parkrun #358 event#97
Reason for visit: My son’s special day, being held in glorious Cornwall.
Access:
Getting to Cornwall is not easy. It is WAAAAAAAAAY over there, and when the trains aren’t running it’s a 6 hour drive from London (for my daughter). She wisely stopped overnight at Plymouth before making the final leg along those narrow winding roads. My journey there was quite pleasant, a flight from Belfast city airport to Newquay, followed by picking up a hire car. My return journey was impeded by Storm Debi, which caused my Belfast flight to be cancelled. But thankfully I was able to switch onto a Dublin flight, and catch a bus back up north.
Getting to Penryn Campus is pretty straightforward, with excellent directions given on the parkrun page.
Facilities:
There is ample parking by the sports centre, which also has clean loos. From there it’s a wee dander to the start line, plenty of signage along the way. On our visit they were celebrating their 100th event, so scones with jam and cream were provided. Dispensation was given to apply the toppings in whichever order you pleased.
Crowd:
They usually get just under 100 runners, it got into 3 figures this time, probably because of the special occasion. My son is a parkrunner, – we also another guest with us, as well as Apollo the dog, young B in a pushchair, and an under 11. So we had All The Things, and a good job we had 3 adults to take charge of one each. My under 11 had only 2 speeds, despite me trying to persuade him of the joys of Meemaw’s “gentle jog”. Lots of encouragement from the other runners and volunteers.
Course:
It’s hilly! Starts with a downhill section, at a turnaround point you go back up the hill, and across to run round a little maze. And you do that 3 times. All on tarmac paths.
Time:
Gentle jog, hills, I was happy with a 50 minute time, coming in just ahead of the tailwalker.
Gear:
Cold weather pants, With Me Now top, cow cowl and headband. Blue Hokas which I’d travelled in. I didn’t see any other cow cowls, though when we checked later my son would be eligible, being on 36 different events.
Strangely Appropriate Song on Shuffle:
I didn’t put my headphones on, as I was the responsible adult for an under 11. But I’d started re-reading Espedair Street last week since I was in Glasgow, and happened to reach the description of driving on the Cornish roads around Newquay, which I could totally relate to.
And the rest:
Well what a wonderful weekend it was! I got to see Lands End, the Minack Theatre, and the Eden Project. As well of course as the fantastic family celebrations, with lots of cake, champagne, grandson cuddles, and a never ending game of Monopoly.
All my parkruns:
NI (and other) parkruns: summary list
Filed under: Parkrun, running | Tagged: Cornwall, Penryn | 1 Comment »
Dancing At Lunacy 