The parkrun 20202020 challenge - Number 16

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Tooting Common was the next parkrun on my list. I had only found it as a friend of mine was in Stretham and asked if I wanted to run with him while he was in London. I couldn't run with him in the end due to a stomach problem, but a few days later I headed over there.

It appealed because it was not too far away, pancake flat and an easy course to remember - a simple obtuse triangle run three times in an anti-clockwise direction.

In order to miss the traffic I left at 6am and arrived there about half an hour later. There is free parking for users of the common and the Lido there. After a very short warm up I just went for it and indeed the course was so simple even I couldn't go wrong.

There was a small straight past the café followed by a sharp right turn which marked the top of the triangle. The tarmac path crossed the width of the common passing the Lido and some tennis courts and then turned left again when it reached the main road on the other side.

The path here became softer underfoot, a mixture of stone and dirt. It was only a hundred metres or so before it turned left again this time away from the road and back towards the start in a diagonal (this was the hypotenuse and therefore the longest side. Another two laps and a sprint back past the café and I was done in 19:02. My watch said 18:59 when I pressed the button to stop it so I'm not sure where those seconds came from, but I was well under the 20 minutes I needed.

There were more people than I expected running, walking and cycling along the paths. They were easy enough to avoid, but I expect it gets quite busy and must be a tough course to overtake on.

I'd like to return there when I'm in better shape and see how fast I could manage. It is potentially the fastest one I have run due to the lack of any elevation and 180 degree turns. Watch out for the roots coming through the path on the long side though.



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