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Colney Lane parkrun

This week I decided it was finally time to complete the last of the current Norwich parkruns, having ran at Norwich parkrun, Catton parkrun, and Sloughbottom parkrun already.

The area

Located in the west of Norwich, the Colney Lane area forms part of the the University of East Anglia, as well as the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital. The sports fields form part of the main campus with university buildings located on all sides.

The main campus is situated on the former Earlham Estate, which now survives in the form of Earlham Park, as well as the original Earlham Hall building now houing the Business School for the university. The vast estate extends to border Eaton Park; home of Norwich parkrun, making this some of the closest events to each other in England (the start lines are approximately 2km from each other).

Colney Lane Recreation Fields

The course

Starting near the pavilion, the route largely follows two laps of the playing fields and woodlands, with a short section connecting the start/finish to the loops. The course is run on gravel and trail, and one relatively small hill per lap.

Free parking is available in the triangle car park a short distance from the start, which also has a path which leads to the start, while toilets and refreshments are available in Colney Lane sports pavilion.

The run

A heatwave had taken hold of the UK in the week leading up this this week's event, with parkrunday predicted to be the warmest day, tipping 34°C. Owing to the warm weather, I decided to run at a much more leisurely pace than usual.

The start of the route is largely in open recreation grounds, and so there was little respite from the sun to be found, even at 9am, however, I was thankful to reach the woodland, which was much cooler. The course does include a hill, and it wasn't to be underestimated in the heat, although I expect it would be less of a talking point in other weeks!

Gravel path through the woodland

After the run, the event team had provided free drinks and snacks in the pavillion, which was very popular (especially the water) given the heat!

Thanks to all of the volunteers - this was a really enjoyable event! I couldn't help but compare this nice two lapped route to the hecticness of Norwich parkrun's three laps route; it's interesting that such different events are available within such a short distance from each other!

After the run

Having explored some of the area as part of previous Norwich-based parkruns, I decided to explore the woodlands further, but limiting the distance of my run as temperatures rose.

Links: Results | Strava

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Location: Unnamed Road, Norwich NR4 7GJ, UK

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