Hellbrunn parkrun, Salzburg

Map of Hellbrunn parkrun route, a loop round the grounds of the castle — Hellbrunn parkrun route. Not quite three laps, starting at top right and ending at top left

Salzburg is hilly. Hellbrunn palace looks onto hills and a mountain. The parkrun course avoids all of that and has Dutch levels of elevation – 1m in total (there’s always a margin of error, but still).

The palace and gardens are 7km or so from the centre of Salzburg, which meant a bus ride was the best way for me to get there – the no.25 which starts at the main station (and elsewhere) leaves every 30 minutes, so I hopped on the 7.35 to be sure. As a result I was very early, and rode an extra stop to the zoo so I could wander back to the palace grounds.

View of the mountain looking away from the zoo.

I’d visited the zoo a few days before. I wouldn’t normally, but Salzburg’s attractions are all (I thought) slightly overpriced individually, but then a total bargain with a Salzburg card, which covers all public transport and entrance to everything I wanted to do, plus queue skipping for the funicular if needed. 30€ for the day seems steep, though you can easily save with that, but €39 for 2 days, and €45 for 3 becomes more and more of a bargain. I was never actually asked to show the card (digital, on my phone, for me, but real ones are easily available – e.g. at the souvenir shop in the main station) on the bus, but scanned in to other locations willy nilly.

As a result of that prior visit to the zoo and palace, I knew my way around, and strolled through the grounds – essentially, from the zoo bus stop, head left at the zoo and keep following that path. It’s even easier from the palace stop. There are plenty of toilets at the palace, all open around 8am (or earlier, I can only go by when I got there). I used the ones I knew, next to the Trick Fountains, but there are some on the main drive to the palace, and more even closer to the parkrun start, almost directly North of the meeting point, next to the Fürstenweg.

Sandy-yellow painted buildings on either side of the path leading to the palace, a three-storey building with short staircase for entry. — Main palace drive

Two low sandy-yellow buildings, one containing public toilets — Main palace drive

The meeting point is by the small dipping pond – a neat circle on the map, East of the Palace – and that’s where the finish is. The start is further along the path from the palace and the route is nearly three laps. All the way round twice, then the third time, finish at four-way ‘crossroads’ of paths, on the grass. Signs wherever needed, a couple of marshals, and even I couldn’t get lost.

People gathered at the finish line, on the grass where several gravelled paths meet. Trees and grass are on each side. — The finish line

We had a very international crowd. I even knew a couple of them – one I had met at Linz last weekend, and was expecting to see. And tail walking today was “the fast bloke” from Roma Pineto – when I saw his parkrun shirt with the name of the run on it, I recognised him. I ran Roma a few years ago, fresh from finishing first at Roma Caffarella the week before. I hoped for a repeat, but was rapidly disabused by the event director when Luigi turned up and, sure enough, he had a jog and beat me by two minutes. Today, with a sore foot, he walked at the back but I can’t exactly claim revenge – he’d still have beaten me at a jog. We had a photo together for the memories.

There were also runners from Germany (Westpark – another fond memory, as I bumped into a Ware Jogger I knew, and had been racing her son in law (he beat me, too), New Zealand, England and South Africa. The event director was Irish and one of the volunteers from the US, for good measure. To be expected, in such a tourist-heavy place, but still impressive in a field of 31.

Looking away from the finish line – the route comes up the path to the right, then make a sharp right to head along the path on the left. The start is at the end of the left-most path. This is the sharpest turn of the course.

I struggled a little on this very flat course. Partly a week of good food and drink in Salzburg, but also I think that despite the very flat course with only one sharp turn, the ground is gravelly throughout, which takes some of the thrust out of each leg strike. I certainly wouldn’t claim it’s a hard course, but it’s surprisingly un-quick for such a flat one.

There are views on the course, though I’d recommend a good walk around the grounds afterwards to see things properly. If you have a card, or are happy to pay, the Trick Fountains are both tremendously naff and equally good fun and the palace is interesting with a well-curated exhibition on the archbishop Markus Sittikus (show your card at the ticket office to swap for a timed-slot for the fountains; that ticket then gets you into the palace). Most of the participants headed off to the cafe nearby and ended up nattering till midday before hopping on the bus back home. It’s a lovely run/walk, but with the attractions of the palace and grounds on top, you can upgrade it to stunning.

Results from Hellbrunn parkrun event 45, 23/7/22; 31 finishers.

