parkrun #379 event #103
Regionnaire status regained!
The newest addition to Norn Irn’s parkruns is Paisley Park, in north Belfast. I visited on their event number 3, on a beautiful crisp sunny autumn day.
Access:
It’s in Belfast, so it will be pretty easy for locals and visitors alike to get there. Bus routes are listed on the parkrun page, but I managed to get a lift there, and met enough running chums there to arrange a lift home again (Thank you Liz and Emma!)
Facilities:
There is very little car parking on site. The area is shared with a playing pitch so there are football things happening at the same time. A few loos available in the changing rooms. No cafe on site, but a number of options nearby, including McDonalds where the team meet. Its launch was celebrated with a plaque, commemorating the breaking of a 4 minute mile here in Belfast.
Crowd:
Being fairly new, there are lots of tourists such as myself making sure we have ticked off all the events in Norn Irn, so I recognised quite a few faces. I was also “cow cowled!” by a visitor from further afield. There were 176 at this, their number 3, I’d expect that to level off around 80 in weeks to come.
Course:
I did find it a little confusing. It starts with 2 laps of the track, once on the outer lane and once on the inner, before heading past the car park onto the greenway, where 2 loops have to be run, before heading BACK to the track for a final 2 laps. I only did one of those final laps, oops!
Most of the path is tarmac, so road shoes are advised, and watch out for slippy leaves. The views, though, are stunning, over the city, and I found myself reciting Wordsworth:
Earth has not any thing to show more fair:
Dull would he be of soul who could pass by
A sight so touching in its majesty:
This City now doth, like a garment, wear
The beauty of the morning; silent, bare,
Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie
Open unto the fields, and to the sky;
I did take lots of photos, but my stoopit iPhne is playing up and didn’t capture them. It is slightly undulating, but not overly so. But the 2 loops do mean that there are parts where there are runners going in both directions, so remember to keep left where indicated.
Gear:
I was in my usual windproof trousers, long sleeved base layer, blue T with handy zips (for my debit card, bus pass and emergency fiver), cow cowl, headband and world tourist cap. Zipped waist belt for phone. Could have done with gloves!
Time:
My official time was 41m15, but as I had inadvertently omitted the final lap that wasn’t strictly correct.
All my parkruns:
NI (and other) parkruns: summary list
Filed under: belfast, Parkrun, running | Tagged: parkrun, parkrun tourism, parkrun-uk, running | 1 Comment »
Dancing At Lunacy 