Crewe 22 June 24
Well that was a lovely surprise !
I used to work in Crewe for many years and had no idea Queen's Park was there. What a stunning park. Beautiful grounds, huge lake full of geese and boating Swans to greet you as you make your way in from the large free car park directly opposite.
Crewe is my NENDY and as I did with Pennington Flash, I was a bit put off by the 3 lapper, as I perceive them to be boring. Once again (and I really should learn a lesson here) I was very very wrong. It's a beauty and I am not just talking literally.
I only decided at around 7.45 this morning to come over to Crewe from Woodbank, so emailed Karen the RD asking if it was ok if I did the Run Report, she emailed back immediately saying she'd was very happy with that so it was off in my car I popped and arrived about 20 minutes or so before kick off.
I wasn't expecting the car park to be as convenient as it was, but it is directly outside the entrance (use the postcode on the Home Page CW2 7SE and it takes you right there). As soon as you walk into the park, you are met with a picture of splendour. What a lovely place. I've said it before but one of the best things of the weekly obsession I (and I guess, you, if you're reading this) have is discovering these stunning places that you knew nothing about, even if you know the area very well.
There are sign posts which take you directly to you start, where everyone congregates outside and inside the fabulous (more of that later) Lakeside Cafe where the prominent Crewe parkrun sign stands.
I said hello to Karen (and the first of many lovely dogs in the park, I just can't help saying hello to all of them) who told me that I could just dump my bag in a wheely cart and they'll take it to the end for you ! A small but fantastic touch that really helps everyone keep their things safe.
324 people set off today, which like everything else to do with this brilliant event was just about right. The start is in a perfect place where it is nice and wide so gives you just enough time for the pack to space out a bit before it narrows. If you are a faster runner and want a good time, it may make sense to place yourself sensibly to avoid getting stuck in the slightly narrower sections. Has to be said, even if you find yourself behind others, you will not be there for long as it soon widens out again and you have plenty of space to pick up the pace.
Whoever came up with the design of this course is exactly my cup of tea. It's perfect. All on tarmac, bits of flat, down and up. The ups aren't long, but they're steep, but they then give way to some really lovely down hill fast sections. It's like one of those BMX courses you see in the Olympics, as soon as you're on one gradient it changes to the next. As ever, I didn't pace it at all and my mile times got progressively slower each mile (7.31, 7,48 and 7.50) but who cares ? There's always next week.
I find myself saying this at every park I attend, but again the marshals were brilliant. From the So Solid Crewe on the bridge cheering you on, to the marshal with the Spaniel I am determined to make friends with next time I come who was tail walking, to the Inspirational lady on the hill by the pond, screaming everyone up it, and everyone else, it truly defines what a spectacular thing parkrun is.
Another great thing about a 3 lapper is that you get to see everyone from all abilities and the mutual encouragement from and to each and every athlete adds to what we all love about 9am on a Saturday morning.
As seems to be becoming a regular occurrence every week, I met up with someone I had not seen for years, David Bellairs. David is one of those people in life you meet who define being 'a good guy'. I've known him for years and I've witnessed how many people he has helped. Mostly very discretely, kindly and without taking any credit for it. One of life's good people and an honour to call him a friend.
We had a number of milestones today with Dan Tynan and Mark Peel running their 100th, Ed Maculey on 200, Harry Tynan celebrating his 13th birthday and Eva Kivlin her 10th this week.
The Tynan family completed the set with Ben reaching his 10th run, Lisa Wilkinson and Grace Allwood their 50th and Andrew Cotton his 25th volunteer stint.
Even more incredibly was Paul Dean who was running 4 marathons in 24 hours. I cannot over emphasis what an achievement this is. I know how hard one marathon is. Incredibly effort. We are not worthy.
Paul Dean is fundraising for Cancer Research UK (justgiving.com)
Well done everyone and get those t-shirts ordered and proudly worn !
One of the highlights of every parkrun is the cafe and coffee afterwards. I was very lucky today as it is shutting for a few weeks for refurbishment (looked great to me as it is) when I got there there were not that many people waiting to be served and I ordered. It did take a while for the food to come but, absolutely understandable when you have loads of people descending at the same time, there's only so much they can do. Food was freshly cooked, delicious and the coffee was great.
Can't fault it, can't fault Crewe, can't fault this perfect parkrun.
Off to Delamere next week for my 48th different event with a bit of luck
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