A four-way path crossing, surrounded by high trees — View of the finish area (taken on a non-parkrun day)

Looking down an avenue of tall trees back through a hedge and to the grounds of Hellbrunn Palace, very small in the distance — View from the finish area towards the Palace Grounds

Jul 23, 2022 0

Donauradweg parkrun, Linz

Donauradweg parkrun route on this day only – head NE, back to the first (North) bridge and over, down to the South, back to the Southernmost bridge and finish in the same place, but on the grass.

The meeting point for the Donauradweg parkrun is on the North side of the Danube, just next to (under if wet) the Neue Eisenbahnbrücke (New Railway Bridge). Don’t be put off by the name – it’s a pedestrian bridge, so it can be your route across if necessary. Indeed, it was part of the event route this time, though not currently marked as such on the official course page, which shows the out and back route, staying North of the river. The route I ran, as you’ll see in the comments below, turned out to be too tricky to marshal, so you now run an out and back along the North side of the river. Nothing to stop you having a run or walk across the bridges, though, and exploring the South Side.

Runners cross a bridge, separated from the traffic by a high barrier and from the edge by a metal barrier about 1m high. — Crossing the first bridge (VÖEST-Brücke)

A wide path for pedestrians and cyclists on a bridge marked by dramatic curves rising several feet, which are part of the structure. — Crossing the first bridge (VÖEST-Brücke)

Unfortunately for us, the usual course setter-up wasn’t there this Saturday, and we completed the first turn-around too soon. I figured it was early; we’d been told the turn was after a km or so, and I was initially impressed by how quickly the first runners were coming back at us. Then I made the turn after 100m or so more myself, was only about 600m in and thought it must be too early. Sure enough, we all got very quick times, though they might later get adjusted to fit!

A shaded spot under the bridge, looking at chalk on the ground that shows 'parkrun ziel (finish)'. Beyond is the taped finish on the grass, in front of sports grounds. — Chalk marks the turn to the finish. The start is on the path by the flag.

Looking back up the finish funnel, with two young volunteers giving out tokens and timing, next to the parkrun flag. The bridge looks very low and concrete, though there's a good few metres clearance. — Chalk marks the turn to the finish. The start is on the path by the flag.

The course has been changed to make it more interesting than the old out and back, and to let participants see a bit more of the river (and enjoy the climb up to the apex of the bridges) as they go. Other than the turnaround snafu, it’s certainly successful, and worth the work involved in getting permission from two different authorities. It sounded as though they were keen enough, guiding organisers through the nomenclature – parkrun is ‘official’ to us, but with no numbers etc., not so for the authorities, which makes getting permission easier. The parkrun guidelines required written permission, which was harder to get since the authorities deemed that unnecessary, but eventually they managed to make all the edges fit.

The Nibelungenbrücke (bridge, not on the route) looms in the distance as the route continues on a concrete path on the river bank. — Running by the Danube

Trees give shade to the concrete path, which is bordered by grassy areas. A bank slopes away on the right. — Running by the Danube

There are a couple of little climbs, including one early on – always keep to the higher path is the motto of the route. There are some tight turns, including the two 180s for the out-and-back sections, but otherwise this is a fast and flat route, if you’re not totally distracted by the river to the side.

Linz itself seemed, as I arrived by train, a very relaxed place. The railway station is a little way from the centre, which probably adds to that feeling, but despite being Austria’s third-largest city it isn’t such an obvious tourist destination as some of the others (Hitler spent his youth there and considered it his hometown, but that’s not something they make anything of) so I felt relaxed even in the city centre itself. I stayed up on one of the hills to the South of town, and walked (just under 4km) to the parkrun start though there are buses and trams nearby. There are portaloos and a drinking fountain just to the SW of the start if you need them.

Results from Donauradweg parkrun event 14, 16/7/22; 28 finishers.

Jul 16, 2022 2

Donaupark parkrun, Vienna

Donaupark parkrun route, three laps of the park by the Danube. — Donaupark parkrun route. 3 laps, anticlockwise.

Austria started parkrun in Salzburg in August 2021 and now has three events, in Salzburg, Linz and Vienna. Vienna started in October 2021, and was today on its 33rd event. It’s very easy to get to, albeit I broke with my tendency to walk to the start (it being 9+ km away from Westbahn) and hopped on the metro. From Alte Donau (‘Old Danube’) metro, on the U1 line, it’s a 400m walk and you can’t really miss it – take the Arbeiterstrandbadstraße exit, turn right and walk along the road, then cross over once you’re past the Sportcenter and you’re there.

