Wimpole

Parkrun 38 and it's time for a return to where I consider to be my home Parkrun at Wimpole estate in Cambridgeshire.

Wimpole estate is one of the many national trust locations in the UK which strongly support Parkrun, indeed the estate hosts a number of other events junior Parkrun, 10k, half marathon and night runs to name a few.

After a few runs in Stevenage where the course is a little more forgiving I was wary to return and post a much slower time but resolved in the car on the way that this was the week to get a PB, a common resolve but this week more forcefully than most.

Arriving at Wimpole you are guided by some of the army of volunteers (more volunteers are needed than at many parkruns) to park up. The car park has a £2 charge for non members which I very quickly determined justified buying national trust membership for the family.

Once parked it it's very easy to identify the start point as this is a very popular run regularly getting over 300 runners. Everyone congregates in front of the stakes entrance for the pre run brief which is very detailed always including updates on where the livestock are located (particularly the bull) shoutouts to the sponsors, national trust and volunteers and then to milestone runners and tourists. All of this takes a little time and I don't think any of the runs I've done at Wimpole have quite started at nine but very soon after we are all directed a short easy to the start line (assuming you're not running with a dog as they start about 100 years in front).

The run starts down a rough road for about the first half a kilometer with the only indication of cross country bring diversions onto the verge to avoid the cattle grids, during which time you will likely catch up with some of the dog runners. Then the course takes a left turn and solid footings become a thing of the past. The rest of the first kilometer is pretty flat though. At the one kilometer mark you take a sharp right turn, soon after the dog runners all head off for an extra section to make up the distance lost at the start and when they rejoin the course starts a long steady climb to two kilometers which can take you a little by surprise and generally tends to add a few seconds to my average time.

Without any opportunity to rest you now have to turn right to tackle "the hill" it's not a long way but it's steep and can get slippery after rain, this is definitely the point which a determine to run the whole course gets abandoned.  Just to polish of the experience at the top of the rise there's a tree who's low branch enjoys giving me a thwack on the head by easy of a reward most weeks. There is also always a cheery marshal atop the hill to give you the encouragement you undoubtably need.

Once past the hill you follow down a tree lined avenue which is my favourite part of the course.  As well as the knowledge that the hardest part is behind you this section shows off the estate beautifully with the folly framed by trees in the foreground.

At around 3km in you now descend steeply towards the lake, while this is a great relief and opportunity to gather breath again there are a few small mounds in the path which need to be avoided to save ankles.  A right turn at the bottom of the hill takes you alongside the lake for a nice flat section where you can really open up your stride to prepare for the last kilometer.

For the last km you begin with the final incline of the run and then head over the iron bridge which can be quite treacherous in wet weather and then head towards the welcome sight of the house.  Following the path around the West side of the house you finally head down the gravel drive (one of the best opportunities for photographs) and then rejoin the first road for a short sprint back to the start/finish line.

Well something worked because a check of my watch on the way to get my barcode scanned showed a PB of approximately 48 seconds just one of a good number of PBs that day.

Unfortunately I had to depart promptly because the next part is another of the true benefits of running at Wimpole which is the National Trust cake in the rectory cafe.

Next week it's back to touring with a planned visit to Stonehouse parkrun in Gloucestershire.

Stevenage

October 8th for my 37th parkrun and 6th in Stevenage.

Stevenage parkrun was set up earlier this year and this was the 20th running of the event.

A slightly unprepossessing morning found me huddled with some other runners under a tree near the starting line of the run in Fairlands Valley Park Stevenage.  This afforded me the opportunity to listen in on the first timers talk despite having run here before, which was a comprehensive description of the course with guidance for bollard location and the usual warnings about other park users, running with children and dogs.

Rain subsiding I made my way to the starting line only a few metres away for the short pre-run briefing which got quickly through the important details and gave a hearty applause to the volunteers then checked the times and a quick 3-2-1 go.

Thanks to a poor decision to hang around explaining the bar-code process to another runner, I got a little caught up in the starting line melee which is my only slight niggle about this parkrun due to its popularity and starting position on a corner of a narrow path.  Once clear however I was able to enjoy what I'd a really good parkrun course.

The Course

The first kilometre takes you on a solid path around the side of the sailing and fishing lake, generally 9 a.m.on a Saturday seems to be a bit early for sailors but there was a canoeist this week and fishermen are a very hardy band so there's often a few of them around.  At the far end of the lake you pass through a short wooded area with a short steep drop and then about a hundred metres along a cycle path (we were warned to beware of cyclists-there weren't any) and then back into the park for kilometre two.

Elevation

The next section of the run is a very gentle climb starting on the path and then taking a detour through the trees (this detour has been missed before a they can't put the stores across the path and would add about 50m to your run if you didn't notice) the ground is solid enough but there are a few roots to be aware of. Once you are back on the path there is a tight left right section to go around the car park and then playground which is a really good supporting point for smaller members of the family (supervised of course).

Once past the playground the course heads gently down, over a bridge and then back round to the starting point for a second lap of the same.  Normally I try to steer clear of multi lap courses but this one doesn't feel at all repetitive.

Coming round for a second time you are guided up the grassy bank for a short steep uphill section and then the finishing straight.  This is the only part of the race which could potentially be an issue in road shoes and I would be interested to see how it holds up in the winter months.

The finish is very well organised and efficient and I enjoyed my highest parkrun placing of 5th.

The confirmation email arrived at around lunchtime and later in the day a very interesting and detailed run report was produced.

Standalone 10K

For the second year the first Sunday in October means the immensely popular and very local Standalone 10K. 1650 runners entered this year with 1340 completing the course which was run in near perfect conditions.

After a dreary Saturday which included a very damp late afternoon loosener I was relieved upon waking to discover the forecasts were right and I was greeted by a slightly chilly but sunny start.  Being grateful for the 9:30 start to allow a little warmth in the air (this may well be my last race of the year without binliner warmth on the start line) I got on my bike and rode the meagre mile to Standalone farm for the start of the run.

An enjoyable route took us through Norton and up towards Stotfold before a brief section on the coned off A507 and then the hardest part of the run up the Hitchin road (becomes the Stotfold road) for an approximately 2km steady climb before heading back downhill towards the farm entrance and then a grassy sprint to the finish line.

For my part I smashed last year's time by over 5 1/2 minutes to come in a respectable 114th in 41:37.

Next up, a trip to the Shires to revisit the Stroud Half Marathon.  The first Half Marathon I ever ran way back in 1990.