The parkrun 20202020 challenge - Number 6

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My sixth challenge of the year was Peckham Rye parkrun. This is a flat course about 3 miles from where I live. I had hoped to do Hilly Fields before  but the elevation on that one has been putting me off...

I arranged to do this as part of my London A-Z run for the letter P. It was a muggy overcast morning as I jogged over to the park via One Tree Hill, ironically a thickly forested hill but with a notable oak tree from which it now takes its name.

The park was quite busy with dog walkers and joggers even though it was only 7am. I did a quick reccy of the course which involved a few corners and turns. After a lap it was quite easy to navigate. I would need to run three laps anti-clockwise.

The run began on a wide path and headed north towards the pond before curving to the right beside the Arboretum. I felt strong and found myself bouncing along on my toes but this soon began to hurt my calves so I settled into my usual mid foot strike as I turned left and then right again and approached the eastern corner of the park.

At this point there was a sharp turn around a sign and then the narrow path gradually descended beneath overhanging trees heading west. There was an adventure playground on the left and then I took another left turn to take me around the pond as the route wiggled around the gardens and bowling green.

This was the most scenic part of the run. There is a Japanese garden here and a stream which flows from the River Peck from where Peckham gets its name. This is the one short glimpse of the watercourse which flows largely underground from One Tree Hill to Earl's Sluice and the Thames.

Once through the garden the path headed south and began to rise slowly. There was open parkland to the right and a line of trees to the left of the path that brought me back to the start. Two more laps and I was done. I couldn't quite figure out the last 0.1 so just ran until I reached it.

My time was 19:25.



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