The parkrun 20202020 challenge - Number 17

Two parkruns in two days. This time I had the chance to run my old stomping ground - Northampton. I used to live in the town and this was when I first started to run. After completing the London Marathon on my second ever run(!) I went along to the local parkrun at the Racecourse. There were about 50 people there.

By the time I left to move to Folkestone they were getting over 400 every week and I had run over 150 events. The course is one of the quickest although it does have a couple of steepish sections. It is also exposed which means that you can get a strong breeze.

On this day it was overcast and drizzly with a fair wind from the south-west. I started my watch by the children's playground and started the first (long) loop that goes north and then diagonally to the far north-east corner of the park.

A sharp turn through the trees results in a full length of the park on a gradual descent for almost a mile. At the bottom I turned left along the short side and then turned left to head north again back past the playground. This time you take a left across the middle of the park and repeat the smaller loop.

I had gone off quick and by the time the third mile came around my legs were feeling the effort from the day before, the long drive and the lack of any warm up. Still I pushed on and heard myself panting and gasping like I used to when trying to catch someone on the home stretch.

I crossed the virtual line beside the tennis courts and stopped the watch on 18:44 although my Strava later changed it to 18:46 for some unknown reason.

It was good to do the old course again although I missed the others. It was harder than I remembered, but I'm pleased with the time. Just three more to go!