This parkrun has been set up alongside a new build development which seems like a fantastic opportunity taken to set up somewhere with a great new catchment area. I had seen a few of the early run results and indeed the course had been run my one of my club mates the week before and was confident that this was a quick course.
Getting there was simple thanks to trusty SatNav and I had read up so I was prepared that they would prefer people to park in a car park 10 minutes walk away than postentially annoy the local residents by parking on the street. There is a plan for a car park right next to the event start in the near future along with a cafe for post run coffees but neither is available yet.
Course map
The start was easy to find and there was a decent sized group of runners on a lovely sunny Saturday morning. I noticed a couple of others in MK marathon shirts to chat to before the briefing as we were all still recovering from the heat the previous week and sought solace in company.
The course was as flat as I had heard tell with only one short tiny incline near the end of each of its two laps and the surface was hard path with about 2/3 with loose top and the rest solid concrete with only the last couple of metres after a right turn off the path on grass. As a result of all this it was fast and I was able to post my parkrun PB by a full 17 seconds over my more frequent course at Stevenage.
Course elevation
Returning to the car we passed the current post race cafe of choice, the rather delightful looking eatery which I imagine will remain a favourite for many of the runners even after a closer cafe is built.
The Eatery
Overall I found Great Denham to be a really great parkrun. The scenery will improve over time, as will the facilities but the course is well laid out, easy to follow, is unlikely to be affected by bad weather and fast...very fast!
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