Southampton parkrun

Posted on January 7, 2017 by lindaharley

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Access:

The parkrun takes place in Southampton Common, which is pretty close to the city centre. It’s a mile from the train station, and there are plenty of nearby bus stops too.

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When choosing a hotel for a weekend away, I look at 3 things: what are the reviews like on trip Advisor, how much is it, and how close is it to the nearest parkrun.  Occasionally, I hit a bingo and all 3 of these combine.  The Blue Keys Hotel is rated in the top 3 places to stay in the city, it was offering a decent weekend rate, and it was a short and pleasant 10 minute stroll to the common.

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There is some car parking by the Northlands Road entrance, but most people seemed to arrive on foot.

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There are toilets in the Hawthorns cafe, which at least DOES have access before 9, and many people meet there afterwards for a coffee.

 

Crowd:

Southampton is a big University town, meaning that there are more charity and kebab shops than you can shake an amusing T shirt bearing the slogan “Never ask an atom , they make up everything” at.  It also affects the average age of parkrunners here.

thumb_img_3004_1024The event began in 2012 and attracts big numbers – there were 533 on the day I visited, their record attendance was 942, and it is often the second biggest attended event each week after Bushy. An educated guess suggests that the record numbers co-incide with the start of University term, when fresh faced students are eager to maintain a fitness regime.

I managed to get a photo with a fellow cow-cowl wearer, and another “parkrun tourist” wearing his round his neck and sporting a 100 shirt gave me a thumbs up as he passed me on the course.  And I spotted a few Antrim visitors in their apricot tops.  There were a couple of doggies and a few pram-pushing dads.

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Big crowds need a lot of volunteers, and I was impressed at the turnout of high-viz vest folk (all 41 of them!), who were very friendly and helpful.

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Course:

The Common looks wide, open and flat.

img_1128-2 There are a number of routes around the grounds which can be used depending on weather conditions;  I experienced Route C, which was basically 2 laps, incorporating a sneakily hidden hill behind the trees.  The surface was all tarmac and the paths were wide.

The big crowds mean that a double funnel system is operated.img_1136-3

 

Strangely Appropriate Song On Shuffle:

Big crowds can mean a lot of hemming in at the start, and I did struggle to find a good spot to run at my desired pace.  But a woman in front of me seemed to know how to weave her way through the crowd, and so I attached myself to her, as Nicky Byrne was crooning “Hold on to me and let me hold on to you” from his Eurovision entry “Sunlight”.

 

Gear:

I’d opted for the purple Jog Lisburn top with matching skort, the cow cowl and matching leggings, and I left my jacket in the little cart by the finish line.  I noticed on the walk to the event that my shoes are starting to squeak, so I think it’s time to start breaking in a new pair.

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Time:

The results were processed really quickly.

I usually aim for around 30 on a first visit to a new parkrun – I can manage this without too much strain, and it leaves me room for manoeuvre should I ever return.  And I was pretty content with my time of 30:22, just making it into the top 400 with finish token 399.

All my parkruns:

All my parkruns

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And the rest….

We had a super weekend in the town, enjoying visiting the Sea museum to hear the Titanic story from the viewpoint of the port it had sailed from, and where most of the crew came from.  Being familiar with the Belfast side of things, this was a thought-provoking visit.  And we had a drink in the Grapes pub, where 3 brothers famously spent too long on a final bevvy before joining the fated ship….which they missed.  My son was born in Belfast on 31.5.91, exactly 80 years after Titanic was launched there, and it’s rather poignant that he’s now working on a cruise ship based in Southampton.

Sadly fog settled onto the airport on the Sunday evening, and our flight was cancelled.  But we were transported to and put up in a nearby Hilton, and I enjoyed a leisurely breakfast next day in Beefy’s (the hotel is next to a cricket stadium), and then availed of a special offer of the executive lounge for a tenner, which was just fabulous – local cheeses and chutneys, yummy traybakes, chilled white wine, and a lop-eared rabbit making its way to Guernsey. Sure where would you get it?

