Skip to main content

Haverhill parkrun

This week I had the opportunity to attend another event that would contribute towards the Fibonacci sequence challenge, with Haverhill parkrun running its 144th event!

The area

Haverhill parkrun takes place in Haverhill, a small market town southeast of Cambridge. The town has seen significant expansion since the 1950s, with the town designated as a place for London residents to resettle after the war.

The course

The course follows just over three laps around the perimeter of Puddlebrook Playing fields in the south-west of the town. The course is run entirely on grass, with no significant elevation to speak of.

The event has limited facilities, with no access to toilets, and limited parking available at Green Apples Day Nursery at the entrance to the industrial estate south of the playing fields. There is a cafe nearby however, for post-run refreshments.

Puddlebrook Playing fields

The run

There was much fan-fare this week as runners celebrated the Queen's Jubilee. Runners were asked to wear red, white, and blue, bring snacks for a picnic after the run, and the course was decorated with Union Flags. The local Mayor also attended the run this week as part of the celebrations, and after a short speech, he set participants on their way.

Union Flag decorations to celebrate the Jubilee

In addition to the Jubilee celebrations, the local paramedic cadets were volunteering this week, which meant lots of marshalls all around the course. The course was quite tough to run on if you strayed from the worn paths even slightly, as the grass was long enough to add resistance to every step. Fortunately, I managed to settle into a steady pace, and the laps seemed to fly by!

Thank you to all of the volunteers for hosting such a warm and friendly event!

After the run

One of the most notable sights in Haverhill is Anne of Cleves' house. The house was built in 1540 by King Henry VIII as part of their divorce settlement.

Anne of Cleves' house, Haverhill

Links: Results | Strava

Popular posts from this blog

Mildenhall Hub parkrun

This week I decided to make some more progress on the Fibonacci Sequence challenge by attending event number 5 of the new Mildenhall Hub parkrun! The area Mildenhall is a small market town located between Cambridge and Bury St Edmunds. The modern town's population is heavily influenced by the two airforce bases located on the outskirts of the town, with up to a third of the town's residents being born in USA! The town is also where the Mildenhall Treasure was discovered - a collection of Roman silverwar considered to be perhaps the most important and valuable Roman treasure find in Britain. Owing to its importance and value, the treasure is now on permanent display at the British Museum. To the west of the town lies Mildenhall Hub, a newly built community centre, and host of this week's parkrun event! The course One lap of the course follows an initial out-and-back section, followed a lap of the adjoining meadow, with runners following the route two and a hal

Sloughbottom parkrun

With the weather reflecting a stereotypical British summer in the week prior to parkrunday (cloudy), I decided against attending one of the remaining seafront events this week. With a small island of unattended events in Norwich still, I couldn't fight the temptation to make that island smaller, and so Sloughbottom was to be this week's event! The area Sloughbottom parkrun (pronounced "slow-bottom" by the locals) is held in Sloughbottom Park, and the adjacent greenspace and former railway line in Norwich. The park is a recreation ground, and was created in 1929 as part of the council's efforts to kick-start the local economy at the same time as Eaton Park, which hosts Norwich parkrun . The former railway line which makes up part of the course is now known as Marriott's Way, a 24 mile trail path which follows the path of the original railway lines from Norwich to Aylsham. The trail is named after the former Chief Engineer and Manager of one of the f

Flegg High parkrun

After running Brighton Marathon last week, I was in desperate need of an easy recovery run this week, in all senses! Flegg High parkrun ticks all of the boxes I was looking for, in that it is a flat, small event, with some off-road surfaces to help with the recovery. The area Flegg High parkrun is hosted by Flegg High Ormiston Academy - an academy in the village of Martham, near Great Yarmouth, in Norfolk. The village of Martham is a primarily residential area, while also being home to Martham Broad - a nature reserve slightly north of the town. The course The route at Flegg High follows three laps of the perimeter of the school grounds, taking in the playing grounds as well as the school's playground. The course is run on many surfaces, including tarmac, gravel, and grass, but can best be thought of as 2-thirds off-road (mainly grass) and 1-third on-road (gravel and tarmac). Toilets are available in the school, and free parking is available on site. The run Tod