Skyscrapers look over the park, while a hi-viz wearing volunteer gives the German-language briefing. An English one followed. — Introductory briefing from the concrete

By now I am used to hearing briefings in languages I really don’t speak, and enjoy picking out the bits that I can – three laps, clap for volunteers, qr code here if you’d like to help out in the future. But it was a somewhat wasted effort, in that the German-language briefing was immediately followed by a fulsome one in English, from a different volunteer. A nice touch, and helpful given the number of tourists.

The tall Donauturm, or Danube tower, rises in the park and the path and runners head towards it. — After the first turn, you run toward the tower. Even I couldn’t miss it.

I chatted to a couple of English people before the start, and we later found that we covered more-or-less exactly 20 years, with 10 years between each of us. They then took the Mickey out of me for not being significantly faster than them, which was fair enough. Both I and the 59 year old sandbagged; me suggesting I’d run a minute quicker than him, which made for a surprise when he came past me in the last 500m or so. There was little I could do about it, other than congratulate him.

A wide path, with trees and mowed grass on either side — Wide paths

No one really bit on my jokes about no-one knowing the name of the park (“What’s this park?” “Donau”), and how the situation only gets worse if you ask, well, okay then, what’s the river called? but I enjoyed them immensely. It’s good, I think, to have a nice time in your own head. I also had a perfectly decent time running round the park. It’s yet another parkrun with a mini-railway track running near it, and you cross that en-route.

Concrete blocks showing the park name — The briefing area, finish and start just behind here

The run is a fast and flat route, with a slight headwind today down the first/finishing straight to keep us occupied. It finishes in almost exactly the same place as it starts, so couldn’t be simpler, other than remembering to run round the edge of the area marked by the cones, rather than taking a shortcut across the tarmacced area from which the event briefing is given. The course was mostly unmarshalled, but just needed the few arrows it had to keep us heading the right way. Towards the end of the loop you take a smaller path to the right, to loop slightly away from the start/finish, but other than that I reckon I could run it again without markers, which is rare.

Post event we went to the Café Oide Donau (no, oi don’t know either) which is close, though not the cafe that is in the park so don’t head off for a post run cooldown and miss out. I sat chatting with a couple of Brits, enjoying the warm (but not too warm) weather before hopping on the metro with a new friend. Polish parkruns are great, but they do slightly miss out for not so often having a post-event cafe visit, and my three weeks there made this cafe visit all the sweeter. And this is a lovely event, which is never going to be a slow course unless there’s ice on the course. First place today celebrated that by setting a new course record – it’s not out of reach, but a good marker for decent runners to hit in the future. Whether you come for that or just to take in an Austrian parkrun, this is a easy to get to, straightforward to navigate and recommended event.

Results from Donapark parkrun event 33, 9/7/22; 58 finishers.

Jul 9, 2022 0

parkrun Kraków, Poland

Kraków parkrun route map, a loop and a bit of the park. — Kraków parkrun route. Head anti-clockwise to the 734m mark, turn, back to the start/finish and then a complete loop of the park.

Kraków parkrun is easy to find. The start and finish are at the NW corner of the park Błonia, which is walkable from the old town, and has a tram stop directly opposite. I walked from town – about half of that time I was walking to the park, then the other half I was walking along that long straight you can see at the top of the map. It’s about a mile just for that section. That also takes you past the city stadium which this weekend was hosting the European Rugby 7s.

Grass in the middle of the park, very pale after days of sun — Blessed drizzle over the park

I had been in Warsaw at the beginning of the week. It was very warm, but cool enough on the Monday that lying in the shade in a park was pleasant. But no bedroom was air-conditioned, and the heat increased through the week. A cloudy day and downpour on Tuesday was relief enough for me to walk to the bus station on Wednesday, but Krakow was back to the same heat, and then more. As a result, the forecast drizzle and sub-20 temperatures of Saturday loomed like a mirage, even more so as the thunderstorms meant to arrive on Friday moved from the afternoon to evening to night. But sure enough, Saturday morning was cool. The pictures might look a bit dull and drizzly as a result so you’ll just have to trust me that for most of us, this was fabulous.

Chalk marks on the ground to show where to make the first turn. — The 734m turn around point

I chatted to a Frenchman at the start, after he’d explained the course to me. I hadn’t understood why on the way there I’d passed the 4km marker, then the 734m turnaround point. How would we turnaround, but still get to 4km on that stretch? It’s straightforward enough – head off clockwise to the turn, run around it and then do a complete loop anti-clockwise. So although you start on the long straight, you only run the whole length of it at the end, including that 4km marker.

