Parkrun Archives - Jonathan Carter

March parkrun is situated in West End Park in March. The course has more than ample parking next to it which is free and is right next to the park. Like a super market sized car park, you won’t have trouble finding a space. It is easy to find with a satnav, though I missed a turn and had to turn around. Which is a trend for me, as without a co-polit to navigate it is easy to miss turnings that aren’t clear.

*My Strava activity map for March Parkrun*

The course is a nice 4 lap course, which is on a mixture of grass, dirt paths and tarmac paths. Each lap is just over 1K with a small set of stairs are the end of each lap which does kill the time a bit. Other than that the course is very flat with a few small inclines that are easy to get over. My watch registered the course as 3.09 miles though I did have to keep to the right to overtake people as I ran which does shorten the course a little.

My result listing for March Parkrun

This was a unique one for me as I made some friends. As always at parkrun there is a first timers briefing which tourists are also advised to listen to. I always recommend listening in as a faster runner as you’ll have less people ahead of you to guide you around the course. When asked it seemed I was the only new person/toursit. Though after being mildly shamed by being the only one to rise my hand, which was terrifying for someone like me who has social anxiety. I was joined by a first timer who was a Chinese student spending a year studying in the UK, along with a regular runner who was accompanying her.

The briefing was nothing new to me but we had some banter while having the briefing and I decided to join them on the run for a bit instead of gunning it like I normally do. Anyway we had some nice chats and finished a lap and a bit before the new parkrunner needed a break. I was her first time doing a 5K and she was in JEANS of all things, so can be forgiven xD. Because of this I decided to run the remaining laps and catch up with them after I had finished for their last lap of so. I managed to make up some good time, managing a lap in around 5:30 which was pretty fast! Ending up with a time of 25:19, which was pretty impressive given the slow first lap.

Group photo with the friends I made at March Parkrun

After I finished I sorted by barcode scanning and went to go find my friends again. I found them and the completed a 5th lap with them (their 4th), peeling off at the finish to no go through it again. At the end of the day it was just nice to chat to people, its something I don’t get to do that much and it really brightened up my day.

Overall the run was great and the course was pretty soild. I do plan on coming back to this one another day to beat my time and also to volunteer, as apparently they struggled to get enough for the week I turned up to run.

Strava Activity

Results Page

This week I went to Littleport parkrun. Located at the Littleport leisure centre & recreation ground in Cambridgeshire, just north of Ely. There is plenty of parking which is free to park in which is nice. Its an easy course to find, just following the main road Littleport off the A10. Turning left at Camel Road and follow the road a little and the car park is just on the left again little bit down the road.

*My Strava activity map for Littleport Parkrun*

The course was 3 laps, 2 long laps that goes around fields and paths with a 3rd shorter lap the make up the 5K. As I ran here in late summer, the ground conditions were good, though a bit uneven in places. I can imagine the course been a little harder in the wetter months. The start is a nice long straight on a tarmac path followed by a stint on a field before going though a little wooded area and along an uneven mud path which is a little bit narrow and needs focus when traversing to not twist your foot. I almost did at one point.

After that you go around the perimeter of the next field before reaching the tarmac path for the rest of the lap which is pretty straight with a few 90 degree corners. You repeat that lap again for lap 2. Lap 3 you turn from the starting path a little early and emerge into the narrow path about half way through and keep right. Once at the crossing at the end of the path you take a 180 corner and run the last tarmac stretch again and keep left to the finish. My watch registered the course as 3.07 miles which is a little short of a 5K. Though if you take the corners wide you could make up the difference.

*My result listing for Littleport Parkrun*

The marshals at this event were great and all were very vocal which was nice. Their support was certainly a help for my time. I managed a PB when visiting by a nice amount finishing in 21:33 officially. Though my time was more around 21:50(ish) as I ran a little afterwards to make the distance a 5K on the watch. This is also the first time I have ever gotten first place for my age category which was nice.

I wore my lonely goat club shirt this week and it turned out that 2 of the marshals at the event were also goats. This meant I got some extra motivation when they saw me which was a lovely boost. I haven’t been cheered on directly since my pre-covid parkrun in Southampton, so it made for a ncie change. All the volunteers were super friendly and the my overall experience at this event was very positive.

Overall this is a great event to attend that I can happily recommend to anyone in the area.