Parkrun #54: Fountains Abbey, run 1

After having to cut short a first visit to Fountains Abbey last year, I was very keen to get back and I finally managed it almost exactly a year later. This Father's Day weekend, I'd booked a weekend away (timing was coincidental, not intentional) in Nidderdale, within easy reach of the National Trust venue... and this time, I'd been sneaky enough to ensure we were there on a Saturday morning. PARKRUN TIME! 😁

The start area for the Fountains Abbey parkrun, with the abbey itself in the background

On my previous visit, I'd not managed to see any of the Studley Royal water gardens and had barely seen the abbey itself in passing. Having checked the route online, I knew I'd get to see both over the course of the 5K, and from all angles. The irony, of course, is that once you're running, there's often little time or inclination to enjoy the scenery — more often, I'm just fighting to keep going, both mentally and physically. That said, there was one moment on the first lap where we got the most delightful view of the abbey looking upriver and that was a truly lovely moment. Just a pity I didn't have my phone ready for a photo.

Weather on the day was forecast for rain, but in the end, we had maybe just a few spots rather than the deluge the BBC had forecast. Once again, 9am on a Saturday seemed to defy the negative forecasts. In 54 parkruns, I don't think I've done a single one in proper rain.

Typically, I'd missed the first-timers' briefing, but this board was a handy reminder

Once underway, I feel like I spent the first mile just watching the feet of those in front of and around me, it was that busy. Turns out there were 444 people on paths that struggled to accommodate them, but it actually felt more congested than doing the Town Moor with over 600 people. Around about that first mile point was also when I first felt like I was struggling. So after not watching the scenery to that point, my focus shifted to keeping my mind in it and just finding the resolve to not give up.

On the whole, the course is pretty flat, but there are a few small, not-too-steep hills on it. One small one, at the first corner just before the first bridge, is encountered twice on the course, but the others are behind the abbey and, as they're just after the finish, you only encounter them on the first lap. That was a pleasant change from somewhere like Morpeth where the sadistic course designers put the same hill in 3 times on a 2-lap course. 😂

Anyway, after my early mental struggles, I must've settled into the slog as I don't remember any great feelings of struggling to keep going thereafter. I did notice that I wasn't really passing people as much as I'd hoped to — and that other people were passing me — but it was generally just a run that felt like necessary training. I'm a bit sad that I didn't really get to enjoy the setting as much as I'd hoped, but we returned as a family later that day, so I still got to enjoy it then.

Eventually approaching the funnel, I had no real concept of what time I might be getting. I think I hoped for under 28 minutes (a standard wish right now) and was pleased when I saw it was around 27:40 by the time I remembered to stop Google Fit. When my time eventually came through, I was slightly more happy-sad to see I'd got 27:01. So close to a time that would've put a real smile on my face... and yet still better than I expected. Silly how being close to a whole-minute value seems to have extra significance, but there you go. I was, ultimately, happy to be annoyed at that time. And it gives me a nice target to aim for, should I ever make it back here.

Slow early kilometres as I strove to avoid tripping over other runners