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NI parkruns: Rostrevor

Posted on December 25, 2016 by lindaharley

I’d missed the inaugural run at Rostrevor.  Well, truth be told, I COULD have made it, but they’d sent messages saying that they’d rather not be inundated with runners on their first attempt, and could people please hold off for a few weeks.  I gave a few “hmmmm”s at their first result list which included a lot of familiar names who obviously didn’t get that memo.

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And then I was in Southampton.

And then I was doing my 150th parkrun, and I really couldn’t do that one anywhere other than my home event of dear old Wallace. So the first time I could get to go there turned out to be Christmas Eve, and as is now customary, I put on the sprouts.  And rosy red cheeks. And stripey tights.  And Minnie wore her Christmas jumper. Call it my Christmas present to mys – ELF!

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Access:

Kilbroney Forest Park in on a mountainside overlooking Carlingford Lough.  It is one of the most stunningly beautiful areas of Norn Irn, and one of my husband’s favourite motor-biking areas. About 40 miles form home, it was an early-ish start, but not horrendous.  The parkrun page helpfully gives a satnav-friendly postcode, and so I was confident of arriving in good time.  We parked up in the main car-park, asked some friendly runners where the loos were,and made our way down to the start line (which is right by the finish line).  There are loos in the cafe, which is also where many runners meet for a coffee afterwards.

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Course:

It’s a 2-lap course, with the start and finish almost co-located.  The paths are a mix of gravel and forest trail, and can be a bit muddy and leaf-slippy, so trail shoes are recommended.  The route goes through a gate and takes a hard right to run up the Fairy Glen, beside a very pretty stream tumbling over mini waterfalls. It continues to climb through the edges of the forest, before emerging with views over the water to a downhill section incorporating the Narnia Trail,

img_1202 with its run through the wardrobe door, past the lamppost,

img_1201 4 chairs, and then some fairy doored trees.

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Crowd:

It seemed quite a young crowd – there were 125 on my first visit, only a few dogs and I didn’t see any prams.  The twisty paths and door/ gate ingresses might make it tricky for wheelchairs and buggies. The volunteers were plentiful and cheery, and timekeeping and scanning were all done really efficiently.

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Strangely Appropriate Song On Shuffle:

It’s Christmas, with all the attendant stresses and worries which that brings.  So I was welling up a bit at “Could we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars – I could really use a wish right now”.

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Gear:

I was trialling new Karrimor shoes.  My old Adidas PureBoost are starting to squeak, and I knew they’d be too slippy on this terrain, so I’d treated myself this week.  They did well on the surfaces, and the shoelaces stayed in place, always a bonus!

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My Garmin complained of being low on battery power about 2km in, so I was guesstimating my pace.  But it’s good to be forced back to not relying over-much on technology.

It was Elf-attire, so while I was cold before we started running, I was grand once underway in elf T shirt, stripey tights with black skort, elf socks, and the obligatory “I’ve put the sprouts on!” headband.

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Time:

A new parkrun is the most fertile ground for grabbing an age-cat record. Having recently moved into a new category, and deliberately sought out records at Colin Glen and Armagh, I was keen to snatch this one also.  The record was standing at 33 minutes, which i knew with Minnie’s help I should be able to manage.  BUT.  What if there was a 55 year old Warrnepoint born ex-pat who’d come home for the hols and was just going to do the parkrun while they were home?

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My Garmin wasn’t being helpful, and so I didn’t have any idea how fast I was running., AND I got overtaken as usual on the final 100m. But the official results were speedily texted and emailed, and I was indeed first in my age-cat at 28 minutes.

All My Parkruns:

All my parkruns

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parkrun tourism: Camperdown, Dundee

Posted on November 9, 2016 by lindaharley

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I’ve attended the RSCDS AGM for a few years now:  the first year I was there, I was missing Perth’s inaugural parkrun by one week.  I found time to run it on my second visit (despite threatening floods from the River Tay), and managed a PB the following year, with the help of a pacer.

