Skip to main content

Pymmes parkrun

My trip to Pymmes this week comes after an unsuccessful attempt last week! Unfortunately, the team were unable to access their AED before the event started, and so made the correct decision to cancel the event. Unfortunately, I didn't realise until it was too late to get to another event, but second time lucky!

With only a "P" and a "W" left in the UK alphabet to complete, and wanting to keep some of the closer "P" events as backups for cancellations in the future, this week it was Pymmes' turn to provide my parkrunning fix.

The area

Pymmes park is located in Edmonton, in north London. The town of Edmonton was once a rural village, before the railway and tramways provided the impetus for rapid expansion in the 19th century. The area now boasts one of the most ethnically diverse populations in the UK.

Pymmes park has existed in various forms of its current state since 1327, when it formed part of the Pymmes House estate, before being opened to the public in 1906. Of particular note, the park contains an ornamental Victorian walled garden, in addition to a nature reserve around the main lake.

The course

Due to covid, the course is a roughly 5.3 km lapped course of Pymmes park, taking in 3 laps around the perimeter, taking in views of football pitches, lakes, and other landscaped areas. The course starts and finishes on the access road in the centre of the southern half of the park.

Free parking is available along Victoria Road except on match days, however, there are no on-site toilets. A number of cafes are available for your post-run fix.

A sign for Pymmes parkrun

The run

We were told during the run brief about the slightly long course (an extra 0.3 km to help keep people spread out), and so I made the decision that I wouldn't run all out today. I didn't quite expect to be lapped half way around lap 2 though! A very quick runner was making even the speedy guys and gals look slow on his way to what would be a 14 minute course record, if only he didn't forget his barcode! It was really impressive to see him pass me, and be so close to that sort of athleticism.

Those slower runners amongst us were encouraged all the way around the course by some very cheery marshals, some of whom I recognised from last week. The rest of the event was a fairly normal affair, notable given the lack of normality we've experienced for the past months. I left the park with the impression that people are becoming used to being around other people again now, which is definitely a great thing!

Thank you to all of the volunteers this and last week, especially after having to make the call to cancel last week! It's not an enviable thing to have to do, but it was absolutely the right thing to do!

Links: Run report | Results | Strava

Labels:
Location: Pymmes Park, Victoria Rd, London N18 2UG, UK

Popular posts from this blog

Coldham's Common parkrun

As my recovery from injury is still underway, I decided that I would attend a flat course this week to avoid any potential for reaggrevation. Unfortunately this means I will need to pause my completion of the Essex events, as the remaining courses are all somewhat lumpy. Having visited all of the other Cambridge parkruns, including Storeys Field parkrun, Fulbourn Hospital parkrun, and Cambridge parkrun knowing that they are all relatively flat, I decided that this week I would complete the Cambridge set. The area Coldham's Common has a long history, serving as both a hospital during the 17th century smallpox outbreak, and a quarry during the 19th century, as well as a rifle range also during the 19th century. The course The route follows two laps of the perimeter of the common through an hour-glass shape, connecting two fields through a five-bar-gate. The course is all on grass, and is all flat. Limited parking is available nearby, while toilets are available in
Read more

Aldenham parkrun

Icey conditions in days leading up to parkrun day meant many events were cancelled this week. While I would have ideally been able to visit another event in Essex, I decided that I valued having options more in the event of cancellation this week, and so I instead headed to the cluster of events surrounding the Watford area. The area Aldenham Country Park is located near Watford, and centres on Aldenham reservoir, with grassland and woodland surrounding the reservoir itself. The reservoir was excavated by French prisoners of war during 1795 as part of the wider management of the Grand Union Canal's water levels, and now serves as a reserve water supply. In addition to the reservoir, the country park also supports the breeding of a number of rare species of farm animals, including cattle, goats, pigs, and sheep. The course The course follows two laps of the reservoir, with the second lap skipping the inner peninsular. The course is flat, and is run mainly on trail pat
Read more

Markshall Estate parkrun

Having spent a number of weeks focussed on events in the north of the East of England, I decided that this week I would pay some attention to the south of the region and visit Markshall Estate parkrun while still in the best time of the year to visit an arboretum. The area The Markshall Estate (interchangably the "Marks Hall" Estate) is the remains of a former country estate located in Coggeshall, between Colchester and Braintree. The hall itself was demolished in 1950, leaving its grounds to be converted into an arboretum, featuring trees from around the world. Coggeshall has been a settled area since at least the Saxon area, and was later served by Stane Street; a Roman road stretching from modern day Colchester to near St Albans. The course The route follows just under two laps of the arboretum, starting at the top of a hill, and finishing at the bottom, meaning this is a net down-hill course. The course is run on a mixture of tarmac, concrete, gravel, trail an
Read more