4km chalked on the ground on the long straight — The long straight

I suspect the course is completely flat, but I struggled a bit, feeling like I found a headwind on that long last stretch. It might just have been a general sense of lag after a week of not sleeping very much. My brother, at any rate, thought that my next destination Slovakia suited me. I was just pleased to be warm but not hot. (Did I mention Poland was hot? So hot, for instance, that sitting on a park bench in the shade at 6pm was too warm.)

Running along a wide path in the drizzle. — Sweeping turns and long straights

The finish line, marked with the word META — The finish line

Some friendly locals got me and others to sign the visitors’ book (/sheafs of A4) and chatted for a while at the finish line. As with other runs I’ve done in Poland, there’s no culture of heading straight to a cafe here, which is fine in the summer, and there’s plenty of space to mill about after the finish, either off to one side of the course, or the whacking great grassy area in the middle.

Results from Krakow parkrun, event 414, 2/7/22; 154 finishers.

Jul 2, 2022 0

parkrun Zamek w Malborku, Malbork, Poland

parkrun Zamek w Malborku route. Two out and backs, a long one then a short.

This region is well-served for parkruns. Other than Warsaw, they aren’t always clustered in individual cities, but there are several here that can be reached by a short train journey, particularly from Gdansk. Malbork is just a 40 minute, £2.30 train ride away (over £5 if you get the express train), and I opted to stay in town for a few days to make it even easier.

This event was their third birthday (but only event 84, thanks to Covid), and they had put the word out, upping attendance from last week’s 28 to 73. That, balloons, cake and celebrations made for a festive atmosphere, even if I and the two Irish tourists I’d bumped into on the way understood barely a word.

Group of runners walk to the start, on a path bordered by tall thin trees — Walking to the start

We were made welcome, though, and the run director made sure I knew roughly where I was going. It isn’t tricky, though this is their last run on a temporary route they’ve used while the boardwalk in front of the castle was being renovated, so you won’t need the details. Still; head North for a couple of kilometres, round the U to a turn-around point, all the way back and beyond for a few hundred metres, and back to the finish.

The sun shines through the trees that line the route — Shade covers most of this course

Today was a very warm day, comfortably over 20degrees even on the way there, let alone after the start at 9am. Much of Malbork, including parts of the boardwalk, is open to the sun, so this route was a huge bonus on a day like today. There’s an unshaded bit at the top of the course, and we really felt it at that point.

Brick pillars on either side of the path near the turn-around point — The first turnaround, 2km in. I totally missed the sign, but you go round the first barrier at the end

Swapping notes with the two Irish runners afterwards, both of us blokes had missed the sign that pretty clearly marked the first u-turn, but we had other runners to follow and made the turn without incident. The second u-turn, 550m or so from the finish, was marked by both a sign and a marker on the ground, so wasn’t hard to miss. It seemed a long way when I was going it, but it isn’t really – there is a little gradient here, so perhaps that’s why I was wishing it into view.

A wooden structure in front of the path, as the run goes round to the right then back to the left to head along the riverside — Heading back at the top of the ‘n’ shape

The first and last bits of the run are along the riverside (River Nogat), and I presume the percentage of the course that is there will only increase on the new route. Trees shield it from view much of the time, but it’s there, providing a sense of space.

A sign marks the second turn-around with a blue bridge over the right, on the right — Second turn-around

A painted circle and arrow on the ground also mark the second u-turn — Second turn-around

Lush green vegetation by the path as the route heads through a car park — Crossing a car park towards the finish

In common with many events here, it runs with relatively few people, and just one marshal, at the car-park which is on the route. It was very quiet there, I never saw a car moving, and some cones reinforced the idea that something was happening.

The finish is on a narrow section of the path, so we were all sure to step off the route quickly as people were still coming through the other way. I didn’t notice any problem even with 70+ people, other than a few finishers racing through the finish and having to be chased down by the lady handing out finish tokens.

Finish ("meta") sign on the path after the event, with small boats in the marina behind — A view of the marina

Afterwards we hung around and nattered while the sweat started to dry – it really was pretty warm, and stayed that way – before wandering back towards town via the boardwalk. The view of the castle there is pretty dramatic, and it’s a great backdrop for the whole thing. I had also done the tour the day before, so was filled with thoughts of the Middle and High Castles as we walked by. More usefully for a runner, if you keep going along the waterfront, you come to a man-made beach and a spot where you can take a dip in the river, which was sorely tempting today.

We roped in the run director for a fully international flavour – Polish, Irish, Irish, me.

