Stonehouse

Parkrun 39 and I'm touring.  Sunday is the Stroud half marathon (more about that another time) and so I am back in my parent's house for the weekend so need to search out the local parkruns.

Stonehouse is a pretty new parkrun course and I am there for its 14th running.  Held at Oldends lane playing fields and driving into the carpark I couldn't help but get a little nostalgic for many visits here as a child mainly to support my brother playing six a side football tournaments and then later playing for Stonehouse Freeway FC.  Today however I'm here for my sport.

Quite a low key event there were a dozen volunteers and 63 runners completed the course.  It was however as friendly and well organised as any with a good pre run talk with the appropriate shout outs for the sponsors and mainly the volunteers and then a personal welcome to the tourists which is always nice.

Not knowing what the competition was going to be like I placed myself at the front as I generally go for the strong start and hang on as long as possible approach.  The course is a four lap affair which meant it was able to be marshalled by only three people on this occasion.  This rang slight alarm bells initially but they were superb and with the exception of having to ask the first one for help while I was unexpectedly leading the field got the runners around well.

By lap two of still being out in front on my own I was beginning to get ideas above my station of my first 'first finisher' result to the extent I was preparing in my mind how I was going to tell everyone who would still listen to me banging on about my running without punching me.  This sustained me for the best part of an entire lap before at about 2 3/4 laps in I was unceremoniously passed by a runner who didn't even look like he was at full stretch, about 50 yards of trying to hold his coat tails was fruitless and I began to wonder how many more were going to stream past me.

In the event no-one else did pass me and so I was very happy to finish with a respectable second place.

All in all it was a very enjoyable parkrun event, I was made to feel very welcome and would happily return.  Hopefully it will grow, I think it deserves to (the half marathon the following day may have had an impact).