tough – there’s a short, sharp hill which I had been warned about, tried to run up and settled for a walk. A hill that goes, then goes again – it levels off briefly, then carries on, and I was grateful to have walked the first bit.

A steep hill heading out of the woods. Tape blocks the gap between the woods during the event.

Keep going, past the stream and this bridge.

You can’t go any further, and finally cross the stream.

Finally, a left turn (unmarked) takes you back to that initial path by the beach, past the hill and then left to the finish. The latter is in sight of the start, but not quite in the same place.

Following a volunteer (post event) down the left turn, back to the beach.

Another lovely run, and I was lucky enough to see it in sunshine. As a result I walked most of the route again, heading further East/South to explore. It’s gorgeous.

Aug 7, 2021 0

Colin Glen parkrun, NI

Colin Glen parkrun route. Start/finish at bottom right. Twice round the lake on the left.

I headed to Colin Glen because of the description on their site: “This is a hilly parkrun and will be a great challenge.” It sure is, albeit not especially slow because you get so much downhill in a row. The run director wandered over to find newbies and was happy to tell me it was uphill for 2k, downhill after you’ve run round the lake – so you work from the start, but are rewarded at the end. It would be hard not to run a positive split, and even a royal flush (each mile quicker than the last) just due to the nature of the course, and I certainly did both.

A rough idea of the elevation. There’s a bit of down in the long uphill, and this makes it look like you end higher than you start, which you don’t. But it certainly shows the looong climb. c. 65m of elevation in total.

Setting off at the start, surrounded by trees.

The other part of the course description is slightly misleading – it refers to two laps, but in fact there’s a long run uphill/flat to the lake, then twice round it (and it is quite small), then a long flat/downhill run back to the finish.

The car park. Those empty spaces are in front of the entrance – presumably it’s a new entrance.

The park is in between Belfast and Lisburn, and far enough from the centre of either to attract lower numbers than other runs. They’ve had over 200, which must have been quite a crowd up and down the paths, but for now attendance is between 50 and 100. There’s an ample car park for those numbers near the start, right next to the church. The start is marked as being a few hundred metres into the park, but everyone meets in the car park. If you can park on the left as you drive in, you’ll find getting out a little easier, with spaces on the right a bit tighter for space.

The course is straightforward, navigationally, and there are permanent yellow arrows on the ground should you want to follow it on your own. Right at the first fork, over two bridges then left over the last one, uphill just a bit more and then onto a flat section leading to the lake.

Arrows on the ground at every junction (because you run it in both directions, there are arrows in both directions at that first fork – just follow the ones leading right on your way down the hill).

Entrance to the lake. I included this just to reassure you that you do *not* have to run up the hill on the right. Maybe come back and do it afterwards? (I did not.) Left after the bridge, to run round the lake.

On this damp day, the surface felt a little slippery. I didn’t slip, and it didn’t feel dangerous, even on the sharper downhill sections, so perhaps just a bit of tree sap making the surface feel a bit odd. It’s mostly tarmac, with a few shingly bits and the occasional sheen of mud over the top.

The finish line. Back past the start and on a few hundred metres to the car park entrance.

Scanning and chat happens in front of the cafe, which was open, if not the centrepiece of post-parkrun socialising right now. They also had a higher than average number of young marshals, which was nice – they’d justify having a few child-sized hi-viz vests, though they look pretty cute when they work almost as overcoats.

Another pretty and welcoming Northern Irish parkrun.

Results from Colin Glen parkrun , event 212, 31/7/21.

Jul 31, 2021 0

Category: Running