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NI parkruns: Comber

Posted on January 31, 2015 by lindaharley

In my continuing journey around all of Norn Irn’s parkruns, I’m trying to tick off the closest ones first. Comber seems like it’s far away, but really, it’s only 12 miles from Lisburn, a pleasant 20 minute journey.

I’ll be honest – it’s not the most attractive of courses. The little bridge over the river is quite pretty, which is just as well as you cross it 8 times during the 4 figure-of-eight laps. It has the big advantage of being very flat, though being quite open the force of the wind can be strong.

Gear:

Mini’s Addidog vest was much admired, and I was very glad of my thin gloves. And a big thank you to the marshall at the finish line who spotted that I’d dropped one of my gloves and returned it to me.

Time:

I’d gone off fast with the big boys. This was really in an effort to stop me being hemmed in at the back. I kept the first lady in my sights for most of the run, but as usual I faded badly during the final km, and several people overtook me on the sprint to the finish (despite Minnie’s best attempts to trip them up…..)

I was fairly content with 26:02, given the wind factor and the amount of wine I’d consumed on Friday night! And it did put me top of the leaderboard in my age category. 4th lady – and 2nd and 3rd were only 10 seconds ahead of me.

Crowd:

I visited on its 37th event, so it’s still just getting going. Indeed, the woman doing the scanning hadn’t come across a keyring plastic barcode before. Average attendance is 60, which gives it a friendly feel. There was plenty of clapping and cheering for the slower runners. Scanning and tea-drinking takes place inside Comber Rec, which is a bit dark, but has seats and tables, and there was a great buzz about it. The after-run goodies included jammy scones and home-made coffee cake, which was very impressive.

Strangely Appropriate Song:

I’d been having a row with my computer which refused to talk to my phone, so the playlist I had wasn’t what I’d wanted. But I did love hearing Utah Saints “Something Good”

List of all the parkruns I’ve completed.

Filed under: Parkrun | Tagged: comber, parkrun | 1 Comment »

NI parkruns: Wallace

Posted on December 27, 2014 by lindaharley

Wallace Park in Lisburn is my home course. My first ever parkrun was Wallace’s 2nd event, which I ran in a time of 34:31. The following week I took my Weimaraner, Max, with me, as he is a super companion on my long runs. However, drama-raners are very emotionally sensitive creatures, and all the adrenalin and hi-viz gear really unsettled Max, and he strained at the leash, howled and yelped the whole way round the course. All that stress added a few extra seconds to my time. It was only when I started bringing along my younger dog, Mini the cocker spaniel, that my times started to improve, and she has been my faithful companion for over 50 parkruns now.

Access:

Wallace Park is near Lisburn city centre, and the back gate to the park is beside the railway station. Car park spaces can be limited, especially if there’s a football match going on. It’s a beautiful park with some stunning old trees, but the paths can sometimes be slippy especially in winter.

Course:

Briefing and post-run chat takes place at the bandstand. The course is one small inner lap, followed by 3 large outer laps. These encompass the notorious car park hill, which is a real toughie the third time round. At the top of the hill there’s a nice flat stretch before reaching the duckpond, from where it’s a fast downhill section past the back gate and its little gate house, along the side of the railway embankment where there’s an ever so slight incline, and round the outside of the football pitch. There is a metal start and finish sign, and wooden markers at each kilometre.

Gear:

When I started out I had the dogs on an ordinary short lead, but one of my favourite bits of kit is the waistband hands-free leash. Being able to use your arms is important for running well. After cursing at MapMyRun on my phone too many times, I invested in a Garmin watch, and treated myself to some bluetooth cordless headphones. But the best bits of kit are those which keep me warm on freezing cold days – light gloves, a headband, and my sweat/wristband which has a handy pocket for keys, money, poo-bag etc, and which I use to wipe either my nose or my sweaty brow, depending on the time of year!

