I always find that races are somewhat of an inconvenience to my training. My 2019 racing, so far, has turned out to be a comedy of kit & gadgetry errors. Which is a shame as the training had been going very well prior to the races. 5K, parkrun Well, I have been somewhat embarrassingly avoiding…
90 tips for a parkrun 5k PB next weekend
In certain circumstances, it seems that you can add your country’s flag to your public STRAVA name by using emojis. Of course, you can add the flag of your favourite supra-national organisation too if you like (Eu), the flag of your favourite cause or even an emoji of a snail or racing car for those…
Wendover Woods parkrun Wendover Woods parkrun is a one-lap course near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. The postcode is HP22 5NQ and the turning to the woods is signposted off Upper Icknield Way. The car park is quite a long drive up from the road, but once you get there it is quite large and can currently…
Manor Field parkrun, Whittlesey Manor Field parkrun, Whittlesey, is Cambridgeshire-based and just 7 miles from Peterborough. Postcode PE7 1UA took us directly to the Manor Leisure Centre car park, where free parking is available, however it only has about a 40-car capacity so I would advise getting there early. According to the course page,…
Pontefract parkrun Pontefract parkrun, in West Yorkshire, takes place at Pontefract Racecourse. There’s no postcode provided on the course page, but the postcode for the Racecourse is WF8 4QD. It was very easy to find, with the entrance just off a roundabout. There is plenty of parking and it’s free during parkrun. Tanshelf Railway…
Walmer and Deal Seafront parkrun Affectionately known as WaDS, Walmer and Deal Seafront parkrun is currently the longest-named parkrun in the UK. Based on the Kent coast, this is essentially an out-and-back course along the promenade. There are a few car parks nearby and the nearest and largest one is free, but a good 5-minute…
Since my Humon Hex Review from just over 3 months ago I’ve kept on using the Hex 2-3 times a week (out of over 10 sessions/week). I had hoped to have more epiphanies but that extra, post-review usage has mostly just firmed up my thoughts on what I knew I was going to do with…
STRAVA has certainly changed the cycling landscape allowing us to be a little bit more social and, sometimes, rise to the challenge of defending historic performances against attacks from young whippersnappers from out-of-the-area trying to steal all our QOMs/KOMs. It’s even helped Northern Hemisphere cyclists to keep cracking on with FTP-boosting efforts through the balmy…
I’ve done my GPS ‘test’ on the Apple Watch 4 (44mm Nike Edition). The Apple Watch 4 (AW4) uses GLONASS as well as GPS but let’s call it GPS as no-one knows what GNSS means, except you clever lot reading this 😉 . The even cleverer ones amongst you will point out that the GNSS…
Gorleston Cliffs parkrun Gorleston Cliffs parkrun is a mostly-flat, seafront run in Gorleston, Norfolk, near Great Yarmouth. Parking is free and plentiful on Marina Parade. There are free toilets and a couple of cafes on the lower prom and a children’s play area on the upper prom. It’s a two-lap course, starting on the upper…
Wycombe Rye parkrun Wycombe Rye parkrun is based in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The main pay-and-display car park was very easy to find with the postcode provided (HP11 1QX, however the car park will very likely be full by 8.45am, at which point your options are the nearby residential streets (free parking) or the other…
Montsouris parkrun (France) This week we went to Montsouris parkrun, in Paris, France. Located in the 14th arrondissement, the park is several km south of the main tourist spots of Paris. The postcode provided (75014) doesn’t quite get you to the start, so I would use Parc Montsouris in your SatNav or use the…
Today was a good day. Nearly 2.5 hours of running. Some of it in the beautiful Royal Parks and some of it down the A3 past Tescos. It was warm enough and I was carrying enough gadgets and kit to warrant being mugged. Specifically, I was testing the fancy new GPS modes whereby watches periodically…
The results of some recent GPS tests were worthy of a post of their own for once. For those of you with Polar and Suunto devices here are some important and provisional findings. It’s been a busy week for things to test. As well, I had some old data to go through. Busy. Busy. What’s…
Clacton Seafront parkrun Clacton Seafront parkrun is based on the Essex coast. There is plenty of free car parking on Marine Parade and public toilets on the lower prom, which were free and open before parkrun . The start and finish is by the Toby Carvery, but I wouldn’t advise parking there during parkrun,…
Harcourt Hill parkrun Harcourt Hill parkrun is based in Oxford, at one of the Oxford Brookes University campuses. The start and finish is just behind the Brookes Sport building and there is free parking (until 10am) for over 100 cars. The postcode provided (OX2 9AT) took us to Harcourt Hill, but not quite to the…
Haverhill parkrun Haverhill parkrun is in Suffolk, but very near the border with Cambridgeshire. The start and finish is next to Cleves Road, but the course page asks runners not to park there (technically, it says Cleves Way, but they do mean Cleves Road) and the reason why became apparent when we drove down…
Penrose parkrun This week we’re off to Penrose parkrun in Cornwall – currently the most south-westerly parkrun in mainland UK. Using postcode TR13 0RA, the satnav took us directly to the large, free carpark near the start (the car park entrance is next to Flora Motors). It can accommodate over 100 cars so I…
Queen Elizabeth parkrun Queen Elizabeth parkrun is a two-lap, hilly trail run around the Queen Elizabeth Country Park, about 15 miles north of Portsmouth. No postcode is provided on the parkrun page, but PO8 0QE is a nearby postcode and then you need to follow the brown signs for the Country Park. The car…
