Dancing At Lunacy

Event #105 parkrun #390

My parkrun tourism has been severely hampered over the last year for several factors. Firstly, I now have a part-time job, which often requires working on a Saturday morning. Secondly, we are now a one-car family, and my other half needs the car every Saturday at 10 am. And new parkruns tend to be in remote places inaccessible by public transport. So imagine my delight when I discovered that 2 new Norn Irn ones started last week, one of them was less than 20 miles away, AND I was not working AND had access to the car! So it was with much excitement that I set off to Lurgan Park.

One downside – my phone is still refusing to take photos, even after 3 visits to the Genius Bar, so this report is in black and white.

Access:

It’s very easy to get to by road, not too far off the main M1 motorway. I did get stuck behind a railway crossing fro a few minutes, but I could see there were trains in both directions arriving at the station a few minutes before 9.00 am, and that’s less than a mile from the park.

Facilities:

Plenty of parking, loos in the cricket pavilion, and a cute little coffee cart with lots of tables for afterwards.

Course:

2 laps through the frankly downright gorgeous park, with a lake, and some ancient trees. Packed gravel paths, a narrow start to get yourself in a suitable position (ie slower runners, dogs and buggies near the back). There are a couple of slightly less than flat sections, but it is not what you’d call hilly.

Gear:

it was a bright sunny day, so I opted for a sleeveless black top. To be honest, that was a bit chilly in the shade provided by the trees. Had to hunt around for my wristband barcode, but I found it! Saucony trainers. Toby was with me and I was worried that his hand held lead was starting to show signs of fraying, but we survived!

Crowd:

It’s a new kid on the block, so lots of familiar faces aiming to regain regionarie status. As 2 parkruns started in the same week, and a 3rd the week after, there was a period when there were NO Norn Irn regionaries. It will take me a while to tick the others, but hey ho. Jog Moira is a great local club, and no doubt they will be faithful attendees here.

All my parkruns:

NI (and other) parkruns: summary list

Filed under: Parkrun, running | Tagged: ni parkruns, parkrun, parkrun tourism |