Results from parkrun Zamek w Malborku, event 84 25/6/22; 73 finishers.

Jun 25, 2022 0

Gdańsk Południe parkrun, Poland

Route map, hung on railings at the finish line. — parkrun Gdańsk Południe route map.

On a day that saw runs cancelled in France for excess heat, and England was warm too, Poland had ideal weather for running – overcast, warm, a tiny shower after we’d finished and then some sun to enjoy later.I celebrated with my fastest run since Rotterdam, last year, even getting over-excited and catching the young boy who was pacing 22 minutes. It didn’t last, but I was happy just to be in the ball park.

Południe is a district of Gdańsk – the word just means South, so many cities have a “Południe”. I had an easy stroll through parks and quiet streets for 4km or so from the South of the city to the park, ‘Zbiornik retencyjny Świętokrzyska’. It’s more like 7km from the centre of the city, but there are plenty of buses. You also have the choice of Gdansk parkrun itself, at a similar distance from the city, though it was cancelled this weekend for a triathlon.

A flag and banner advertising parkrun in front of the lake. People are chaining their bikes to the railings on a small concrete jetty onto the water. — Banners

The run is a fast and flat one, and a pretty simple course. There are no facilities, so post-run entertainment is provided by the participants, with water and some biscuits with the parkrun name on. They made me pose with one of those, but it was a terrible picture and I’ll not share it. Nice biscuits, though.

A view of the larger lake — The first lake from the South

People gathered on the paved path at the finish, with apartment blocks behind. — The meeting point, with finish line (META) marked on the ground.

The meeting point is the car park at the SE corner of the park, next to some apartment buildings as you can see above. The start is further round the park, on the West side, so everyone wanders over there. That happened organically, but it seemed to slightly surprise the organisers, and I wondered whether if they’d had a moment longer, they might have done the announcements at the initial meeting point. It didn’t matter, they carried the megaphone to the start and did them there – several rounds of applause, some I couldn’t make out, others clearly for milestones (such as someone running their 50th parkrun).

Runners on the brick-paved surface — Running

There were a couple of other English people there, taking a break from a stag-do, which is an impressive effort. We all ran one loop of the Southern-most, larger lake, ran round the East side of it again before heading up the path to the other lake, which is smaller, has a small hill to surmount to get up onto the path, and a fountain in the middle to greet you once you’re up the hill. Back down the path, round the other side of the larger lake and back to the meeting point. Job done.

Grass on either side of a paved path — Brick pavings

A young boy running as a pacer, with grass bordering the path — Brick pavings

Not many people spoke English, which isn’t uncommon so far for me in Poland (and if they’re learning a language, it’s more likely to be Ukrainian, to talk to their new friends), but I still managed to have a quick chat about my 500 shirt with a runner – he was breathing more easily than me as we ran down the last straight, asking me first in Polish and then English but I managed to answer his questions. And I had a nice chat via a phone’s translation (typing) with a young girl whose mum had asked me to pose with the Gdańsk Południe biscuit. She wanted particularly to know how long I’d been doing parkrun for to get a 500 shirt, and was kind of amazed that my first event was in 2007. I looked at her and suddenly realised that most of her life, and we communicated that with a big of sign language. She enjoyed it, I pretended to. Yikes.

A crowd of runners by the lake after finishing the event. — Gathered at the finish

Me, in a parkrun Gdańsk Południe frame by the lake — Me, and frame

Results from parkrun Gdańsk Południe event 247, 18/6/22 – 78 finishers.

Jun 18, 2022 0

Haga parkrun, Stockholm

Haga parkrun route. Start heading North, through the gates, turn left up the hill, run the loop twice and then back to the beginning.

Haga park is to the North of the centre, an easy walk from where I was staying, near Stockholm Central, a bike ride for some, a jog for others. There’s a car park right by the start, too, for anyone who had driven.

A parkrun flag flying on the grassy area that makes up the finish line. Trees line the path behind. A few runners and several hi-viz volunteers are gathered. — The start (by the finish line) and finish.

This was to be a cloudy and cool day with drizzle, but you wouldn’t have known it from the period up till just after 9, which was very warm and sunny. It was only as we came out of the trees after the second loop of the park that the sun had properly disappeared, making only intermittent appearances afterwards. The run director tried gamely to convince us that this was typical Stockholm weather, but no one was fooled, especially not an English runner who had made the trip from Helsinki. We all enjoyed it throughly, mind.

The Haga gates, head through them shortly after the start.