But since acquiring my “cow cowl” (an unofficial emblem of those serial tourists who’ve done at least 20 different events) I’ve been aware of the need to take any opportunity to run at new locations.  Yes, yes I was the first female to run all of Norn Irn’s parkruns, but that’s a fairly limited field. Even by adding in the odd parkrun south of the border, I was going to have to make more of an effort if I want to attain my “half cowell” (50 different parkruns.   The Cowell Club is an unofficial parkrun club for tourists who have run at 100 or more different events. Named after Chris and Linda Cowell, the first male and female parkrunners to do it.)  This would be my 33rd, worldwide.

Handily enough, I was staying at the Station Hotel, so popping on a train to the next nearest event was made simple.  And the nearest one was Camperdown, in Dundee.  So that’s where I planned to go.

Did I say simple?  Having checked the train times and arrived in good time for my 8.15 journey, I was a little concerned to find a bus parked outside the station, which did indeed turn out to be the substitute method of travel that morning.  Nervously, I asked the ticket clerk what time it arrived in Dundee – he didn’t know, but reckoned he could drive it in 20 minutes.  So I was reasonably confident of making it in time, as we set off on a crisp clear blue-sky day, passing trees resplendent in their autumn colours, and with splendid views of the famous Tay bridges as we approached Dundee.

Access:

There were taxis waiting at the station, and I chatted to the driver about the purpose of my visit on the journey to Camperdown Country Park, which is a few miles out of the city centre. He opined that collecting new parkruns was a bit like bagging Munros, the mountains over a certain height in Scotland, an interesting comparison! The taxi was £8. I caught a bus back to the centre afterwards – there is a bus stop near the entrance to the park, and a single costs £2, which includes a scenic tour of the local housing estates and Asda.

We had a bit of a guess as to where to drop me off, and I began the anxious scout for high viz vests, milestone T-shirts and “caution runners” signs, and it wan’t too long before the familiar type crowd made their appearance. There’s plenty of parking, and it’s free.

Course:

At the pre-run brief the RD described the course as “undulating”, explaining that this means there are two ruddy great hills.

The course is one lap, skirting the edges of the park, in a sort of bow-tie shape.  It takes in many of the parkun bingo features, including a stately pile, duckpond, and rickety bridge.

Gear:

The weather was what is described in these parts as “braw”.  I was glad of my new leggings – cow print to match the cowl.  But I only had my 100 shirt, short sleeved, and therefore arm-freezy.

Thankfully the start and finish are at the same points, so I was able to keep my windproof Craghoppers jacket on as long as possible, before stashing it under a picnic table.

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Crowd:

There were 152 runners the morning I was there.  They had some pacers, including a few at more than 30 minutes, and they had “expected time” plates at the start line.  The Run Director gave a cheery brief to the first timers.  There didn’t seem to be much hanging around afterwards, though I did find a few friendly souls in the cafe after I had done my photograph-grabbing lap,  which was also where the results were being processed, most efficiently.

Facilities:

Not too much near the start, but there are toilets beside Camperdown House, and also at the cafe. Which does a great bacon buttie!

Strangely Appropriate Song On Shuffle:

Beyonce crooning “Who runs the world – girls”

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Time:

I found the course extremely tough, plus I hadn’t been sleeping well the previous few nights, so a slow 34 minutes it was. The parkrun UK Facebook page had the theme of “entrance boards” for their photo montage this week, so I found a few signs to selfie in front of.

All my parkruns

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parkrun tourism: Southwark

Posted on October 16, 2016 by lindaharley

In town to see Fagin’s Twist,

img_0831and I chose my accommodation based on proximity to a parkrun I had yet to do. So I ended up in a very well located Air BnB in Bermondsey right beside beautiful Southwark Park.

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I took time on the Friday to walk around the park, and I was struck by how beautiful it was.

img_0710Wide tree-lined avenues,

an old English garden,

a duckpond,

bandstand, and plenty of cheeky grey squirrels.

Access:

There are a number of gates/ entrances to the park,

img_0799and car-parking didn’t seem to be an issue.  Most people walked, so I’m guessing they live locally.  Bermondsey tube on the Jubilee line is a 10 minute stroll away, and there are a couple of bus stops near by too.  Sadly, the toilets are in the cafe,

img_0815which doesn’t open till 9, but Surrey Quays shopping centre is the closest alternative.