Strangely Appropriate Song:

Kate Bush’s “Keep Running Up That Hill” is one that makes me smile here, as does Daft Punk’s “Harder, Faster, Stronger”. It has been consistently running Wallace that has made me a better runner, and I try to go faster and harder each time.

Crowd:

There are regularly just over 100 runners, which is just a nice size of a group. I’ve made some fantastic friends amongst the runners and volunteers, and there’s always some good banter over a cuppa afterwards. And someone usually provides biscuits to celebrate 50 or 100 runs!

Time:

My times have gradually got better. This is the result of many factors, including losing some weight, persistence in going along each Saturday, doing other training during the week including core work. But sometimes a good run just happens. One morning I wasn’t particularly prepared for a fast run, but I wanted to go along as I knew some friends from Waggy Races would be there, including Zola, their gorgeous Samoyed. We set off – I tend to go off fast and out to the right, keeping out of the way of the front runners, until we can find a good space to slot into. Zola overtook us, and Mini clicked into chase mode and kept up the pace. Zola stopped to inspect something near the back gate and we raced ahead. They overtook us again, and we tried to catch up. This was repeated on each of the 3 laps, and made for a very exciting neck-and-neck, paw-and-paw race, and managed to cross the finish line in under 25 minutes, a fantastic PB (at time of writing…..), and an age graded percentage of over 70.

And finally….

I’ve had many stand-out moments at Wallace, and was inspired by 2 groups who have run it as part of a tour of all the NI parkruns. I’ve also been lucky enough to have my husband photograph some of the runs, so I was able to put together my favourite pictures into a video montage.

List of all the parkruns I’ve completed.

Filed under: Parkrun, running | Tagged: ni parkruns, Wallace parkrun | Leave a comment »

NI parkruns: Valley

Posted on November 22, 2014 by lindaharley

At the time of writing, Valley is the newest addition to the NI parkrun family, and I joined them on a clear crisp November morning for their 16th event.

Access

The Valley leisure centre was always known to my little darlings as “the froggy pool” after one of the water slides in the swimming pool. It sits under the towering mass of Cavehill, and has lovely views down to Belfast Lough and the shipyard cranes. It’s very easy to find, near the Abbeycentre, and there’s plenty of parking. The start of the run is behind the main building, and signs point the way. There are toilets in the main building as well as in the smaller centre at the back, where the final scanning is done. Fancy that, being able to scan in the warm and dry!

Course

The course is 2 laps (always nice, you know when you’re halfway there). It’s on a slope (the clue’s in the name), but not a very pronounced one. It’s on gravel paths all the way round, though they are included to get muddy and puddley. But the scenery is lovely, and there’s a pretty duck pond to skip round.

Gear

I discovered when I tried to put my car keys in the zippy pocket of my long sleeved shirt, that I’d put it on inside out! Oh, well, that’s lucky isn’t it? I was a little slow pressing go on my Garmin, but all my other equipment was faultless.

Strangely appropriate song

The playlist I was using was one called “Scotland” rather than my specific “jogging” one, and as my feet flew over those puddles, I almost felt I was flying to “Lift Me Up”, by a Luxembourgian group, ODC. But my biggest smile came when I was finished and driving off in my car to the strains of Jupiter, the bringer of Joy.

Crowd

There were 60 runners that day. I like these smaller crowds, it’s easier to find some uncluttered space to run with Mini on her hands-free leash, and people seem to be a bit chattier and friendlier. And there was a lovely treat of a box of gummy sweeties at the end – I do think I should ask Haribo to sponsor me!

Time

The all important time. I’d been very good all week – I’d had a long run, a hill training session, and a speed run. I’d worked on my core by doing 2 lots of 20 push ups and squats every day, as well as some hula-hooping. I hadn’t had any alcohol on the Friday night, and I’d had a light breakfast of Greek yoghurt and buckwheat muesli. Did this all work? You betcha! I romped home as 3rd lady (best gender position), in position 24 (best actual position), at an age grading of 69.20% (best ever), and a PB time of 25:10.

