Thanks
to the diverse range of park runs and locations hosting these events all
across
the country I was able to quickly and easily find a park run near me in
glorious
Essex. The event is hosted in Valentines park in Ilford some 40 mins
away from
my house in the Essex countryside. Driving through Ilford town I
approached the
park and was surprised by the green space that unfolded before me, there
was a
large boating lake, Bandstand and lots of pathways lined with trees.
After
the pre-9am briefing which was significantly shorter than the one I was
used to
from Hanley, the race begun. Quickly into the lead was Fido the Labrador
who
was dragging his owner behind him, I mean really dragging him along, the
guys
back was arched like a Pringle as he attempted to keep up with the dogs
early
enthusiasm. thankfully though the effects of the pedigree chum soon wore
off
and the rest of us were free to run the course. The layout was a flat 2
lap
course of the park, taking in a bridge crossing over a stream, a loop
around
the boating lake, looked a bit cold for a dip though in my opinion and
then
back via the outskirts of the park to the start line.
As
I was a new comer to the event I sat in the leading pack for the first
lap to
get my bearing, as we approached the start of the 2nd lap, I
took
the lead and started to pull ahead, I kept the legs working hard for
fear of
the 2nd placed runner who looked dangerously like a elite
runner out
for an easy jog. Thankfully this turned out to be all in my mind, either
that
or he was having a really easy race as I crossed in !st place, having
nearly
missed the finish funnel in a time of 19:13.
After
the race was where the challenge really began as I had left the office
on
Friday without printing off my park run barcode and after turning my
bedroom
upside down that evening and finding lots of things I didn’t know I had I
was
still barcode less. So I decided to run the race anyway, take it nice
easy and
get registered as an unknown runner, well having finished first there
was NO
way I was going to remain nameless. So I had a chat with the organiser
who with
a bit of persuasion was happy to try and find me in the system and
allocate the
time to my name.
As
with any parkrun the event was well organised and friendly, with all
the Marshalls
giving encouragement all round the course one of whom was particularly
useful
as he told you your time and current position as you passed him on each
lap. Now
on to the important stuff, Sadly I was not aware of any Cafes or even
greasy
spoons in the local area so decided to wait till I got back to my home
town.
Full English for £3.75 a real bargain I can recommend to anyone and also
it
really does come without tomatoes if you tell them not to put them on.
A
great race that really shows the ease of the park runs and the friendly
running
environment that they are based upon.
For more information, visit the Ilford Parkrun website.
Chris C.
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