NI parkruns: Enniskillen

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Look out, more dancing has occurred! I was in the lovely town of Enniskillen, in the heart of Fermanagh’s lakeland county, for a weekend of Scottish Country Dancing. And I couldn’t pass by the opportunity of doing the Enniskillen parkrun, even if it DID mean missing the first of the Saturday morning classes (cue much tutting in the breakfast room…)
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Access:

The run is held in the grounds of Castle Coole, a National Trust property consisting of a very impressive white stone villa, set in acres of rolling countryside including a lake. Castle Coole is on the Belfast side of town, and there’s plenty of parking by the stables, which also house the very clean and gratifyingly warm loos. For I was cold. Very cold. Despite it being May by the calendar, there was a chilly breeze and a steady mizzle, which was not pleasant. However, the woodland grounds were awash with primroses, bluebells, and some plants I haven’t seen in a long while.
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Crowd:

I was early, as usual, and was approached by a young female runner who wanted to check that this was where the parkrun was happening! Most people arrived about 9.20. There were a couple of lovely doggies running, and I got chatting to a gorgeous biscuit coloured ball of fur named Harry (he ‘s even registered as Harry the dog!) It turned out the the father of Harry’s owner was the former principal of the school where our dance weekend was taking place – what a co-incidence! There were a few people either visiting the area (it IS one of Norn Irn’s most popular tourist destinations, with good reason), or had family here and were “home” for the weekend.
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Course:

Starting by the stables, the course runs in front of the big white house (how can I run with distracting views like this!),
2015-05-02 08.58.07 through a wooded section, onto the main avenue, down to a turning point, back up the avenue, round the lake, and home to the finish line at the stables. There’s a bit of an incline at the start to get to the house, and the return section of the avenue was one long slow climb, but other than that there are no hill problems. The surface was all either gravel or tarmac, and I don’t think they’d prove an issue for visually impaired or buggy-pushers.
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In the stableyard is an old Belmore Omnibus – and we were staying in the Belmore Court Motel (highly recommended if you’re ever visiting this part of the world – a warm welcome, great value accommodation and well situated)
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I was a bit foxed after the run, as the exit isn’t through the same gate as the entrance, and there were no signs to indicate which was the way back into town.

Gear:

I was debating whether or not to ditch my yellow rain jacket, but since my run time wasn’t going to be anything special I decided to stay warm-ish and dry and keep it on. The Garmin took a while to locate satellites, and I couldn’t believe my husband tried to ring me at 25 past 9 on a Saturday! There was only one scanner on duty, which caused a bit of a bottle neck.
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Strangely Appropriate Song On Shuffle:

John and Ruby Wilkinson were our special guests at the dancing weekend, so the appropriate song was “Ruby Ruby Ruby” by Kaiser Chiefs.

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Time:

Well, I’m always happy with a sub-30 time, and 29:08 was faster than my last non-canine-assisted run, so I’ll have to be content with that. It did tick 3 of my current targets – counting towards 20 different events, visiting all the Norn Irn venues, and taking me one step closer to my 100 T shirt.
List of all the parkruns I’ve completed.

NI (and other) parkruns: Crystal Palace

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“Now just a minute”, I hear you say, “This ‘ere blog is called Dancing At Lunacy, right?  Well, there’s plenty of lunacy, most of it the youdonthavetobemadtobearunnerbutithelps, variety, but where’s all the dancing, eh? Eh?”

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Fear not, gentle reader, for this weekend there was the most wonderful, moving, and memorable dancing, courtesy of my fabulous daughter and others at The Place, celebrating choreography giant Robert Cohan’s 90th birthday.  Jemima was in a piece called “Sometimes, even now”, choreographed by James Cousins, a Matthew Bourne protege.  I was sitting next to some current Bourne guys, and we all watched in admiration as she climbed, fell, turned, span, leaped and – forgive me – emotionally connected with her audience. Times critic Donald Hutera tweeted “Jemima Brown – most watchable centrepeice of James Cousins people”.  Wow.

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Anyhoo, post show drinkies over, I was hustled into a  taxi to her flat in Crystal Palace while their celebrating continued – I did have a bit of a disturbed night’s sleep when they returned at 3 am, but had set my alarm to make sure I did not miss my Saturday morning parkrun (oh you Eeeeenglish with your 9 am starts!)

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Access:

I flew into Gatwick, nearly cried at the price of fares on the Gatwick Express into town, but bus and train links to CP are very good.  The parkrun is in the huge park with its famous mast, which has a major bus depot at one end, and the railway station one one side, so it’s very easy to reach by public transport.  There are also several car parks, and plenty of loo facilities.

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Crowd:

I was wearing my Jog Lisburn T shirt, and a guy approached me and told me he’d run Wallace a couple of weeks ago.  Turns out Mark is from Bangor originally, and was running his 150th parkrun this morning!  He’s already on that more-than-20-events hall of fame, and revealed that he’d lost 4 stone during his parkrun career.  Most impressive!  I also chatted to a runner in a Titanic Quarter Tshirt from last year, someone running their first ever parkrun, and the very friendly volunteers.  Usual crowd is about 150, with a good few slower runners.

