With my brother living in a different city to me it is always nice to visit and go for a run local to him that would not normally be accessible to me, so with his Stag Do this weekend I took the opportunity to head down to see him on the Friday night which meant I could squeeze in an a run before the festivities start. As I have already done both of the runs actually within Leicester I had to look a little further so ended up in nearby Market Harborough this morning.
For those who have not been to Market Harborough before (as I had not before today), it is what I would call a quintessential English town. It has the feel of a much simpler way of life without the hustle and bustle of a city, with local shops and markets and some fantastic Tudor-style and red-brick buildings. Very much worth another visit at a later date when I don’t have places to be (although I’ll obviously have to find another run next time).
During the run I did not pay much attention to my watch, I had a cursory glance here and there to check my pace and was doing better than I expected, but at the end I was very, VERY surprised to see it was my fifth fastest parkrun of all time! I assumed that as there are a couple of tight sections where you are not able to overtake, and it is a bit windy, and I am nowhere near the level of fitness I should be that I would be 26 minutes plus, but it would appear that this is a very quick course. Had I been in better shape, I would go as far to say that this is a contender for a PB course!
COURSE DETAILS:
Market Harborough parkrun (67)
Market Harborough parkrun is a 3.5 lap course with a shorter first lap followed by two identical laps before another shorter half lap to finish. It is 99% on tarmac paths with only one small off-road section on each lap.
The start line is on a small entry path on the south park between the tennis courts and the school and is self-seeded due to the fact that a lot of the paths in the park are quite narrow so do not particularly allow for much overtaking. From the start you head away from the road towards the centre of the park until you reach a t-junction at which point you head left and follow the path past the cafe and the rose garden on your right hand side. At the end of the path there is a left and right turn, on the first lap you head right towards the children’s play area. Immediately after the play area you take a right turn between the play area and the car park before taking another right turn to end up on a path between the play area and the River Welland. From here you follow the path along the river for approx 600m before doing a 180 degree turn across a small grass patch that has recently been changed to a more durable surface and heading back towards the centre of the park, along a path that is parallel to the river. You then follow the path towards the left, back towards the section of the main path you joined from the start.
Once you have the cafe on your right-hand side and the tennis courts on you left-hand side again you start the second lap. The majority of the second lap is the same as the first, with the exception of when you come to the to the end of the path after the rose garden you take the left turn instead and follow the path around the edge of the larger field, coming at the play area from the opposite direction. This time when you reach the play area you take the left turn immediately before to again pass between the play area and the car park before following the same course when you reach the river. As mentioned before, the third lap is identical to the second so you follow the same instructions again until getting back alongside the cafe.
The final half-lap follows the same start of the lap as the second and third laps, so turning left at the end of the path after the rose garden, and then following the path around the edge of the larger field, but on the 4th time of reaching the play area, you carry on past and do not turn to take the path towards the river. The finish line is at the end of the play area, where you then continue to walk into the rose garden where you will find the barcode scanners.
RUN DETAILS:
- Time: 24:22
- Place: 85/366
- Gender Place: 74
- Age Category Place (SM30-34): 5
- Age Graded Score: 53.35%
- Most Events Global Position: 524
- GPS Tracking: https://www.strava.com/activities/1411323385
- Full Results: http://www.parkrun.org.uk/marketharborough/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=149
LINKS:
- Course Information: http://www.parkrun.org.uk/marketharborough/course/
- Start Line Location: https://map.what3words.com/bright.costly.ramp
- Facebook: https://en-gb.facebook.com/marketharboroughparkrun/
- Park Information: http://www.harborough.gov.uk/info/20013/parks_and_open_spaces/4/welland_park
50 Club in 50 Courses 