"L" is for... Letchworth

14.09.19 - #7 Letchworth - Where the Volunteers outshone the glorious September sunshine!

Letchworth was selected to be the seventh parkrun in my fundraising challenge - number 7 out of 17 - so I was now well and truly underway.

On the Friday morning I fired off an email telling them of my challenge and what I was up to. (Let's face it, anyone who has seen my running top in day-glo bright 'MS Society Orange' would also welcome the advanced warning! Who knows, astronauts in space may well be wondering why there was an orange fuzzy glow permeating through the Home Counties of England?!)

To my delight, I received a super speedy reply from Paul, that week's RD, who kindly agreed to give me a shout-out for my challenge and charitable cause if I reminded him on the morning. To be honest, that set the tone of my Letchwork experience and I became an instant fan of their lovely parkrun event!

I'd never before been to Letchworth (or rather Letchworth Garden City to give it it's full, fancy-pants name!) so I wasn't sure what to expect but, as always, I researched the course details in advance for a little hint of what it's like.

The thing about parkruns is that they're all basically kind of the same, yet they can also be very different at the same time, depending on the type of course, the setting, the people and the feel of the place etc. It's always fun to spot any points of difference - part of the joy of parkrun tourism is definitely noticing the little quirks from event to event.

By all accounts Letchworth was known to be a particularly muddy course with a friendly vibe. Well when I arrived there was absolutely no sign of mud as the weather had been so good in the run up to the day, with the gorgeous Indian Summers we're getting accustomed to, however the friendly vibe was already evident so one out of two really 'aint bad! 

The journey looked frighteningly familiar. For a scary moment I thought that I had accidently entered the postcode for last week's parkrun, Panshanger, into my satnav by mistake....but then my sleepy Saturday morning head realised that the 2 parkruns are very much neighbours. Panic over!

Arriving at around 8.20am it felt as though I had taken a wrong turn somewhere as I'd found myself in the middle of a housing estate but then I reassuringly saw the familiar parkrun flag, showing me the way.

Letchworth parkrun takes place in and around a sports playing field - the type found in lots of towns and cities up and down the land, with a small kids playground, skate ramps and a field with goalposts and football pitches marked out - with a good amount of free parking available at the adjacent car park (Bonus!)

Quite a few people were already gathered around, warming up and waiting for the start.

My initial thought was how it reminded me of cross country at school....except thankfully without a teacher making us run around in what felt like -10 degrees in shorts and t-shirts, while he just stood shouting at us with our frozen, purple legs while he wore ample, cosy layers of clothing like he was off into a Siberian blizzard.

The big difference now though, is that we are all choosing to be there. For whatever reason, each and every one of us has dragged ourselves out of bed on a Saturday morning without the threat of after-school detention (or at least I think so!), certainly helped by the fact that it was gorgeously sunny, bright and just the perfect day for running 5K!

The conditions were great and my back and leg were feeling ok....let's do Letchworth!

I spotted what seemed to be the main hub where it was all happening - an all-important table in the middle of the field with lots of volunteers in their hi-vis bibs receiving direction from a very enthusiastic Run Director, briefing them on their duties - where they needed to be and what they needed to do. It all appeared to be meticulously organised - efficient but friendly.

I guess my t-shirt caught some attention as I ended up chatting with the Barcode Scanner about my cause and what i was doing (the person doing the scanning, not the actual scanning instrument....that would just be weird!)

I also introduced myself to RD Paul. He told me he had read my blog and Just Giving page which I was happy about as I had only emailed him the day before. He was clearly an RD taking his responsibilities seriously! In my experience it really does make a difference when parkrun personnel are friendly and responsive, despite the pressures of being inundated with requests and notifications.

It looks like I am really creating something here. Looking at the Blog stats and seeing the page views being recorded is one thing but hearing comments from real people who have read my actual blog is very humbling and satisfying.

My aim is to raise awareness of Multiple Sclerosis and the MS Society Charity in my own little way and the word is most definitely getting around! As they used to say on The A-Team, "I love it when a plan comes together!"

I  joined in with quite a few fellow first-time runners and new runners at the skateboard park for the course briefing, in the corner of the field. It looked like we had a flattish course except for a long slow hill and since we were doing 2 laps, it meant that we had to run this hill twice!

