Ian Runs

My plan for parkrun was simple this week - attend an event which involves minimal travel, and take it slow. I'm running the Brighton Marathon tomorrow, which will involve me travelling to Brighton on Saturday afternoon to check in, coupled with an overnight stay, so I decided to attend Millennium Country parkrun between Bedford and Milton Keynes. The area Millennium Country Park is located between Stewartby and Marston Moretaine, in Bedfordshire. The area is perhaps best known for its brick works under the ownership of the London Brick Company, which was a major contributor to the redevelopment efforts after world war 2, although emissions regulations have more recently drawn the brickworks operations in the area to move on. A number of chimneys remain on the skyline from the former brickworks, although the chimneys are being demolished as time passes, especially in favour of new housing developments. Built on the site of a former quarry, Millennium Country Park is owned...

There is, surprisingly, only one single "D" event in the East of England, and so today's decision to attend Dunstable Downs parkrun was a relatively straightforward one. The area Dunstable Downs is located outside Dunstable, at the northern tip of the Chiltern Hills. Dunstable is situated at the intersection of Watling Street and the Icknield Way - some of the oldest roads in Great Britain. The Downs forms part of the same escarpment I ran at both Wendover Woods and Tring parkruns. The area is mainly farmland, with a number of smaller woods spread amongst the open meadows. The course Given the possibilities for a very lumpy course in the area, the event team at Dunstable Downs parkrun have been extraordinarily generous, and kept the lumps to a relatively mere uneven surface! The course is run entirely on grass and trail. The route initially traces the outline of the field next to the visitor centre before following the ridgeline to two fields which can s...

It has been a while since I last ran an offroad course, and longer still since I ran a hilly course, so this week was time to take up both challenges at the same time. The area Rushmere Country Park, is a collection of woodlands and heathland located in the south of Bedfordshire, and at the northern edge of the Chiltern Hills. The Country Park is specifically located on the Greensand Ridge, a long chalk escarpment stretching from Buckinghamshire to Cambridge. The park is home to a diverse array of wildlife, and is a breeding ground for herons. A purpose-built heronry has been built near the nesting site to help visitors get a sight of the herons in their infancy. In addition, there is a maze of trails to explore should you still be feeling adventurous after your parkrun! The course The course is two laps of undulating trails, starting on the path near the cafe, and finishing on the meadow near the car park and the cafe. Paid parking is available on-site, and free toilets ...

Having run the first of my New Year's double events today at Bedford parkrun, Great Denham was to complete my running day. Despite planning to take it easy at Bedford parkrun earlier in the day, I had actually run a PB, so I really was planning to not push during this event. It was also the first time I had tried running twice in a day, so I had no expectations other than to enjoy the run. The area Great Denham is a relatively new "golf village", built in the 1990s, and located towards the west of Bedford. The area to the south of the village is mainly flat former-farmland and floodplains linked to the River Great Ouse, and is being transformed into a country park alongside the development of new housing. The course The course follows two laps of the perimeter of the park on a mixture of gravel and tarmac. Being a floodplain, there is almost zero elevation, and the few corners means this is a course you should definitely consid...

Today's parkrun plan is a simple one - attend 2 parkruns close to each other. I wanted to attend ones with similar terrain so I didn't need to make a kit swap too, but apart from that, I left the decision of which two events to attend to the parkrun Special Events page, which suggested that Bedford and Great Denham would be a great choice, given they're less than 5 km from each other. I have done a couple of 10km training runs to date, so the distance isn't a problem - I'll just need to make sure I don't push too hard in the first run, so I still have enough to get around the second run! The area Located approximately half way between London and Birmingham, an Oxford and Cambridge, Bedford's largest park, Bedford Park is host to Bedford parkrun. The park is a focal point for many local sports, and local residents alike, with facilities for cricket, basketball, rounders, football, bowls, and tennis, all readily availab...

After last week’s run at Irchester, I decided that I wanted to try a different type of event. While I was really enjoying the off-road forest/woodlands runs, I was very aware that most events aren’t set in such landscapes. With an eye still on the alphabet challenge, Houghton Hall seemed like a good option which didn’t require too much travel. The area Houghton Hall is located in Houghton Regis, towards the south of Bedfordshire. The greenspace, which consists primarily of fields, with some mature woodland, previously formed part of the grounds of the Houghton House estate. Much of the former grounds has since been used for housing development, with the park being the last remainder of the space, while the hall itself is now used for office space. The course The course begins in the centre of the eastern field (nearest the car park) and consists of two and a half laps of the perimeter of the park, including a short section through the woods to the e...