I arrived early, standing around in the sun, just a little too warm to be wearing a long-sleeved top. Everything was already setup before 9, despite the start at 9.30, so it was very easy to find, but it isn’t tricky – the bottom end of the park, just North of the parking, on the road-side of the first grassy area.

There are no facilities at the park, or all that nearby – toilets at Odenplan, the course page says, which is a little walk away.

Trees to the right, grass to the left as runners head along a gravelly path. — Runners on the path

A wide path heading up hill, lined by trees. — Runners on the path

We were warned that the left-side of the loop is mostly uphill, and there are two hills/lumps on the other side, too. You’re heading uphill from the start, too, to get through the Haga gates, but none of the hills go on for too long. I had two quick miles, bookending a significantly slower one, and ran exactly the same time as at Vallaskogen, in Linköping, so must have made the most of the downhills. I was pushed all the way by a Ukrainian who was walking up the hills, which was humbling, and he tucked in behind me down the last hill before racing off to the finish, then joining me and a festival-attending Brit for a drink afterwards. It was only the Brit’s second parkrun, and already he has run events in two countries.

Tall trees stand in the park, with open spaces all around. — Heading back downhill at the top of the loop.

Runners on the path to the right of a lake. — Lake on your left as you head downhill

There are just a couple of marshals to check on you as you go round, but plenty of signs at the top right of the course, and no chance to go wrong. Each kilometre is marked, too.

A runner in shorts and t-shirt on a wide path, with trees lining the route. — A kilometre marker on the path.

The paths are all wide, if a little gravelly to slow you just a little. There’s a gravelly area just as you come downhill at the top of the loop, which acts as a brake but is soon over. Essentially, with all this space and tree cover, there’s little to stop you getting on with the event – people are easily avoided, the sights are clear and even on a sunny day you are in the shade often.

Cones mark the finish, heading off the path and onto the grass, with plenty of room for finishers to mill about and a few bikes parked by the finish line. — The finish, and a crowd eating watermelon to celebrate a finisher’s 100th parkrun.

This event couldn’t go ahead on the National Day, because the park was being used for other celebrations, though it still had an attendance spike on the Saturday before, with 133 finishers. We had 87 this Saturday, which is a nice crowd – a fair few people, but soon spreading out. I thoroughly enjoyed my morning, both here and chatting afterwards in the cafe – possibly the wrong cafe, with hindsight, given that only the Ukrainian joined us, but perhaps we were just there and finished before everyone else. It didn’t matter. We managed to confuse the lady in the cafe by putting in two orders – she seemed to think the second order overruled some of the first, so we got exactly half what we’d ordered. Given I’d offered to pay, that was a big saving – orange juice and small pastry, £6.32. I popped into a supermarket on the way back. Perhaps because UK prices have risen/are rising so much, supermarkets seem more reasonable than I remember (two pastries, £1.60). But everything else (hotels, as I found on my first night, when the key had been swiped from my AirBnB, cafes, restaurants etc) is reassuringly expensive.

That evening, as I wandered the decks of a Polferry from Nynäshamn to Gdańsk, I could immediately see the difference, and my wait for a beer was rewarded – even the ferry price was only just over £3. Just remember to always choose to pay in the local currency. On small amounts, the markup when they offer to let you pay in your own seems less of a ripoff than I remember, and it was still a bargain, but I was happy with £3.01 rather than, I think, £3.35. The 50cl topped off my time in Sweden, and memories of running in Swedish warmth, nicely.

Results from Haga parkrun, event 209, 11/6/22, 87 finishers.

Jun 11, 2022 0

Vallaskogen parkrun, Linköping, Sweden

Each country can choose a day on which they can hold an extra parkrun. Sweden chooses its national day, 6th June. Because it was a Monday, and also because it followed some national holidays in the UK, many of the runs in Sweden were busy – Malmö, which I ran in 2019, especially so. In 2019, we nearly set an attendance record with 144. This year, they all-but doubled it, with 287.

Route map of Vallaskogen parkrun. — Route map – one short loop at the top, then onto the longer loop. The marshal at the Lap 1 marker directs you three different ways – left (anti-clockwise) first, round the small loop, then straight on, down to the longer one and finally left again (clockwise), to head to the finish.

Vallaskogen was much quieter. They’d had an influx of tourists on the Saturday before, taking their attendance to 38, and today they were at a still-higher-than-average 27.

27 runners and walkers stand on the start line with a wood cabin on one side and trees on the right of a gravelly path. — The start from in front.

The same start line seen from behind with green trees standing above everything. — The start from in front.