Valley has pacers, which I’ve never seen before at a parkrun, and I want to say thank you to the 25 minute runner, whose heels I was clipping on the final 100m. A great morning.

List of all the parkruns I’ve completed.

Filed under: belfast, Parkrun, running | Tagged: parkrun | 1 Comment »

parkruns: Perth (that’s Scotland, not Australia)

Posted on November 9, 2014 by lindaharley

There’s an old joke that goes – what’s the smallest city in Scotland? Perth, because it’s found between 2 inches.

The North Inch and South Inch are peninsulas or spits of land into the River Tay, which flows quite briskly here, and Perth retains many fine features befitting its long ancestry, including beautiful old churches, fine bridges, and tiny entries called Vennels.

I was in town for a Scottish Dancing do. I was here last year, too, but the Perth parkrun hadn’t yet started – in fact at my visit they were full of enthusiasm for their upcoming first birthday.

Access:

To my great delight, the parkrun starts right beside Bells Sport Centre, where my dancing actvities were taking place, and I booked myself into Perth (if not Scotland)’s oldest hotel, The Salutation, an easy 5 minute walk away. There’s plenty of parking in and around the Centre, and toilets and showers are available there too.

Course:

There had been heavy rain during the week, and though Saturday dawned bright and crisp, the Perth parkrun Facebook page was warning of flooded parts of the route, due to the Tay bursting its banks. During the new runners briefing, the marshall explained that we would be re-routed onto some slippery grass sloping sections, and that yes, a lot of the course was very muddy – trail shoes recommended. Trail shoes I have none. I usually travel in my second best trainers, the green/purple KSwiss which are slightly sturdier and heavier, but I’d done a quick de-pooping of the back garden before I left, and managed to stand in a hidden dog-poo. So instead I’d brought my bestest trainers, the Brooks Ravenna that were my Sweatshop prize. They’ve quite a lot of mesh, and I wouldn’t normally choose to wear them in mucky conditions, but they were all I had. The route is just beautiful, hugging the banks of the river with its gorgeous trees and glimpses of wildlife.

Gear:

I’d underestimated the cold – meant to pack a long sleeved top to wear under my JogLisburn tee, but forgot. Luckliy enough I’d brought a lightweight Craghoppers cardi in white cotton, and wore that as a base layer. And of course it got covered in mucky paw prints when I said hello to a lovely Vizla, making her parkrun debut…

Strangely Appropriate Song:

Given the over-flowing river, I’ll say that The Bellamy Brothers “Let Your Love Flow” was the right song for the moment.

Crowd:

I was one of half a dozen tourists – I guess Perth is a city that has more than a few visitors. I particularly loved the marshalls with their big foam hands. The start and finish are at the same point, so many runners leave their outer layers decorating a nearby tree.

Time:

Ach, it wasn’t great. Since it was more Tough Mudder than parkrun at times, I wasn’t expecting anywhere near a PB, and at 29.54 it was a few seconds faster than last week! But part of me is disappointed that I don’t seem to be making much progress.

List of all the parkruns I’ve completed.

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

parkruns: Crane Park, Feltham

Posted on November 6, 2014 by lindaharley

While I am working my way through the Norn Irn parkruns (8/19 at time of writing), I do try to visit others in the vicinity of where I travel. I happened to be in London one weekend, and had a go at Crane Park, Feltham.

Access:

My best friend lives in Feltham, and is my usual lodgings any time I visit the big smoke. So I was truly delighted to find that this run was quite literally round the corner from her – a leisurely 10 minute jog took me to the starting point beside the children’s play area.

Course:

Crane Park is a long thin patch of green around a stream. The course is 1 1/2 laps of this rectangle, with the 2 short sides run on public footpaths. It is very pretty, taking in an old shot tower. And there’s plenty of wildlife around including the obligatory ducks, and a couple of squirrels. The paths are a bit lumpy and narrow, but there are no hills to worry about.