Course:

It’s a 3 lap course, on wide flat tarmac paths, with just a couple of sharp bends to hamper your speed.  There’s one short section where runners are going in both directions, but it’s very well marshalled at all the junctions.

There are no hills to speak of, so it’s theoretically a fast one.

Crowd:

There were over 200 runners when I visited, most of them quite young.

img_0806 I did spot my first cow cowl “in the wild”, as well as an apricot shirt from Stormont.

Gear:

The “round the tree” approach was taken to coats and belongings, but I didn’t want to leave my key there in case it got lost.

img_0810So I tucked the keys into my grey wrist band, and looped Cracker onto my watch strap.

Strangely Appropriate Song on Shuffle:

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It was a glorious bright autumn morning, with the sun glinting off the pyramid roof of Canary Wharf on the skyline, and I was singing along to Nicky Byrne’s “Sunlight”.

Time:

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I didn’t quite manage to sub 30 minutes, but I was first in my new age-category!

All my parkruns

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NI parkruns: Omagh

Posted on October 9, 2016 by lindaharley

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I took the opportunity on a glorious October day to attend the inaugural parkrun at Omagh.

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It’s about 60 miles away from me, just over an hour on pretty good roads, and on a morning full of sunshine the views of the hills and trees in their autumn colours it made for a very pleasant journey. Even Minnie wasn’t her usual Squeaky McSqueakface, and settled down in the boot to snooze happily.

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Access:

The postcode was helpfully given on the website, and my sat nav took me to the Omagh Leisure Complex with relative ease.  There’s plenty of free car parking, and the leisure centre itself has toilets and a cafe.

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Crowd:

There’s a bit of debate about attending inaugurals – it can be daunting for the volunteers on their first day on the job, and give a misleading idea of what to expect on a normal parkrun day.  There were around 270 runners on this occasion, and many of them were first timers, or were walking.  This meant that the runners were well spaced out along the course, so there wasn’t too much hemming in. And I did meet a lesser-spotted 250 shirt wearer!

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Gear:

I’d run into diffs recently with low batteries, so I’d made sure my headphones and watch were both fully charged.  And I had new running sunglasses from Lidl.

14589639_10210650357278783_3103095712384949833_oI love my Ron Hill arm pocket for my phone – I’d lost the last one I bought, but they were reduced to £4 this week in Pure Running, so I bought a replacement.  I fully expect the original to turn up tomorrow….

Cracker my lucky mascot was with me – though the organisers could do with a bucket or box to put keys/ jackets in. And in full-on tourist mode, I was wearing my cow cowl (for those who’ve run 20 or more different events), my apricot tribesports vest, Minnie in matching apricot bow, and my own hand made I’ve-sewn-all-these-buttons-on-myself T shirt, with a new button to be added#I’verunallthenornirnparkrunssoIhave.

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Course:

There’s a lap of the running track on soft fine gravel to start, and then along tarmac paths around some very pretty duck ponds and a weir, looping back along the same route. Repeat, and finish with a final lap of the track.

There’s one short sharp hill, and a couple of pinch points where runners are going in both directions, but it’s a pretty fast course.  My Garmin said it was 5.17 km, though!

Time:

I haven’t been running at my best recently, but Minnie was in great form, and we had plenty of space to allow her to tow me along.

14524569_10210650376359260_8759420672099797123_o Indeed, we hit the 2km mark at 9.55, which is my target sub 25 minute pace. But I reminded myself that it doesn’t pay to knock yourself out on the first visit to any parkrun – make it feasible for yourself to go back later and get a PB!

img_0678So we eased off a bit, and I even stopped to take a few photos around the route. I was pretty happy with my 27.27 time, and on the last time that I’m running in this age category it was pleasing to be first in that group.  17th lady, 77th overall.

Strangely Appropriate Tune on Shuffle:

Watching everyone gather at the start line for the first briefing, I was listening to the UK Eurovision song “You’re not alone, we’re in this together” by Joe and Jake.

img_0662  I think it’s one of the best UK entries in a long while, and it was sadly under-marked by the voting juries.

