Recently Groups 3-4-5 were entertained to a discussion on parkruns in oure area. Chris’s views on the Saturday parkruns [with odd bits by me!!] were:
For convenience, for me {Chris!} it has to be Wilmslow but can be too competitive.
Potential PB possibilities at South/Manchester, Stretford, and Congleton. All good running surfaces and flat. But, the downside is that they can be busy.
The most Scenic parkrun is Lyme Park. No contest there. But it probably is the toughest place to run.
Now an important aspect of parkruns, having got up and made he start time and finished it. Is the afterwards. The Breakfast Club.
For Catering, it has to be Burnage -though be sure to do it on a dry day. There can be a lake to run through twice if the weather has been bad. But their score for Bacon butties and tea would be 10 out of 10. They do sausage as well.
Great parkrun courses are at:
- Fletcher Moss;
- Sale Waterpark; a one lap course, a bit out and back. Be careful of the uneven surface in places.
- Wythenshawe Park, a two lapper with paths and a long grassy stretch. It gets very wet in winter but it has a good cafe.
- Bramhall it’s always busy; a two lapper with hills. One big one to start with! [Complete with Duck Poo corner and a slippy bridge in winter]; no dogs allowed!
- Cheadle Hulme, boggy in winter; if you want grass and a gentle surface for running on – it’s here; and its very quiet too]; good for XC training.
- Woodbank Park, only run it three or four times but a different course each time, one course was actually 7k. [Used to have a lap of the running track to start – but now starts near Vernon Park and is two laps of a figure of eight with a steep hill to descend and another to ascend. Tests your ability to run up hills]
- Hyde Park, not London but Hyde. Tight 3 lap course.
- Worsley Woods, single lap good surface but the two one mile out and back straights are boring. [I found the return straight great – slightly downhill – when trying for a PB. Interesting forest bit between the out and back path]
- Marple, good two lap course but very wet and boggy when wet, but great cafe close by. Good XC training
- Macclesfield, tough monotonous course. My least favourite. [Hills and Mud. What more does an XC runner want?]
[What do you think? Or recommend running/eating at 😊]