Crowd:

The turnout when I visited was 117, which seems about average. They’re a speedy bunch, and they seemed to zoom through a pre-run brief, and didn’t hang around much afterwards. What threw me a bit was the 9 am start – it’s 9.30 in Norn Irn and Scotland!

Strangley Appropriate Song:

I was in town to attend my daughter’s debut at Saddlers Wells, so “Keep On Movin'” by Five made me grin.

Gear:

I’m familiar now with my cordless earphones and Garmin watch, and they all performed well. Had a bit of a panic when I got home and couldn’t find them, but they were safely tucked inside my toilet bag. Phew! I also got an email telling me that my red 50 Tshirt is still stuck in production limbo. Shame, I’d love to show it off on my parkrun tourism jaunts.

Time:

I was disappointed with my 29:57. I know I run much faster with canine-assist, and realistically, this is my first sub-30 without Mini helping me along. But it was more than 3 minutes slower than last week, I was 97th, and 5th in my age category! Oh well, parkrun is clearly doing wonders for the fitness levels of 50 year-old women in West London…

List of all the parkruns I’ve completed.

Filed under: London, Parkrun, running | Tagged: Crane Park, parkrun | 1 Comment »

NI parkruns: Ormeau

Posted on September 20, 2014 by lindaharley

My lovely Jog Lisburn crew like to do a bit of parkrun tourism now and again, and so we had chosen Ormeau, Belfast for our next assault. We’re quite choosy – we like flatish courses, with not too many laps, and we do like a good bun afterwards.

It was Autumn when we visited, and so early in the morn, the shadows are long, and the sun low in the sky.

Access: Ormeau Park lies between the Ormeau and Ravenhill Roads, and it is definitely the Ravenhill end that you want to be aiming for. There is an indoor tennis arena and football pitches onsite, and as I arrived a marshall ascertained that I was a parkrunner, and directed me to dedicated gravel parking area. Loos are available in the Ozone/ tennis centre.

Course: I loved the course. It is basically 2 laps, although the second one incorporates an extra detour through the trees. The signs for the start and finish, each km marking, and at each fork, are on wooden posts, and there are also plenty of marhsalls making sure no-one takes the wrong path. There are lots of pretty features to look at en route, and to remind you that you’re in East Belfast, the Harland and Wolff cranes are visible at certain angles.

Gear: MapMyRun wasn’t playing ball with me, so I had No Idea how fast I was going. It seemed quick – I was trialling my new Trixie belt for runningwithyourdog. This has a stiff bungee cord to stop the dog catapulting you dangerously, and a grab handle to grasp if the dog sees a bird/ squirrel/ bicycle that they’d rather chase. I was a bit worried that the lead was longer than my usual one, and I would die of embarassment if we impeded another runner, but it was fine. We started at the back, I shot past the tail end of the pack on the grass to the side, and we soon found a wide space that I could let go of the grab loop, and let Mini pull me along. It has a little pouch for treats, poo bags and keys etc, which I found was best to position at my back. We have a canicross event coming up soon, and I’m looking forward to using the belt in its intended context in the very lovely Tollymore Forest for the Waggy Races.

Strangely Appropriate Song: Ormeau is another park that I am familiar with from days gone by – we used to live a stones throw away in Roseberry Road. My teeny tiny children loved to play on the swings and slides, and when they were older on the BMX track, and my son had a teddy bears picnic birthday do here. It was he who introduced me to Paramore, and as I’m working hard on my crap finish, it was “You go out in style” that made me smile.

Crowd: I found it hard to hear the briefing at the start, but we got the usual types trying to befriend Mini (hint: don’t approach her, she’ll bark; come and talk to me, and she’ll come and say hello in her own time). I did get chatting before hand to an English parkrun tourist, which was nice, and she took some photos for me. They’re a young and fast group!