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Course:

I entered from the top end, and admired the old weathered stone statues, as I walked down the steps.
20150328_081843]And then more steps.  20150328_081854] And even more steps. 20150328_081918 20150328_082206

Oh dear, it was very evident that elevation was a serious issue with this course!

20150328_081419 - Copy - Copy - Copy  Hills aside, it’s a really cool venue.  The paths are wide and flat, there’s an old red telephone box, a cafe, a maze, a sports stadium, a museum, a renowned lake/ amphitheatre, and a War memorial bell at the finish.

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Gear:

My Garmin’s connecting lead had broken during the week, which meant that the battery was dying. It survived the run, but I’m going to have to get that sorted.  I’m glad I wore my JL T shirt – I’m still waiting for my red 50 shirt, which I’d wanted to show off on tourism jaunts, but really, the JL one is more of a talking point.

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Strangely Appropriate Song On Shuffle:

Being in Crystal Paris – has to be Walking On Broken Glass by Annie Lennox.

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Time:

OK, I’d been out quaffing champers till the wee small hours, and then didn’t have a great night’s kip, and it was hilly – I was   a bit disappointed with 29:54, but as I’m very fond of saying – there’s more to running than going fast.

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List of all the parkruns I’ve completed.

NI parkruns: Armagh

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Having experienced a rather moving partial eclipse, it seemed appropriate to visit the city which is home to Norn Irn’s world class planetarium. It’s known as the city of saints and scholars, in Ireland’s orchard county, and I have fond memories of visiting my father’s relatives here when I was a wee girl.

Access:

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It’s 33 miles form Lisburn, which took me about 40 minutes. The journey is really easy, most of it on motorways, and access to Palace Demesne is via a rather impressive gateway, and past a ruined friary. There’s plenty of car park spaces, and loos are available in the courtyard.

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Course:
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The start and finish points are very close, which means that keys and other valuables can be left in a biscuit tin. The route goes through a forested area first, doubles back on itself, then does a large loop round the grounds. And repeat. This entails a lot of different terrains – gravelly paths, twig-strewn woodland ways, tarmacked car park, and some rather steep hills. I found the doubling-back paths quite narrow, and had to keep Minnie on a very short lead to stay out of the way of runners coming the other direction. But the grounds are very beautiful, and I can imagine that with the changing seasons they look stunning.

Crowd:
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There’s usually just under 100 runners, which is a nice sized crowd. They were all very friendly, and some people recognised Minnie from other parkruns we’ve done. It attracts a good range of abilities, a lovely illustration of the inclusivity of parkruns.

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Strangely Appropriate Song on Shuffle

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On Super Saturday, with everything to be decided in the rugby later, I found myself humming along to “Rome wasn’t built in a day”.

Gear

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I was in my falling-down-trousers – I really must replace those. Maybe now that spring is here I should get some capri length trews. There were no kilometre markings, so I was relying on my Garmin for pacing and timing.

Time
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I was 12 something at the halfway turning point, and wasn’t too unhappy with a 26:33, which put me in 3rd place in my age category.

List of all the parkruns I’ve completed.

NI parkruns: Antrim

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Access:

The course starts at Lough Shore Park, which is beside the Antrim Forum, and right on the shores of Lough Neagh.  Access from Belfast via the M2 is pretty straightforward – I came over the mountains from Lisburn, covering the 20 miles in about 30 minutes.  There’s loads of car parking, and clean loos.

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Course:

When looked at on MapMyRun or Garmin, the route looks like a lollipop.  It starts and finishes beside the car park, crosses the Deerpark Bridge, and does 2 clockwise loops of the very beautiful Antrim Castle grounds.  I had to concentrate very hard on the route and not be distracted by the gorgeous surroundings – I’ll have to come back some non-parkrun day for a more leisurely stroll around.

 

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There is one small section between a pair of  staggered yellow gates, which was slightly more uneven underfoot, and had about the only incline on the whole course.  These gates m2015-03-07 10.12.47ight be an issue for partially sighted runners or wheelchair users.2015-03-07 10.14.012015-03-07 10.13.45

 

Crowd:

There’s usually about 100 runners – we were the only dog, and I only saw one pram.  There’s quite a few slower runners, and many people stay behind to cheer them on.  The volunteers were really helpful and friendly – I got chatting to the volunteer co-ordinator afterwards, who says I have to come back later in the year when the trees are looking even more spectacular! I didn’t see any tea and buns afterwards, but I wasn’t really looking for them.

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Gear:

I was too warm!  There was a stiff breeze, which made it feel colder than the actual temperature.  While I’d wisely left my gloves at home, my long-sleeved base layer under my Jog Lisburn tee was too many layers.  I was also able to remove my headband, and use it as a brake on my phone armband holder, which had started to slide down towards my elbow.

