Parkrun #4: Blyth Links (retrospective)

This series of retrospective blog posts about my early parkruns is running out of steam a bit. The memories fade fast when you're 47, you know? 😉 Anyway... parkrun #4 was at Blyth Links.

One of the guns at the Blyth Battery WWII air defences (passed on the parkrun route)

Not sure why I chose Blyth -- told you the memory was fading -- but suspect it was a result of a recommendation from someone at the previous parkrun at Rising Sun. Don't think I knew a great deal about the route before I attended, but having grown up just a couple of miles to the south in Seaton Sluice, I had a general feel for what it would entail. This end of Blyth Beach is (in my totally unbiased opinion 👀) isn't quite as pretty, with a slightly stonier beach, less dramatic dunes, and no cute little harbour. But... it does have a promenade, a parade of beach huts, and a decent enough fish & chips restaurant/café with adjoining ice cream parlour, so I get why the parkrun is here.

In the end, the route was pretty flat. And by that I mean almost completely flat. There was a very gentle rise onto the 'dunes' (done 3 times in your 2½ laps here) followed by a very short but noticeably downhill 10-20 yards onto the promenade... but that was it. The rest was flatter than the proverbial pancake and run on a mix of paving and tarmac. It should have been a breeze, but I don't remember it feeling that way. That said, the 26:10 that I got here was my parkrun PB at the time.

The bandstand at the northern end of the course, courtesy of geograph.co.uk

What I do remember was there being a very big attendance, as the event at Whitley Bay (a few miles to the south) was cancelled. I also remember that while the start of the route is nice and wide, I stupidly chose to run down the side that hemmed me in and meant I couldn't run at the pace I wanted to.

Once things settled down and spread out, however, the rest of the route was plenty wide enough for any overtakes I needed to make. And overtake I did. I distinctly remember taking the racing line along the prom, overtaking people who appeared to not want to get too close to the drop at its edge. Always satisfying when you can play racing cars while running. 😂

The only other memories I've kept from this event are:

1. having to follow (or be followed by) some fella who was constantly hawking up phlegm and spitting it out; that was not pleasant and I was happy to pull away from him in the end
2. being encouraged by a volunteer to give it a sprint finish when I had absolutely ZERO left in the tank and all I could do was wave my hands to say no

In summary, Blyth's a fairly simple and very flat route that makes a good choice if you want an easier parkrun. (Oh, and don't be put off by the reputation of Blyth, the town; it's canny enough here.) There's also ample free parking and the café and ice cream shop mean it has something to offer in all seasons (ice cream in the summer, shelter/coffee in the winter). As I type this now, I've just made it my second venue to attend more than once and I suspect I'll be back again in the future. 👍