Delamere 29 June 24
It was my birthday this week and as I moved, rather reluctantly, into a new age group, there was only one thing I wanted to do for my birthday and that was Delamere parkrun .
Since doing Go Ape for my 30th many, many years ago at this beautiful forest, I've been wanting to come back and explore it a bit more with my favourite running event that is parkrun.
Other than being spoilt for choice with the glut of parkruns in my area, there was nothing stopping me from visiting other than being too lazy to get out of bed early enough on a Saturday morning and make the relatively short hop down the M56 to Delamere but today was the day to do it. With the wife and the dog safely strapped into the car, we set off around 7.40 on a perfect day for running, warm and a bit drizzly.
We arrived at around 8.20 behind a group of cyclists and people jogging into the park to be greeted by the perfect location for a parkrun. Bike sheds, big cafe, plentiful toilets and of, course, the beauty of Delamere Forest.
It's huge, according to various website, about 2,500 acres of land with perfectly formed, wide running trails makes this an ideal place to visit for a parkrun, or for my non running wife, enough to roam round with a dog well away from the runners.
For an event that is now very well established, (had it's 500th a couple of weeks ago) it's perfectly organised. There are a load of IKEA type blue bags near the start where you can leave you things (always someone there), the 1st timers briefing is really helpful ( I normally don't bother but after having a look on YouTube before I came, it's worth listening to as you can take a wrong turning if you're at the front of the pack, if you're like me, you won't be there) .
Unlike a lot of starts, it's very wide and, certainly where I was (albeit relatively near the front) there was no problem with getting stuck behind anyone.
How to describe the course ? Very runnable. A rare 1 lapper, not flat, not particularly hilly, but very much up and down. Absolutely ideal. You can get a consistent pace and the hills come at exactly the right time to give you a bit of a slap and make you think again before giving way to a down hill to give you your time back.
It looks like it is on an official 5km trail, I am not sure if this was here before parkrun started but it's obvious that it is very much tried and tested and seems one of those courses which probably rarely cancels as it is quite shelted from the elements.
The description of a 'lollypop' is exactly what it is. You essentially run out to the lake, go around it and run back to the finish.
Really well designed, really well marshalled and exactly what you'd want a parkrun to be.
Now, the important bit....coffee and butties ?
I finished just under 24 minutes and went straight to the café where there was no queue and I got served straight away. It took a while but as it says on their website, they cook it fresh so there may be a delay. As with Crewe last week, I'd rather that than warmed up microwave stuff.
Has to be said though that by the time I'd eaten, it had got very busy, so less fast runners may be in for a bit more of a wait.
After the run, I wandered off to find my wife and we enjoyed more of the delights this stunning forest.
One Top Tip, parking would have been over £7 but if you go to the visitor's centre and tell them you've just done parkrun, they'll let you take a picture of a barcode which reduces the parking down to £3 ! Brucie Bonus.
Not sure there is anything I can add about this run other that it's a gem. I had very high expectations of it and it ticked every box.
If you're planning on coming, unlike a Tory MP and the election date, it's a safe bet.
Not sure where to next week, possibly one of my other favourites, Lyme Park, not done that for ages.
No comments:
Post a Comment