Time: My previous 4 parkruns had been in the 28s, so I was really hoping for a 27 something, and a sub-100 position. MapMyRun being unhelpful, I had to analyse what info was available to me: I felt it was fast, especially with the bungee lead. I had finished, scanned, returned to my car, drunk my chocolate milk, Mini had had her bowl of water, and I was pulling out of the car park by 5 past 10. But I’d been position 120! The text results were slow coming through, but late in the afternoon I learned that I’d achieved a time of 27:51, and was 4th in my age category. 4th!!!!! An analysis of the results poured salt into that wound when I discovered that 2 out of those 4 were less than 10 seconds ahead of me. But I always defer to my own scale; Under 30- good. Under 29 – great. Under 28 – brilliant. Under 27 – fabulous. Under 26 – standing ovation.

Post-run: Sadly, I had to run and, errrr, run, as I was heading for the birthday luncheon of my godfather and 70 year old uncle in BallyGally Castle. And I’m not sure any of my co-runners stayed for post run socialising either. Maybe we should go back and see what the buns are like. I mean, I have an age category target to conquer!

List of all the parkruns I’ve completed.

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

NI parkruns: Bangor

Posted on September 15, 2014 by lindaharley

I attended the inaugural parkrun in Bangor’s Ward Park, which took place in March 2014. It was the first time I’d ever been at an inaugural do, an event so auspicious that even the mayor attended, and was imortalised by the cartoonist in the local paper. Aside from the mayor and me, there were over 200 other attendees, easily the biggest event I’ve experienced.

At the inaugural do there were very welcome bacon butties at the finish, and on my subsequent visits it’s been clear that the post-run buns are Very Important, and there’s a rota for bun-makers.

Access:

Ward Park is on the far side of Bangor when coming from the Belfast direction, and can be approached either via the ring road or through the town. There is ample parking, and loos are available by the bowling pavilion.

Course:

I have to be honest, I didn’t like the course. It has a number of tight turns, doubles back on itself, and the paths are at times quite narrow.

I found myself hemmed in on a number of occasions, and I nearly cannoned into the back of a runner in front of me who stopped dead after having rounded one of the sharp bends. The path runs alongside a small canal, where there is no guard rail. Mini decided she was running a triathlon, and promptly jumped in!

There’s plenty of very cheeky squirrels around too.
Gear:

After the unscheduled swim, I make sure that I always carry a towel with me.

Time:

Despite Mini’s dip in the water, I managed a respectable 27:27, in lucky position 100.

Oddly appropriate song:

Snow Patrol – Take Back the City. The last time I’d visited Ward Park it had been to see these local boys turned superstars perform an open air concert.

Atmosphere:

It was certainly interesting to experience a First event – the hoopla and press attention, the huge crowds, and did I mention the bacon butties? When I attended on Valentines Day, there were roses being handed out to some lucky finishers. And the training for sighted guides, to be able to make parkrun accessible to blind and visually impaired runners, took place at Bangor, and was extremely interesting. I look forward to being able to working on my new skills in the future.

List of all the parkruns I’ve completed.

Filed under: Parkrun, running | Tagged: Bangor, Ward Park | 1 Comment »

NI parkruns: Victoria

Posted on August 16, 2014 by lindaharley

Victoria Park in Belfast hosts one of Norn Irn’s oldest parkruns, though it’s had a bit of hiatus recently with ongoing improvements being made to the park.

I only realised on a later visit to the park just how detailed all the improvements are, and that the sign in the shelter is made up of lots of little photos of parkrunners – impressive or what!

Some of my Jog Lisbrun friends like to do a bit of parkrun tourism once a month or so, and I agreed to join them on their jaunt to Victoria. The promise of brownies was an added incentive!