By the time I was completing the final lap of the track, and struggling to keep going, we had moved to “One Last Breath” from Greece’s Maria-Elena in 2015.

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List of all the parkruns I’ve completed.

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Parkruns: Tim, Jim and Colin

Posted on August 13, 2016 by lindaharley

I’ve met Tim Page a couple of times before – he’s working his way round all the Norn Irn parkruns raising awareness and funds for leukemia and lymphoma.  He was due to run at Colin Glen this week, and was feeling a bit nervous of its reputation as a tough one.  I’d managed to be first lady the  last time  I was here, and it holds a special place in my heart as it completed the NI set for me last year.  But Minnie had managed to hurt her paw, so there was no barkrun for her, and no way I could better my previous time without her assistance on the hills.  So I volunteered to keep Tim company on his run.

I arrived in good time and parked up, just before Tim himself appeared, and in between his stretches I got him to pose for the traditional “Cracker Says” moment.

IMG_0307A few other people recognised Tim, and we were also joined by parkrun Jim.

He famously came home from holiday in Spain in order to continue his parkruns, and was the first man in Ireland to complete 250. He’s recently added a second tattoo on his other calf to celebrate this achievement.

There was a good turnout, as a recent Steps to Health group were making their graduation run, and the spread of post run goodies looked very tasty indeed.

It’s a beautiful course,

winding its way through sun dappled trees,

across bridges,

and past some Gruffalo statues.

IMG_0311 It’s a gradual climb up to the lake, which you run round twice,

before a great downhill stretch all the way home.

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Tim had been worried about various niggles, including an achilles problem, so we agreed we would roughly run for 4 minutes, walk for 1. I acted as photographer and now and then I’d sprint ahead or stay behind to get a good picture.  Even if it was just of Jim’s tatts!

We smiled and laughed our way around the course, sharing stories about previous runs, jobs, and writing.

There was great cheering as we crossed the finish line, and I know Tim was relieved to have that one ticked off.

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Thank you to the super volunteers for their sterling work today, and well done all the first timers!

 

 

 

 

 

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Don’t Forget Your Barko! #dfyb

Posted on June 26, 2016 by lindaharley

The hashtag #dfyb is used by parkrunners around the world.  It is shorthand for “Don’t Forget Your Barcode”, the little scrap of paper which is scanned after you run, which the magical parkrun computer elves then match up with your time, and create a myriad of statistics. Serious parkrunners have extra barcodes stashed in their car or handbag, or have them laminated.  I forked out for a keyring barcode, but found it got worn away next to my keys, and nowadays have a black plastic wristband, which always scans, is waterproof, and is unobtrusive to wear.

I did jokingly sport a fake barcode tattoo when doing my own 100th parkrun!

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Now to Minnie, my faithful running mate.  She’s accompanied me to parkruns in Wallace, Citypark, Armagh, Antrim, Ecos, Larne, Comber, Valley, Colin Glen, Falls, Ormeau, Victoria, Waterworks, Queens, and Bangor….where she memorably jumped in the water, obviously thinking it was a triathlon.

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She can be a little bit barky and apprehensive of people, and particularly dislikes being reached down to for a pat. If you do ever meet us, the best plan is to ignore her – she’ll come for a sniff and say hello when she’s satisfied that you’re OK.

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Where shall we go?

I knew we were approaching her 100th parkrun…sorry…barkrun…and thought that this momentous milestone should not go uncelebrated.

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I’d encountered Murphy’s Barkery a few times at Waggy Races, and they had always been so lovely and friendly, as well as making some delicious doggy treats.  They were delighted to make a special giant cookie, complete with the parkrun symbol.

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Min isn’t too bad at dressing up: she has a Christmas jumper, a skeleton costume (which glows in the dark), an Adidog running vest and of course a Dog Lisburn vest. Simple outfits are best – the red bandana she wore as Muttley was easy peasy, but trying to get a 3rd eye on her head to be a 3 eyed raven was a disaster.

