NI parkruns: Ecos

Posted on July 5, 2014 by lindaharley

My husband had left a motorbike in to have some work done in Broughshane, near Ballymena.  He was planning to collect it on a Saturday morning, so I jumped at the chance to tag along and do the Ecos parkrun on the way.  Well what do you know – when he called the motorbike repair guy to check that the bike was ready, he said “Don’t come before 11, as I always do the local parkrun!”  Only in Norn Irn, eh?

Ecos dragonfly

Ecos dragonfly

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Access: The Ecos centre is visible from the M2, and is well sign-posted from Junction 11.  There’s lots of parking, the centre has toilets, plenty of seats and tables outside to enjoy the post run water/ coffee/ Penguins.  And spectators and travelling paparazzi (ie my husband and his son) have plenty to do playing among the huge metal spider, caterpillar and ladybird sculptures.

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Pre-run brief

Route: The course is a sort of looping figure of 8.  It passes some lovely nature reserve, a cool avenue of trees, some bridges, and at one point runs parallel to the motorway.  The paths are quite narrow, which didn’t seem to pose a problem to a guy running with a double buggy AND a dog! The route is well signed along its route, though my heart sank when I passed the 2 km post, and I thought “Is that all I’ve run?”  I’m sure Ballymena kilometres mst be longer than standard ones. They tell me the paths are susceptible to flooding in the winter, but this July morning was bright and sunny.

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a leafy pathway

Gear: MapMyRun let me down yet again.  I pressed “start”, didn’t hear its bored intonation of “Begin workout”, so I pressed it again, only to get the message “Workout paused”.  And by then we were off and I didn’t manage to get it going again.  I really must invest in a proper Garmin.

Discussing strategy with Longjohn

Discussing strategy with Longjohn

Crowd: Well, in addition to Longjohn the Harley repair guy, everyone I met was very chatty and welcoming, it really felt like I was part of the wider parkrun family.

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running in the sun

Strangely Appropriate Song: As I set off I had McFly’s version of “Don’t stop me know, cos I’m having such a good time…” which summed up my feelings, having just recently got back running after an ankle injury.  And as I neared the finish, I changed the lyrics of “Hey Ho, le nouveau son de Manau” to “In Ecos Ballymena”.

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collecting finish token

Time:  I’d been hoping for a sub-30, but without Mini to pull me round, or MapMyRun’s voice feedback, it was a less impressive 31.28.  But hey, there’s more to running than going fast.  I’m just delighted to be running at all.

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post-run euphoria

List of all the parkruns I’ve completed.

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NI parkruns: Strathclyde parkathon

Posted on June 22, 2014 by lindaharley

I’m blogging my own journey around NI’s parkruns, but I had to record a sepcial entry for a group of awesome parkrunners from Strathclyde, who have run all 18 in One Weekend!

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I joined them at 8 am on Saturday at my home run of Wallace, Lisburn. They were wreathed in smiles, sporting tartan skirts, and a truly awesome array of red 50 and black 100 Tshirts.

 

Red and Black Tshirts

Red and Black Tshirts

The early morning rain ceased, and it stayed dry for their trip around our course, famous for its three visits to the duckpond, and the not-so-welcome hill at the car-park.

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We’d loved them to have stayed for tea and a biscuit, but they were dashing off to do their offical parkrun at Citypark, Craigavon, The proferred Haribos were well recieved, though, with the opportunity to joke about having the fried egg for breakfast.

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They had special hats and Tshirts, and a very well-organised schedule, backed up with a sat-nav and a luggage carrying-van.

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I can honestly say it was an inspiration to meet them, I’m delighted that they completed their challenge succesfully, and that they got to see some of Norn Irn in good weather. I look forward to running some of Scotland’s parkruns in the future.  Well done guys!

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NI Parkruns: Portrush

Posted on May 14, 2014 by lindaharley

The parkrun at Portrush, on NI’s north coast, is surely one of the most stunningly beautiful courses anywhere.  It’s also one of the toughest.portrush parkrun 007

Access:  
The run starts at 9:30, on the East Strand.  Travelling from Belfast, I like to approach Portrush along the coast road, past the white rocks beach, the Skerries sitting out on the sparkling grey waves, past what I still refer to as Kelly’s nightclub, and the Royal Portrush Golf Club, two very different sorts of entertainment venue facing each other across the road.  There is ample car-parking at the start of the course, with a good vantage point for any non-running observers to watch.

Course:
The course is an out-an-back one, run mostly on the sand.  Running on hard sand is very pleasant, but you have to cross a patch of soft sand in order to get there.  Even worse, you have to re-cross the soft sand on your return leg, at which stage your muscles are aching.  In the winter, when the wind is howling and the tide is high, sometimes even the hard sand peters out, and your choice is to clamber over rocks, or get your feet wet.  It’s certainly a character bulding experience!

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Gear:
 I’ve run this course twice, once in May, and once in January, during a really unpleasant spell of weather.  I’d taken my rain jacket off while running, and the rain soaked my T shirt, causing it to stick to my skin.  Not pleasant.  In the colder months, gloves and a buff or headband are highly recommended.