Vallaskogen is a nature reserve to the NW of Linköping. I was staying in Skaggetorp, a self-contained suburb further NW, but even that was a straightforward 4km walk to the start. From the centre of town, it would be much shorter.

Everyone meets at the edge of the reserve, still within the confines of the Gamla Linköping, an open-air museum preserving buildings and more from small-town Sweden of 100 years or more ago. The red cabins you can see in the start pictures above are typical. There are picnic tables to gather round afterwards, ground to lie on if you need it and toilets nearby.

There was one other Brit there, who managed to take better pictures while on the run, which I’ve reproduced below. Thanks!

An open-air area with picnic benches and the parkrun flag. — A gathering point

A tree-lined path with wooden fences on either side. The ground is covered in pine needles. — Pine needles on the ground.

A gravel path running through tree-lined surroundings — Me, running.

A marshal in hi-viz at the junction of several paths. — The busy marshal, here at the first turn.

The course is mostly on forest paths, which at this time of year are covered in pine needles, giving a slightly gentler landing. It’s all run on a good surface, and with not too much up and down, making for a quick course. Plenty to divert you as you progress, too, with trees and wildlife everywhere.

There’s a short loop to get you going before you head out into the forest. The course doesn’t take a right-turn it used to, because there are goats there – an unusual reason for a course change. I couldn’t spot the old route while running, though, and just followed the signs. On the main loop, you’re following yellow diamonds and yellow runner signs. I was lucky enough to have an actual yellow runner up ahead, so was in no doubt as to where to go.

Running along a brown path through trees. — Follow the yellow runner

A runner in yellow and a sign showing a yellow runner, through the woods. — Follow the yellow runner

The event can run with very few volunteers. The lady handing out finish tokens was also scanning people’s barcodes, which is perfectly possible but I couldn’t really stand by while she was busy, and ended up giving out finish tokens to everyone finishing behind me, which is why you’ll see me standing at the finish in the picture below.

Signs in Swedish at the finish line, warning people to watch out for runners. — The finish line.

A runner comes in to the finish line, tall trees surround the path. — The finish line from behind.

It was a glorious morning – later it clouded over – and so while others had things to head back to, Graham and I headed to a local cafe to chat. Dahlbergs cafe is just round the corner, and popular enough to have a queue to get in when we got there and when we left, some time later. Time spent in the cafe meant we were still in the museum when a concert of Swedish songs (that is the sum total of what I know about it, and that’s a guess) started later, and we stood for a while to let the atmosphere roll over us.

A crowd of people on a paved area stand listening to a small group of singers on a stage. — Listening to the music.

Heading back, I deviated from the main road that took me directly to Skaggetorp and found that just over the road to the North of the nature reserve is a whacking great forest (Rydskogen), which was a pleasure to stroll through, dotted with wide trails and smaller ones taking you off into the trees, along with a frisbee golf course to avoid getting in the way of.

I’d heard a few people saying they’d considered going to Uppsala but that they didn’t think there were trains. I’d considered Uppsala, assuming I’d stay in Stockholm, and there seemed plenty of trains, so bear in mind that one’s a possibility. Unless I’ve missed something, but I wonder whether the number of train companies means it’s possible to check one operator and not find trains – seat61.com recommends sj.se, which I used with no issues – buy the tickets online, in advance for the best price (see the possible differences below!) and just show the pdf on a phone if you have one.

Train times and prices from Stockholm to Uppsala. — Stockholm to Uppsala

Results from Vallaskogen parkrun event 80, 6/6/22, 27 finishers.

Jun 8, 2022 0

Örebro parkrun, Sweden

Starting from Oset and Rynningeviken, to the East of the city, the parkrun is an easy walk from town. Walking there alongside the canal was a highlight of my morning, and the meanders don’t add much to the distance – I turned a 2.5km walk into a 4km one by heading South to the canal and walking round the castle before I went East.

You can walk on either side of the water with no worry about getting stuck – there’s a bridge right by the start of the run. It is surprising how quickly your surroundings change from urban to country as you move East out of town, and good for the soul on any morning, though I particularly enjoyed the fact that it was warm and therefore pausing to look around didn’t mean getting cold.

A bridge over the water next to a paved area from where the parkrun starts and finishes. Several people milling around in Hi-Viz and parkrun vests. — The finish line, with bridge behind. The start is on the other side of this paved area.

A paved area right by the water, with a path heading off through the trees. — The start line and briefing area.

Sign explaining parkrun and showing the route. — Örebro parkrun route, shown on a permanent sign.