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So of course I had to make her a milestone 100 Tshirt! I bought a small plain black Tee from M&S (size 8 gives her plenty of room for manoeuvre), and a fabric paint pen from Craftworld. If I’d had more time and patience, I’d have stenciled it, but as it was, hand written had to do – it wasn’t going to get a lot of up-close scrutiny, and it was only for lolz, after all.

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minnies 100th 005We arrived in good time, as usual, to be met by the Cummings family who presented her with a special chewy bone. Thank you!

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The T shirt attracted attention from other runners making their way to the briefing point, where we met up with the lovely Andrea and her running pooch, who gave us a bag of dog treats. Thank you too!

We got a special mention in the Run Director’s brief, very ably delivered by Brenda Harris.

The weather was OK – not too warm, and a hint of drizzle, but no actual rain, and no wind.  But my running form hasn’t been good lately – I have a niggly IT band, am carrying too much weight, and not doing enough training.  On top of that, my Garmin’s battery died after the first km! So as there wasn’t realistically a chance of grabbing a new PB, we just relaxed and enjoyed our run.  The marshalls and other volunteers were brilliant as usual, and gave us lots of support! And we did call out “Dare to Dream!” at a dog walker whose pooch was wearing a GAWA vest.

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Photocall afterwards, and Brenda asked if I could pose looking as if I was shaking her paw saying Well Done.  Luckily, Minnie’s repertoire of  commands includes Sit! and Paw! so we were happy to oblige.

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What can I say.  It’s an absolute delight to have her running with me, she gets me up Heartbreak Hill, and more importantly keeps the momentum going once we get to the top. She’s always game to run, and indulges my dress-up proclivities.  She helps me prove that – you don’t have to be mad to be a runner, but it helps!

minnies 100th 011Be more dog.

 

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Harley Goes To Marley

Posted on May 30, 2016 by lindaharley

Having done all the (at time of writing)22 Norn Irn parkruns, I need to venture further afield these days to try new ones.  I do take advantage of any travelling plans I have, and it’s usually possible to tag on a parkrun during a weekend away.  And, since this is a blog with “dancing” in the title, it’ll come as no surprise that this time it was a dancing weekend.  Not just any old dancing weekend either, it was to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Dublin Scottish Dance Club.

Accommodation in Dublin proved difficult to find – not only was there a big football match on, but somebody called The Boss was playing at Croke Park.  I decided to try out an Air BnB, and found one close to the main dance event in Taney Parish Centre.  There are around 10 parkruns in the greater Dublin area, and with one called Marlay (sometimes spelled Marley) close to my lodgings, my itinerary was complete.

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I drove down on the Friday night, having only the briefest of disagreements with the sat nav.  But that’s a compulsory element of travelling these days. I was soon being welcomed by Barbara, and introduced to the other house guests for the weekend, including a mother and daughter from Texas who were fascinated by my jigging and jogging plans.

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The house has a lovely garden patio area at the back, and I was able to introduce Barbara to the joys of watching the space station sail overhead.

Access:

On Saturday morning I donned my tartan leggings, and let the sat nav take me to Marlay Park.

marlay 013However, it took me to the front entrance, by the big house, and I knew that the parkrun started at the back.  So I had to do a little bit of driving around in circles, another compulsory manoeuvre for today’s traveller.   But I got there in good time, parked up, had a bit of a wander around to get my bearings, and joined in the warm-up session.

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Facilities:

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The start and finish are beside the children’s playground, where there a few shabby toilets.  There are nicer ones in a block down the lane, and more by the big house.

marlay 032There’s plenty of parking – there needs to be as this has regularly over 500 runners.

marlay 016So a good funnelling system is in place.

Music is played to add to the atmosphere.

Afterwards, many go to the stalls set up by the big house, offering coffees, wheatgrass juice, paella, and buns galore.

Course:

It’s basically one lap of the park with a few legs added.

It does go down as far as the house, and the start and finish are at the same place.  There’s an uphill section during the first k, which does serve to thin the runners out a bit.  Though some of the narrow sections still get a little bottle-necked.