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Crowd:  
The turnout varies depending on the time of year.  During the balmy July holidays it can attract over 100, while in the winter the hardy regulars number around 50.  Many of them are very keen sporty types, who can often be found hanging 10 on their surf boards, over on Portrush’s other beach, the West Strand.  There’s a warm welcome to visitors, and as a tourist destination, these are in regular supply over the summer months.  My first run there had been on May 4th, Star Wars day, and there was someone in full Darth Vader get-up to celebrate.  That had also been my nephew’s first parkrun, which he managed in a very creditable 25 minutes, inspiring him to run the Belfast Marathon the following year.

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Strangely Appropriate Song on my Shuffle:
 I was hearing the strains of Vangelis and “Chariots of Fire” recreating that moment where the Olympic hopefuls are training on the beach.  But this is definitely one for Daft Punk’s “Harder, Faster, Stronger”.

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Time:  You’re unlikely to get a PB here, even though it’s flat.  When I first ran it in May, I was still trying to break the 30 minute barrier.  And I failed.  When I ran it again, 6 months later, regularly sub-30-ing, I though I could at least better my previous time.  And didn’t even manage that, having lost valuable seconds scrambling over the rocks.

List of all the parkruns I’ve completed.

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NI Parkruns: Citypark Craigavon

Posted on May 11, 2014 by lindaharley

“Citypark” is a rather misleading name for this one, as it’s nowhere near a city! It is in the vicinity of Craigavon, though, with its many roundabouts to negotiate, and I was glad I had written out the directions on a piece of paper, and was travelling with a running companion to help me navigate.

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Access:

It’s not too far off junction 10 of the M1, but check their web page for detailed instructions.  The course is one single lap around a pair of lakes next to the Watersports centre and civic centre.

UPDATE: It now starts and finishes at the newly built South Lakes Leisure Centre, where there are loos and a fabulous cafe.

There’s a good car park, and shelter/ loos in the watersports building, where coats, keys and barcodes can be left during the run.  It’s a pretty route through lots of trees, and while there a few ups and downs, there are no killer hills.

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Gear:

It was raining when I visited, but not heavily, and I opted for my short sleeved Jog Lisburn T shirt, with long trousers.  MapMyRun seemed to be working fine, but it told me I’d completed the 5k when I was still 400m from the finish, which threw my pacing calculations off slightly. I had my waistband pouch to hold poo bags, dog treats etc, my sweat-wristband which is useful for the runny nose I always get when running, and I utilise the white headband from last year’s colour run to act as a brake under my armband phone holder. Our Jog Lisburn T-shirts provided a conversation starter, and we were able to do our ambassadorial bit for the club.

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Crowd:

It usually has in the region of 100 runners, with quite a few females taking part – I finished as 12th woman.  Mini was the only dog running, and as usual had a crowd of admirers coming to say hello. There’s tea, coffee, and water available afterwards, to enjoy over the post-run banter and comparing of performances.

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Strangely Appropriate Song provided by shuffle:

With all the pacing calculations going on in my head, it had to be Stevie Wonder going “five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes!” from Seasons of Love.

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Time:

Having PBed the previous week with 26:19, I was hoping that this less-hilly route would help me get under 26.  That meant pacing between 5 and 5:12 per km.  My plan was to run the first half as fast as I could, and I kept my pace around 5:03.  For the back stretch, I was aiming to hold position.  As I started the last km I was pretty sure I’d get a solid time, but then MapMyRun told me I’d completed the 5 when I was still some way off the finish.  So I wasn’t too sure of my actual finish time until the official text and email results came it, and was delighted to have broken into the 25s with a 25:57.

List of all the parkruns I’ve completed.

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NI ParkRuns: Falls

Posted on April 26, 2014 by lindaharley

I’ve set myself a challenge of running at each of the ParkRuns in Northern Ireland, and then blogging my experience.

Today’s venue: Falls, Belfast

Hi-Ho, lets go

Hi-Ho, lets go

Access is fairly easy, not far off the M1, and there’s parking near the bowling green, where the group meets at the start. Toilet facilities are available here, which is always welcome.

Gear:

The weather forecast had been for rain, so I wore my yellow running jacket. As it turned out, the sun shone, and I was too warm during the run itself.

Tree-mendous

Tree-mendous

Course:

It has a reputation as a hilly one, but I was pleasantly surprised that they weren’t as bad as I’d imagined. As usual, I was ably assisted by my squirrel-propelled four-pawed companion, and Mini got lots of attention from the other runners. The park itself is very pretty, and the course consits of one small lap, followed by 2 larger laps. There are markings on the footpath at any of the turns, and at the end.

Grrrrrrrl power

Grrrrrrrl power

Crowd:

The usual turnout is about 60, so I was able to record my best overall position to date (28) here. There’s also quite a few slower runners, so it’s not too intimidating for beginners. They’re a nice friendly bunch, and the cup of tea afterwards was appreciated.

The End is nigh

The End is nigh

Apt/ inspiring song:

There’s always one track on my playlist which is strangely appropriate or inspiring, and today it was Biffy Clyro’s “I am a Mountain” .

Time:

My target was to do a sub-30, given the hills and the lack of training I’ve done recently. And my MapMyRun feedback was occasionally telling me my pace was a touch over 6 mins per km, but I managed to get a head of steam going for the final stretch, and came in at 27:44. I drove home with a huge smile on my face!

List of all the parkruns I’ve completed.

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