Parkruns #6, #7, #8 & #9: Town Moor, Herrington Country Park, Whitley Bay and Gateshead
(And post #100!)
Town Moor: the main thing I remember about this run was the occasional sudden, intense pain I got from the stones on the tracks at the eastern edge of the moor. The course page for Town Moor says "gravel", but really, it's not gravel. It's moderately loose, sizeable aggregate type stones set on and into a track that's often baked hard. With my old trainers, that was about the worst possible surface I could encounter and there were a few times I hopped and stumbled in pain after catching a stone just right. Little wonder I vowed to stay away until I got better trainers.
The time of 26:11 was just a second shy of my PB at the time and it's fair to say I could've beaten it had the surface been more to my feet's liking. This just makes it especially galling that when I finally returned, I didn't beat my time! In theory, this should be an overall parkrun PB course, given how flat it is. Maybe one day.
Herrington Country Park: being from north of the Tyne, Herrington was somewhere I'd not even heard of before I found it on the parkrun app. When I got there, just on the south side of the Penshaw Monument it turns out, I was very pleasantly surprised. On arrival, it was a bit foggy, so I couldn't see a great deal of the views, but as the race progressed, the sun came out and burnt through the fog, giving views of the monument and heating things up quite a bit. And really, it was very nice and I figured I'd like to go back with the family someday (though I still haven't).
Looking north towards the start area at Herrington, with Penshaw Monument behind
From the run, there are a few little memories still hanging around. One is that of some guy (in his 20s?) hacking his guts up and burping dangerously gutturally soon as I passed him. I think I actually asked whether he was ok; at least, I hope I did. Another thing was how I badly misremembered the distance from the loops on the course back to the start/finish area. In the increasing heat at the end of the run, that was an unwelcome realisation! 😂 And finally, I remember being overtaken right at the end by some kid and his dad who had amazing sprint finishes. Meanwhile, I pretty much flopped over the line and was just happy that I'd left my drink right by the finish line for a time of 26:20.
Regardless, I still look forward to my next run here.
Whitley Bay: okay, now I'm struggling for memories. Oh yes, this was a paced event. Now that I think about it, I think Town Moor was too, but I can't remember what number I was chasing there. At Whitley, I was definitely trying to keep up with the guy in the 26 bib. I even managed it pretty much the whole way round, often slightly in front of him, but when it came to the final slope up onto the path that takes you over the top of the Rendezvous Café, I dropped a few yards. And then he started to up his pace! I was both horrified and more than a little annoyed. It didn't seem fair to think that those who were following you for pace would also be able to kick at the end. All I could do was watch him gradually pull out a gap on me as I failed to dip under the 26-minute mark. That said, the 26:08 I got that day was still a parkrun PB at the time, beating my time from Blyth by 2 seconds.
I still hate paced events, but I'm slowly coming to realise that that's because I really push myself hard on them. So maybe I just don't like hard work. 😉
Oooh, and I've just realised that:
- Both times I've been to Whitley Bay, they've been paced events
- Both times I've set a new overall parkrun PB
Even knowing that, I do still hate paced events though. 😂
Gateshead: my first visit to Saltwell Park was, I think, with one of my colleagues from work (Hi, Chris! 👋) and a couple of his mates. Parkrun's always miles better when you've got someone to enjoy it with. Granted, I've had a few chats with fellow runners after the finish, but I only ever chat beforehand when I know someone there. And it's much nicer.
After the speed of Whitley Bay, Gateshead must've been a bit of a shock to the system, as I got a 27:28. I remember being surprised at the amount of hill on the course, especially the bit up to the hairpin at the end of the main loop (which you do 3 times). That really felt like a slog. But the other abiding memory was just how nice a park it was to run in on a sunny day. Saltwell Park's a nice place, but to run it in sunshine with lovely views across the lake, and with 220 other people enjoying it, was just delightful. I've been back twice since, but neither time holds a candle to that first one.
And there it is. Every single parkrun I've done to date, written up on this blog. Aaaand... relax. 😅
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