Ian Runs

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...

I had intended for this week's parkrunning to be at Great Dunnmow, but an ill-fated wrong turn onto the M11 and the resulting 30 minute diversion would have meant missing the start (assuming I could even park), and so I diverted at the last minute to Castle Park parkrun in Bishops Stortford, arriving at the start line at 08:57 - the closest I have ever been to missing the start! The area Bishop's Stortford, or just Stortford to locals, is located on the same A120 as Great Dunmomw, Great Notley , Markshall Estate , Colchester Castle and Highwoods parkruns , which roughly traces the route of the Roman road; Stanes Road from St Albans . The town is currently rated the best place to live in the UK. Castle Park is the site of Waytemore Castle, which was a motte and bailey castle built during the reign of William the Conqueror (though there is speculation the site is much older), though it is now ruined. The park also shares a number of similarities with Clare Castle parkrun...

The area Rickmansworth is a small town near Watford, inside the M25. The town was built on the point three of waterways merging to form a major tributary for the River Thames further south. Rickmansworth Aquadrome, the host of today's parkrun, is a former quarry site which has been filled with water and stocked with fish, while the surroundings have been managed as a nature reserve. The stone excavated from the quarry was used in the construction of the former Wembley stadium. The course The course is lollipop shaped, starting with two laps of the woodland path, followed by a straight adjacent to the lake. The route is all on tarmac paths, and is flat throughout, though there are some areas where tree roots make the path slightly less smooth. There is free parking on site, while toilets and a cafe are available at the visitor centre, though the cafe can get very busy! The run The weather forecast predicted today to be another sunny day, similar to the weather ...

With my focus on attending events in new cities recently, this week I decided to attend Stevenage parkrun - the first area to receive New Town status under the New Towns Act, intended to alleviate housing shortages after the conclusion of World War 2. The area Stevenage parkrun takes place in Fairlands Valley Park, Stevenage. Although Stevenage only received town status in 1946 as part of a government scheme to reduce pressures on the housing market, a settlement has been present in this area since at least the Roman era, owing to the area's proximity to the Roman road between what is now St Albans, and the town of Baldock. Fairlands Valley Park is perhaps best known for the wide and diverse array of water sports which take place on its 11 acre main lake, however, the park includes many other facilities, including woodland, parkland, and conservation areas. The course The course follows two laps of well marshalled tarmac and trail paths around two of the park's small...

While there are many "S" events in the East of England, today's choice of event has been largely dictated by events beyond my control - the most significant of which was that it was Christmas day! As is normal practice, parkrun events are able to decide whether they want to host a Christmas day event, which ultimately meant that a lot of the contenders very understandably decided that they wanted to cancel in favour of other activities. Travelling on Christmas day has also proved to be an interesting experience in the past too, with many places such as service stations and public amenities remaining closed for the day, and so I decided that my best option was to attend St Albans parkrun, as it is local enough that I could potentially make the whole trip (including a short run-tour) without any dependencies. The area St Albans parkrun is held in Verulamium Park, St Albans. A human settlement has been present in St Albans since the Iron Age, which transformed into th...

This week, my goal is to check off another "P" event. There are only two in the East of England - Pocket and Panshanger. Panshanger is further to my home event, and so that's the one I selected for this week. As a bonus, Panshanger is a trail-based course, which is less likely to be cancelled due to weather, and has lumps, which ties in to my training outside of parkrun! The area Panshanger parkrun takes place in Panshanger Park, a green space located between Welwyn Garden City, and Hertford. Panshanger Park is the estate of the former Panshanger House - a country house which was demolished between 1953 and 1954 following an auction of lots of the former estate, which resulted in no interest in the house. The course Runners currently follow a well-marshalled route around the western end of the park (closer to Welwyn than Hertford) due to quarrying activity by Tarmac making former routes unsafe. The surface is a mix of grass, trail, gravel, and mud, especially ...