The park itself is just beautiful, with lots of lovely features including a walled garden, little bridges, and a miniature railway which operates on Saturday afternoons.

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Crowd:

It seemed to be a fairly young crowd, and indeed I got chatting in the scanning line to Adam, who had just done his first parkrun.

marlay 029Well done, young man!

Strangely Appropriate Song On Shuffle:

I’m still listening to Eurovision songs, and I enjoyed “Time is Like Thunder”, the Belarus entry from 2015, with the lady playing the violin in a giant egg-timer.

 

Time:

My own time was an OK-ish 29 something.  I do try to aim for sub-30 when visiting a run for the first time, especially when I don’t have my canine pulling pal.

marlay 030 I did find a friendly black dog to chase, which reminded me of how helpful running can be in dealing with dark thoughts.

And the rest:

The weather was glorious – blue skies and sunshine.  I caught a bus into town to meet my fellow dancers for a tour of the Mansion House, admiring all the coats of arms in the oak room.

I’d enjoyed the most delicious brunch at Eden, consisting of a courgette and potato cake, served with asparagus, poached eggs, hollandaise, and a very tasty balsamic roasted tomato, which I must try to recreate. Eden was worth visiting even just for the loos, with limericks painted on the doors and walls.

From there I’d wandered through the Powerscourt Townhouse, and was tempted by some beautiful pieces in Jean Cronin ‘s lovely vintage wear, settling in the end for a green swirly Clements Ribiero dress, before further tempation in the shape of Ruby, in the Hibernia Arcade, where I was seduced by a duck egg blue Orla Kiely.

Suitably shopped out, I went back to the house and changed for the evening into my purple/ green tartan skirt, which I wore with a purple shirt and choker.

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The dancing was great fun, and included some dances which had been written by or for the club’s instructors. The Elephant’s Stampede was tricky, but had us all laughing, while Rosalie’s Birthday Reel is one we had practiced beforehand.

 

There was a lovely supper provided, and a very convivial atmosphere all evening.  But my eyes were closing, and I slipped away at 11, where I was glad my sat nav remembered how to get me back to the BnB.  And I was home in time to see the space station fly over yet again – a perfect way to round off a weekend full of smiles.

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All my parkruns

 

Filed under: Dance, Parkrun, running, travel | Tagged: , | 3 Comments »

Heaton parkrun

Posted on May 22, 2016 by lindaharley

I’ve visited Manchester a few times now, and I’m always struck by the buzz and friendliness of the place.  Jemima has been working on the Fagins Twist show with Avant Garde dance, and I pored over the calendar of performance dates to decide which one to attend.

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The Lowry Theatre in Salford was calling to me, especially as I had a long standing invitation to visit Heaton Park for one of Manchester’s largest parkruns.

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Access:
Heaton Park is on the Northern edge of the city, and I’d booked into the Heaton Park Premier Inn. I’d flown in early on Friday evening, and been most impressed by the metrolink tram system. A day ticket was a fiver, and there were stops near everywhere I wanted to go. The trams were clean and frequent, with free wifi and plenty of seats available.

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I went to the theatre first to catch Jem after the show, and deliver the essential bags of Tayto Cheese and onion.

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Even though it suggest that Harbour City is the stop for the theatre, actually Media City is closer. AND it’s got the Blue Peter garden beside it!


I made the rookie error of getting off at Heaton Park tramstop. While that would be fine for going to the parkrun, it was a bit of a hike to get to the hotel, and after walking round in circles for a while I ended up taking a taxi.

 

Course:
Saturday dawned a bit damp and dreich, but we parkrunners don’t let a little bit of rain put us off, oh no! I’d arranged to meet S at the famous lions in front of the old house, and I admired to wonderful vista over the city from that point.

The start and finish point is just in front of the house, and there’s a very efficient funneling system in place, with scanning and admin type stuff happening in a gazebo by the side.

Immediately after the start, there’s a sharp left turn past the orangery, and with so many people, this can get a little bottle-necked.

After that, the paths are all lovely and wide, with no surface issues. There’s a little loop past a boating lake and a cafe with people enjoying their morning bacon butties, and a long slog uphill past the 4km mark.

