Dancing At Lunacy

parkrun #242 event#58 Reason for visit: to regain regionnaire status!

Stranmillis College is my Mum’s alma mater, and I know she reads these, so hi Mum!  She infamously contracted pleurisy while sliding down the Famous Hill on a dining room tray…

Now I was tempted to attend the inaugural last week, as my mate Ronan was celebrating his 250th run.  But instead I chose to capture a missing Wilson Index number at Deerpark, Carlanstown , and I’m very glad I did! One of my fellow canicrossers turned up at Stran, to be informed that it is a “no dogs” course, cos Rules, which he was rather miffed about.  And I would have been also if I’d given up catching my WI9 and then discovered I couldn’t run with Minnie.  Anyhoo, I let them get their inugural out of the way, and atteneded event #2, which suited me to run without dog as I was heading off to a dance class afterwards.

Access:

Runners are encouraged to park in the small car park at the roundabout.  This has around 80 spaces, though some of the parking leaves a lot to be desired.

One then trudges up the Famous Hill, past any amount of empty car-parking spaces which aren’t allowed to be used cos Rules.  There is a Metro bus stop close to the entrance, 8A or 8D from the city centre –   the 8.40 would get you there in plenty of time.

Facilities:

The run starts and finishes behind the Orchard building.

There are loos in here which are clean and warm, and I was able to leave my jacket under a table here too.  After the run coffee and buns are in the cafe across the way in Central Bulding, which is currently doing a special offer for parkrunners.

Course:

From the start it’s DOWN the Famous Hill, across the front of the big old redbrick building, and then up hill.  And then up hill some more.

A short spur to a turnaround point, and then more hills and more buildings. It’s all on tarmac roads, look out for the speed bumps, and there were a few cars driving about as well (at what seemed to me to be in excess of the 5 or 10 mph speed limit indicated).  If you are running with headphones, make sure you keep aware of what’s happening around you.  Three laps, and you can then pat yourself on the back for completeing a “character-building” course.

Crowd:

I got the feeling it was a youngish crowd – even though my time was a rubbish 37 mins (I walked up the hills quite a bit), I was still 2nd in my age category.  And the first female was an impressive junior with a time of 21 minutes.  I bumped into a few fellow tourists, regionnaire and Wilson chasers.  There were 118 people when I visited, and the wide paths made it not too bunchy or crowded.  I have to admit, it’ll not make the Top Ten list of prettiest parkruns.  But it’ll be popular with those completing their “I’verunalltheNornIrnparkrunssoIhave” collection, visiting students and professors, and those who live nearby.

Gear:

My Garmin couldn’t find a signal at the start.  I was probably standing too close to big trees and tall buildings, and should’ve gone onto the playing pitch where some people were doing their warm ups.  My headphones thankfully worked, as running without music would’ve been testing, and they are bone conducting ones so I could still hear what was going on –  there was lots of encouragement from fellow runners.

Strangely Appropriate Song on Shuffle:

Since I was heading off to a dance class straight after, “Some Days You Gotta Dance” by The Dixie Chicks.

Other thoughts:

My “elf’n’safety” meter was beeping loudly at the pre-run briefer standing on a plastic chair, the cars on the course, and a few extra marshalls would’ve been good, especially at the turnaround point, where the marker can get blown or kicked out of place, and also the surface there was a bit slippery and mucky.

I thought I couldn’t see a tail walker, but photos and results seem to suggest that there was one, just not wearing the orange vest.  And I’m going to need a teeny tiny bead to mark the spot on my Tshirt!

List of All My Parkruns:

All my parkruns

Filed under: belfast, Parkrun, running | Tagged: parkrun, parkrun tourist, Stranmillis |