Access: The park is right beside the runway of George Best Belfast City airport – in fact if the wind is in a certain direction, the taking off and landing planes are so close overhead that it’s impossible not to duck. It’s also across the road from Sydenham station, that “road” being the busy Sydenham bypass, below which an underpass leads you into the park. It’s pretty well sign-posted, though first time visitors can be a little unnerved by the back streets of red brick terraced houses surrounding the route.

Course: Part of the park’s updating have included new pathways, with parkrun distance signs marked on the way. The course is one complete outer lap, one almost all way round, and then cross the bridge on to the island in the centre for a circuit through the trees.UPDATE: The course is now 3 clockwise laps. The shade is very welcome, though the gym equipment lurking in various leafy corners was rather spooky. There’s the teeniest of inclines as you turn the corner at the back by the Sam Thompson Bridge, but really, the course is delightfully flat.

Gear: MapMyRun performed beautifully this morning, but my trainers felt tight, even though I re-tied them 3 times. Perhaps it was the fact that I was still wearing my ankle support. To be honest, there were no niggles at all from my ankle, and I feel I could leave the support bandage off in future.

Crowd: It was a BIG crowd! They often attract 150+, but since the closest parkrun at Ormeau was cancelled today, the numbers had risen to well in excess of 200. The park is able to absorb that capacity, though, there was plenty of car parking, loos on site (20p in the car park, or there’s an accessible one on the island) and not too bad a queue for scanning barcodes. UPDATE: this course has the record times across the UK, so it always has a big crowd!

Oddly appropriate song: In the week that my daughter was back home for her 21st birthday, and in the Park where we used to feed the ducks ( we lived in a house quite literally across the road), it was Annie Lennox singing “Precious Little Angel” that prompted a rush of emotion.

Time: We’d started at the back, as the Run Director had said “dogs and prams start at the rear!” at which Mini barked her displeasure. But it was pretty easy to overtake, slotting into available emptier spots. The paths are nice and wide, with ample grassy verges on either side, so we never felt hemmed in. I quickly got up to a steady pace of around 5:20 per km, which would have been close to PB territory, but I slacked off after km 3, and my legs started to ache. And I’m really going to have to work on my finish – 6 runners must have passed me in the last 200m! But at 29:03 I was comfortably sub-30, and happy enough with that since I’m still not back to full training routine yet.

Atmosphere: It’s a busy city park. There are still workmen finishing off the improvements, there are lots of dog walkers, and footballers playing on the pitches in the island. The highlight was undoubtedly one of the best bun selections I’ve ever had at a parkrun, including absolutely delicious gluten-free walnut brownies. Yum! UPDATE: Bowling club no lunger used for loos/ coffees. There’s a coffee cart in the car park, or plenty of cafes nearby.

List of all the parkruns I’ve completed.

Filed under: belfast, Parkrun, running | 1 Comment »

NI parkruns: St Andrews

Posted on August 12, 2014 by lindaharley

Yes, yes, I know St Andrews isn’t in Norn Irn, but I felt I could include it in my continuing series of parkrun tourism. I happened to be in the town for a week’s Scottish dancing, and I had to skip half a class to get there on time, but I wasn’t going to miss the opportunity to try out a course that awards itself the title of “best parkrun in the world”! Access: Various tourist leaflets I had read claimed that Craigtoun Country Park was either 2 or 4 miles out of town. If it was 2, and I knew exactly where I was going, I’d have jogged. But given the uncertainty I booked a taxi. The parkrun page gave directions from the main entrance, so I got the driver to leave me at the big gates by the road (to be honest, the fare was over £6 at this stage, and I only had £5.50 with me.) As it turned out, I still had a bit of a walk to get to the entrance to the country park proper, but the views along the way were stunning.

Course: The park is absolutely gorgeous – white castles reflected in a calm duck pond, Japanese gardens, clumps of bright sunflowers, stone follies. The route is three large laps across a variety of terrains including gravel and grass, with a final leg to the finish sprint across a grassy patch. There’s a slight incline on the way up, and then a gentle slope down on the way back, and the path crosses a minaiture railway track.