This is tantalizingly close to the end point which is visible to the right, but a final winding section behind the house has to be completed, before it opens out into a straight flat finish.

Crowd:
There were 524 runners this morning, and that was a low attendance. Good range of young and old, speedy and not so speedy, some dogs and buggies, including these 2 lovelies.

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Time:
Being a big run, pacers are a regular feature. I usually aim for sub-30 when visiting a new parkrun without my canine companion, and decided I would keep the 29 minute pacer in my sights.

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Full credit given to him, I came in bang on 29:00, with thanks also to S coaching me to a sprint finish. I was also pleased that I was 3rd in my age category, which is not bad for a big event.

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Strangely Appropriate Song on Shuffle:
I was listening to the recent Eurovision soundtrack, and was given a boost by Belgium’s “What’s The Pressure”, with its inspirational “get the best of me” lyrics.

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Dancing Bit:
Fagin’s Twist is an astonishingly brilliant and breathtaking performance – do try to catch it if it’s in your area.

Avant Garde website

The set was very clever, on wheels and with many little doors and openings. And the dancers are jaw-droppingly physically amazing. My old school chum Ruth came along with me, and it was her first experience of contemporary dance. It’s a very accessible piece, with some narrative, a clear story-line and readily identifiable characters. I will definitely be going to see it again during its 2 weeks in London in October, and no doubt I can pick up another of the capital’s parkruns while I’m there.

List of all the parkruns I’ve completed.

Filed under: Dance, Parkrun, running, travel | 1 Comment »

Tim Page – Fit For Life

Posted on May 8, 2016 by lindaharley

This was a last minute decision.  I’d been chatting to Andrew Johnston of Andrews Animals .  We’ve met a few times at parkruns and Waggy Races.  We’re both members of the very exclusive IverunallthenornirnpakrunssoIhave Club, AND members of the “My running companion is a dog called Minnie” club.  He had a dog training thing to do in Antrim, so we agreed to meet at their parkrun and have a Minnie-race.  But thank goodness he did a last minute check to see if the event was on…..and it wasn’t!  There’s a fair on in the grounds of the park, which means the parkrun was cancelled for 2 whole weeks.  Funnily enough I’d bumped into some Antrim runners the previous Saturday in Enniskillen, as we modelled our hot-off-the-presses 100 shirts.

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And as I was there for a weekend’s Scottish dancing, I modelled my tartan leggings, which earned me the nickname “The Flying Scot”.  This blog’s not called Dancing At Lunacy for nothin’, ya know!

Anyhoo.  No Antrim.  But I remembered that Tim Page was going to be at Queens that day, so it seemed a good time to go and meet him.

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Tim is a 4 time cancer survivor who is running all 22 of NI’s parkruns to raise money and awareness of leukaemia and lymphoma research.  I’d read some of his earlier run reports, and followed him on Facebook, and was delighted when he come out of the door at Queens and greeted me and Minnie by name!

Tim Page’s page

We had a quick chat and admired my T shirt – I’ve promised I’ll make him one too, when he completes his journey at Stormont later this year.  We agreed that each parkrun has its own little personality and quirks, but the over-riding common feature is the support and warmth.  It’s so much more than “just” running.

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I wore my muscle leggings, which always attract a smile, and the weather was kind enough to hold off on the rain for a while.  My first lap was pretty smart, but my pace ebbed away during the second lap, and I was about a minute off my last time here.

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I tethered Minnie to the pup-park, where she actually behaved nicely for a change!  And clapped and cheered the final runners over the finish line.  I gave Tim a big hug and a well done, and he smiled and said “It’s good to be alive”.

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Having changed phones recently, my playlist was a bit different from the previous one, and the strangely-appropriate-song on this day was Talk Talk with “Life’s What You Make It”.

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Well, I’ll leave you with my own motto: there’s more to running than going fast.

Please donate, follow and share Tim’s blog and fundraising page!

Tim’s blog

Tim on Twitter

 

Filed under: belfast, Parkrun, running | Tagged: , , | Leave a comment »

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