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Strangely Appropriate Song:

DOA by the Foo Fighters, as I really pushed myself on the last 500m.

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Time:

There was a 24 minute pacer, and as my all time best is 24:42, I thought, he’s my mark.  I kept his green cap in sight for the first 3km, but he got away from me on the second loop of the lollipop, and I finished in 26:07.

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List of all the parkruns I’ve completed.

NI parkruns: Carrickfergus

I wish I waaaaaas in Carrickfergus

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I nearly WASN’T in Carrickfergus this morning, as when I was making my morning cuppa there were flakes of snow falling! I sipped my tea, anxiously watching the Facebook statuses of the local parkruns, and more than one was cancelled.  However, I decided to don the old running gear and head off anyway – my husband said he’d phone me if a cancellation was posted.  But the sun shone, and even though there was still some ice around, and a definite nip in the air, it was all systems go.

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Access:

The run starts and finishes beside the Amphithteatre leisure centre ( entering Carrick, take a left at the roundabout before the castle, go under the railway bridge and turn right).  There’s ample car parking, and lockers and loos in the centre itself.  The only thing I missed was a bucket or basket to put my keys and jacket in, so I had to schlep back to the car to deposit my coat, and tuck my car keys into my gloves.

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Course:

It’s a 3 lap course with a bit extra at the start and finish.  The paths I found narrow, and felt a bit hemmed in on lap 1.  There’s some lovely scenery past the duck pond, and the loop of Shaftsbury Park, but there are some sharp turns and narrow tunnels under the railway-line too.  There’s only two short sharp hills, and metal parkrun signs, cones, and cheery marshals ensure that you stay on the right route.

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Crowd:

I was delighted to meet up again with Claire and Caroline, who are running all 19 Norn Irn parkruns in 2015.carrick ladies

https://www.facebook.com/events/1394739207487146/?ref_newsfeed_story_type=regular .

They’d originally been planning to do Ecos, which was cancelled, so it was a  serendipitous meeting indeed. I was able to tell them that there’s a “hall of fame” for anyone who’s done more than 20 different events, so as they are doing one of the Dublin runs next month, they should see their names on that board by the end of the year. Minnie wasn’t the only pooch running, and we smiled kindred greetings to the other dog-runners.

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Strangely Appropriate Song on Shuffle:

Given the weather conditions, it had to be Led Zeppelin “Immigrant Song” – come from the land of ice and snow….

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Gear:

I was trying not to look too much at my Garmin, to get more of a “feel” for pace.  I did glance at it going into lap 3 and couldn’t understand the figures it was showing – maybe I’d hit the wrong button.  Another problem – nice though it is to have – is that my trousers felt too loose, and were gradually working their way southwards!

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Time:

I couldn’t get my usual fast start, and found it difficult to overtake during lap 1, but I’d soon caught up with the pink ladies.  I overtook them on lap 2, and then they zoomed past me on Lap 3.  The OCD part of me is rather satisfied that I recorded a time of bang on 26 minutes, in position 26.  Normally a 4th lady position would have pleased me, but if Clare and Caroline hadn’t been there, or if I’d managed a better finish, I might have bagged that Lady 2 spot! Oh well, I consoled myself by ordering the results by age grading, where I was 6th overall.  That’s better 😉

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List of all the parkruns I’ve completed.

NI (and other) parkruns: summary list

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When I discovered that there’s a parkrun league table for all those Saturday morning tourists who’ve been to 20 or more events, (update: it’s now 50 events, though the cow cowl is still 20) (update 2024, the Most Events table was one of the stats removed in the notorious StatsGate) a plan formed in my mind.  Since then, I’ve worked my way round all the NI ones, plus ticking off a few Scottish, Irish and English ones while I visit those places, I’m creating this page as a handy summary with links to all those I’ve done.  I know the parkrun tag should help to navigate around the blog, but it’s nice to see them all in one convenient list. Think of it as a sort of “Hitchhikers Guide” to parkrun! Longer term plans include running a parkrun for each letter of the alphabet, (tick!) and becoming an Ulster Allstar. Oh, and I managed to spell the word DANCER with parkruns. parkrunDANCER.   

Listed with the NI ones first, then all others, alphabetical within each section.

most events

And I’m on the “most events” list!

Then there’s

and this….

first 20

NI parkruns: Comber

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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…..)

10974731_630521480409623_2052883722705677799_o 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.

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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.

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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”

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List of all the parkruns I’ve completed.

NI parkruns: Wallace

20141025_101240Wallace 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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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.

NI parkruns: Valley

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.

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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!

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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.

20141122_090221Gear

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.

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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!

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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.

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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.20141122_100229

List of all the parkruns I’ve completed.

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

20141108_083501There’s an old joke that goes – what’s the smallest city in Scotland? Perth, because it’s found between 2 inches.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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…

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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.

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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.

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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.

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List of all the parkruns I’ve completed.