The pre-run briefing was next. Paul made good of his promise and gave me a great mention but also dutifully embarrassed me by mentioning my freak trampoline accident! You don't get much sympathy for freak trampoline accidents, let me tell you! (Just a tip for any parkrunners contemplating going to one of those seemingly harmless and fun trampoline parks anytime soon!)

The start of the course was just around the corner, through some hedges and on a trail around open farmland, with a big churned up field in the middle. There were quite a few of us and I didn't actually hear anyone telling us to start but it's generally a giveaway when the people in front start moving, so off we went!

This course was initially flat, lulling us into a false sense of security whilst getting the legs working and the heart rate up. We followed the nice pathway along the hedgerows, with lots of small birds darting in and out amongst the bushes, berries and rosehips. Luckily for us the weather was fine but I can imagine this section of the course getting pretty messy and muddy underfoot when the rains come.

The Volunteers were the stars of the show and enthusiastic marshals were dotted about the course to help us along. Soon into the first lap, you get to the hill. It's one of those deceiving hills that doesn't look too bad at first....then you get a bit further up and it still doesn't look too bad but then a little way on you realise that you have been on this hill for a while now and the novelty has worn off and you just want to get off it!

At the top of the slope the course thankfully levels out for a while until you get to an ever so slightly downhill section. What goes up...etc... This is the beginning of the quickest part of the course now, assuming that the hill hasn't zapped all your energy.

We found a fantastically enthusiastic Marshal doing star jumps and directing us through the trees, where we re-entered the playing field in the opposite corner to where the run started. I can't promise that he will always be there and be so energetic but today he was on top form and I dare say burning as many calories as the average runner with his high intensity workout of jumps! 

Following the perimeter of the football field we encountered some more enthusiastic Marshals doing their Run Director proud, this time armed with the clatter of noisy cow bells - a familiar sound being adopted by quite a few parkruns, I've noticed. Whilst not exactly picking up the speeds of a downhill skier, the cow bells are a nice touch for parkrun and to be honest anything which brings a bit of fun to proceedings is a welcome distraction in my book!

On the home straight there's a really nice section through a tunnel of trees. Being a tree person (one who likes trees, not a person made out of trees!!!) this was my favourite part of the course.

There is something really special and calming about running through a tunnel of trees on a sunny day, with the sun streaming through the canopy and illuminating the pathway beneath your running shoes.....speaking of which, it's not a bad idea to watch the ground down this stretch as there are tree roots which could easily trip you up and interrupt your moment of calm and meditation!

Back to the start for the second lap and there were yet more volunteers cheering everyone on. This was the final lap and was slightly shorter than the first, this time finishing half-way down the back straight where you then run into the field where the finish funnel and more supportive volunteers are waiting for you.

After finishing Letchworth, to yet more kind words of encouragement, I got my barcode scanned and had a little further chat with the scanner about my challenge. I hung around for a while watching the volunteers cheering every runner across the line.

There were quite a lot of sprint finishes today - despite it being quite a narrow funnel there was plenty of overtaking and friendly rivalry going right to the line.

I like Letchworth. It felt like a proper family-friendly event and totally inclusive to all people of varying abilities. Everyone was full of enthusiasm and seemed like a genuinely good bunch of people.

The volunteers were brilliant and I wanted to show my appreciation so I made sure I went over and shook RD Paul's hand before I left.

As I was about to make my way home, I then ended up chatting to the First Timers Briefer some more - about parkrun in general, about Junior parkrun in which my nephew runs with a giant smile on his face and basically just about how fantastic a movement parkrun is.

I feel passionately about parkrun and about how it's the people that make the event a success. Letchworth is a fabulous example of this and I left there feeling very content and fulfilled.

Thank you, Letchworth! You guys epitomise parkrun - a completely inclusive, supportive, energising and happy place to be!

Please leave a comment below.....

....I'd love to know what you think about parkrun and what makes an extra special one!

Next up: EAST GRINSTEAD!

Please click here for my Just Giving page - raising funds for MS Society charity

https://www.parkrun.org.uk/letchworth/