Crowd: The run director asked for anyone who was new to the course to come to one side, and he took us through its key features. I got chatting to one of the regulars, and asked if anyone might be able to give me lift back to town. He volunteered his services, and as we were chatting on the way to the car, we discovered that he was related to one of my Dad’s friends!

My kindly chauffeurs Blair, Jane, and neice Emma

Gear: I was travelling light, so I didnt have my jacket with me, and even though it was August, it was still rather chilly. Fine once I started running, though. I pressed START on MapMyRun too soon, so its time elapsed was about a minute too much, and I spent my run trying to bring down my average pace. As the finish line is in a different place to the start, any water bottles, keys etc can be palced in a fetching bag which is taken to the finish. Apologies for the terrible photo…

Oddly appropriate tack provided by shuffle: Since I was mitching class, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Freebird made me grin, and it timed itself just right so that the fast section coincided with my final half lap.

Time: I was aiming for “around 30”, and came in at 30:53. I did struggle with the final hill, and a few runners overtook me there, and I can always claim I was distracted by so many beautiful views.

Atmosphere: There was a good bit of friendly standing around chatting afterwards, a few waggy doggies to say hello to, and rice crispie buns! See you guys again next year 🙂

List of all the parkruns I’ve completed.

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

NI parkruns: Queens

Posted on July 9, 2014 by lindaharley

The Queens parkrun is one of the longest established of Norn Irn’s parkruns. It is nowhere near the main University building – it’s at its Sports Centre in Finaghy, known as “The Dub”. The course is 2 laps around the tennis courts and playing fields. It’s hillier than you’d think, some of the turns are quite sharp, and the terrain changes from car-park asphalt to gravelly path.

Access: Located close to the sign-post House of Sport roundabout, it’s easy to get to this parkrun either from the Outer Ring, or from the M1 via Stockman’s Lane. There is ample parking, and facilities in the modern building are excellent.

Gear: When I first did this run I’d only just started parkrunning, and I was taking part in an accountants’ charity weekend. So I got a lovely new T shirt to wear!

not quite on the cover of a magazine…

Crowd: As you’d expect, there are a fair few students and academics who regularly run this course, but it’s also popular with Lisburners looking for a change of scenery from Wallace. Attendance is usually around 60 (at time of writing – it’s increased a fair bit since then!)

Strangely Appropriate Song: Reelin in the Years, by Steely Dan, made me reminisce about times past when I’d attended Queens University……

Time: I’d done this one pretty early in my parkrun career, and came in at 31:15, still chasing the elusive 30 barrier.

Update January 2015:

It’s been quite icy recently, and unfortunately this does lead to parkrun cancellations for safety reasons. Queens is pretty weather-resilient, though – it’s a busy centre with lots of activities on each Saturday morning, so the staff are really good at gritting the surfaces. After a Wallace cancellation, I made a quick decision to re-route to Queens, especially since my running mate Minnie hadn’t tried it yet. It was a bright blue-sky morning, there were over 100 runners, including a few Wallace stable-mates, and we had a pretty enjoyable run. I found some of the paths a bit narrow – it’s easy to get hemmed in at the start, especially with a dog! But we managed a very satisfying 25:44, and I got those coveted letters PB after my name. The welcome from the regulars and volunteers was lovely, and I’m sure we’ll be back again soon.

List of all the parkruns I’ve completed.

Filed under: belfast, Parkrun, running | Tagged: parkrun, queens | 1 Comment »

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NI parkruns: Comber

NI parkruns: Wallace

NI parkruns: Valley

parkruns: Perth (that’s Scotland, not Australia)

parkruns: Crane Park, Feltham

NI parkruns: Ormeau

NI parkruns: Bangor

NI parkruns: Victoria

NI parkruns: St Andrews

NI parkruns: Queens

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