Race report: Free 5K race series, Hanley Park
What's that you say a free 5K in the Hanley
Parkrun series with a tempting trip to a greasy spoon afterwards, count me in!
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| Michael, Perry, Christiane, Chris, Giles and Jill |
The great thing about the park run series
is it’s simple and easy. All you have to do is register once and print off a
small barcode label, from then on you can simply turn up on the day of an event
and race. No need to worry about filling in entry forms or sending off money as
all the events are totally free ( excluding the optional breakfast).
This particular run take place each
Saturday morning at 9am in a scenic park in Hanley and was to be my second
parkrun. Yes that's right folks Hanley can be scenic too, outside the
boundaries of the shopping centre is its park with a lake, bandstand and
pavilion.
At this event the striders had a good turn
out with myself, Giles, Michael, Christiane, Jill J and Perry all making the
trip out. At 9am the water fountains in the lake kick into life and shortly
after the race starts. Runners complete 2.5 laps of the park to complete the 5K
distance. The race begins with a run round the Lake
followed by a short straight section before you climb a gradual hill to reach
the upper section of the course. Once clear of the incline you run past the
pavilion and bandstand and then up a shallow hill to reach the highest section
of the park.
From here you then sweep right, avoiding
the geese who may be feeding on bread on the corner, have no fear it’s only a
swan that can break your arm with its bill. From this point on its all downhill
with a few turns until you return back to the start line. You complete this
large lap once more and then on the third lap as you come up to the pavilion it's
a sharp left turn before the second incline to finish in front of the bandstand.
As you cross the line your time is recorded and you are given a token that
relates to your finish position. Once you have got your breath back you get
your barcode and finish token scanned, then that's it all done and it's off to
the Cafe.
There was no muesli or granola on offer
here, I did look, honest. In sticking to advice I decided to take in energy
within half an hour of completing the race so opted for the next closest healthy
option, a veggie cooked breakfast.
As we left the cafe reflecting that we
might have taken in more calories than we had burned off, we passed the race
organiser who was processing the results from today's race. The results are on
the website usually within a few hours or can be sent in a text message to your
phone.
In both the parkruns I have placed 3rd and
on this my second attempt managed to take a good minute off my previous parkrun
PB, a combination of being more familiar with the course and Giles who was
chasing me round the route.
All in all a friendly well organised free race
that is suitable for all whether you are looking to boost your weekly mileage
in a different surrounding or are looking to gain race pace. The race is
completely organised by volunteers and has some regular supporters along the
route. Special thanks must also go to those at Flavours cafe for providing the
food and refreshments.
For more information, visit the Hanley Parkrun website.
Chris C
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