I passed a few toilets by the canal, but didn’t check to see if they were open. I think some used the ones at the Naturens hus, 100m from the start, before the event. Certainly the cafe was open afterwards for drinks and food.

A grassy bank on the right as the course heads into the nature reserve. — Running into the nature reserve.

This being Sweden, and in the EU, various things are banned, and no one has any common sense, so we had only the loosest explanation of the course and then everyone set off running in circles before working out that a straight line would be best. Meanwhile, back in the glorious UK, the barriers of annoying civil servants who insist on the truth have been further weakened, and the government is able to pretend in an official press release that the EU banned the pint symbol and that the notion of “common sense” is going to stand up to more than a second’s scrutiny and will serve as the basis for law (as QC Joshua Rosenberg put it when talking about the human rights rhetoric/bill “Promises to end abuse and restore common sense are political rhetoric that deserve no place in a briefing note of this sort”). Bless them, that brain drain has kicked in *awfully* quickly. It’s also possible to now see a clip of Johnson arriving in front of a crowd of royalists to loud boos, only with the boos removed. Pravda are in town to take lessons, apparently.

The contrast is stark in a country that isn’t trying to pretend that there are benefits where there are not. In reality we had a lovely briefing in two languages, and no one felt that running 5km was a tyranny that would be fixed by calling it 3.1miles or 24.86 furlongs. It’s a one lap course, with the first and last bit the same, and plenty of time to look out over the water.

The course heads through trees before soon opening up with water on the right as it heads into the nature reserve. That first section is pretty shaded but after that it’s mostly open to the weather, which made for a warm run on a summery day.

A wide path with long grass and bushes on either side. — Still not much shade.

At the finish, sitting by the water I could hear several birds singing, and a cuckoo making merry that punctuated the rest. It’s pretty idyllic.

Waterfront view of the finish area, red short poles mark out the finish. — Waterfront view of the finish.

Results from Örebro parkrun, event 181, 4/6/22.

Jun 4, 2022 0

Telford parkrun, Shropshire

Map of Telford parkrun, in the Town Park. — Telford parkrun route – one small lap, cutting across the middle, then one large lap, going all the way down to the bottom of the map, past Fletcher’s Pool.

The Town Park is just to the South East of town, and the parkrun starts even closer, outside the Visitor Centre. I chose free parking down at the SE corner of the park, just over a mile away from the start. There is paid parking much closer to the start, either the Dark Lane car park mentioned on the course page, or for just £1, the Rugby Club, diagonally opposite the Dark Lane car park (some say the postcode for the latter is wrong, and when I checked it pointed to the rugby club, so it would get you there, if not quite where you might expect – check that you’re being taken to Dark Lane, at least).

Wide paths outside the visitor centre and playgrounds with a few tall trees. — The visitor centre. Post parkrun, so no evidence of it, but the start is on the path to the right.

The start takes you downhill to get to the lake, and you then head round the lake and cut across the middle of the park for the first, short, lap, before repeating the loop and adding some more on at the bottom edge. It’s very straightforward, and it’s organised such that very few, if any, people need to worry about being lapped by the faster runners.

Runners in motion down a path bordered by verdant bushes. — Runners get going.

The course is very green, and mostly shaded, with tree-lined paths making up most of the course. It’s a very pleasant place to be. It’s a busy event, with close to 400 finishers this Saturday, but it very quickly didn’t feel crowded, despite the paths not being that wide. There’s enough space for people to stretch out, once through the first section going downhill.

Slightly blurred photo of runners in motion, the path is surrounded by trees, with the blurring making it appear even more green than it is really (which its very green). — Green

A signpost points people around the park at a t-junction, as the long loop continues straight on to the South end of the park. More green. — Green

The finish area is not quite as far up as the start, but it does still involve a cruel hill at the end of the run, before a last quick section on the flat coming into the finish itself. There’s loads of space here afterwards to relax in the sun, if there is any, or just to mill around chatting.

People stand around, with a couple lying down, at the finish area which is on a large grassy spot with paths round the edge for the actual running. — The finish line and grassy area for a nice lie down.

Telford parkrun is another great parkrun, with good facilities, a great park to run/walk around and plenty to see and do afterwards if you want to stick around (it may be that if you do, you should check with the rugby club when they close their gates, but that may not be an issue, and could just be an excuse to move to the small free parking areas at the South of the park).

Results from Telford parkrun, event 388, 21/5/22, with 377 finishers.

May 21, 2022 0

Category: Running