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Upton Court parkrun - event 625

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On the 25th April 2026 I ran the Upton Court parkrun which was the 625th event held at the venue, my 285th parkrun and 198th different course I'd attended. What makes a good parkrun and why do we enjoy some events much more than others? I'm not sure anyone knows the answer to that, but I found it fascinating that both Mark and I really enjoyed this parkrun when all of the clues suggested perhaps we might not. Upton Court parkrun takes place in Upton Court, a public recreational space in the town of Slough. The surroundings were nice with some rather fetching houses lining the roads leading up to the entrance of the car park. But the course primarily is a two lap affair which takes in majority of the perimeter of the space and is mostly ran on grass. I think part of the lower expectations were due to the grassy nature of the course. But the weather played a crucial part. Not only have we had a long dry spell, but the temperature was warmer than recent days and the sun was out. ...
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Stretford parkrun - event 448

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On the 11th April 2026 I ran the Stretford parkrun which was the 448th event held at the venue, my 284th parkrun and 197th different course I'd attended. Salford City vs Gillingham might not be the most glamorous of football fixtures, but Hayden and I have attended every historic fixture between the two teams - all 8 of them. The away games in Manchester have given me.the opportunity to tick off a few of the cities parkrun venues at the same time. In recent years we've visited Heaton Park, Alexandra and now this time around we chose to visit Stratford. Joining us again this weekend was Henry, Hayden's friend who had enjoyed weekends with us at Morecambe and Port Vale and is infinitely more enthusiastic about partaking in parkrun than Hayden is. It was with Henry and Hayden in mind that I chose Stretford over one of the other Manchester venues as it has an additional novelty factor - part of the course takes part on an athletics track. Majority of the course takes part arou...
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Tamworth Castle Grounds parkrun - event 114

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On the 4th April 2026 I ran the Tamworth Castle Grounds parkrun which was the 114th event held at the venue, my 283rd parkrun and 196th different course I'd attended. Being able to combine football with parkrun has been a real blessing and has made supporting the Gills more enjoyable as well as broaden the pool of available parkrun events for me to visit. This week with Easter and games being on Good Friday and Bank Holiday Monday I hadn't anticipated a parkrun/football double. Originally the plan was to visit Walsall away in a day, drive up watch the game and come home again as is the typical way. But talking with Steph I suggested we could make a weekend of it. Driving up and down the M1 this season and seeing signs for the National Space Museum had whetted the appetite and I really wanted to visit. So I formed a plan that meant we'd travel up to Walsall the usual way, watch the game and stay overnight somewhere either close to the National Space centre or somewhere in b...
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Colchester Castle parkrun - event 600

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On the 28th March 2026 I ran the Colchester Castle parkrun which was the 600th event held at the venue, my 282nd parkrun and 195th different course I'd attended. Upon arrival at Colchester Castle parkrun my heart sank a little. Our car was parked at a leisure centre at the bottom of the park and my eyes scanned upwards towards the castle in the distance and knew straightaway that I was in for a difficult morning. Hills and me are not compatible. With Mark and Foordy otherwise engaged I had expected to be travelling solo. But Hayden was on a punishment as a result of not doing as he was told. He therefore had to forfeit football training for accompanying me to parkrun. He was free to not join in if he didn't want to and he took that punishment with good spirit. The starting point for the event is three quarters away up the hill towards the castle on the southern end of Castle park. There is a flat thoroughfare with a bandstand and some ornamental gardens which makes for a good ...
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Clacton Seafront parkrun - event 417

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On the 21st March 2026 I ran the Clacton Seafront parkrun which was the 417th event held at the venue, my 281st parkrun and 194th different course I'd attended. Spring is a great time to take part in parkrun, the sun is out, and temperatures are warming up but isn't to warm for running. Trees are carrying blossom and everything is brighter and just feels more cheerful. Running by the sea feels fresh and the waves are calm and it just somehow feels a whole lot better than the cold, grey depression of winter. Next up on this slow visit of the UK's parkrun venues was Clacton Seafront on the Essex coastline resort of Clacton on sea. Greeted by a tourist hotspot coming out of hibernation with the fun fair pier dusting off cobwebs and hopeful expectation of another strong summer season.  Bright sunshine, beautiful clear blue skies it was the perfect spring morning. Parking on the seafront was free for three hours giving Foordy and In plenty of time to enjoy the event and it'...
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Cranleigh parkrun - event 452

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On the 14th March 2026 I ran the Cranleigh parkrun which was the 452nd event held at the venue, my 280th parkrun and 193rd different course I'd attended. The more weeks I visit new parkruns the harder it is to find a new parkrun and the further distance I have to travel. Having only got 1 more event to visit in London, 1 more in Kent and a small handful left of Essex parkrun choices are coming harder to rationalise. My goal is to ultimately visit all events that comprise the Greater London, East of England and South East England regions. This would be around 300 different venues in total and an amount that would take 6 years to complete if attempted in full. But with Gillingham away games providing opportunities to visit other regions and life getting in the way then that should be plenty to keep me going. Next on the list for me this week was Cranleigh in Surrey, 8 miles south of Guildford and often referred to as the largest village in the UK. It's parkrun venue is situated ...
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Ingrebourne Hill parkrun - event 59

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On the 7th March 2026 I ran the Ingrebourne Hill parkrun which was the 59th event held at the venue, my 279th parkrun and 192nd different course I'd attended. The world of parkrun is forever shifting and changing, new events cropping up whilst others close. In the past few months new events have popped up in Essex, Kent and Greater London which has impacted my ability to 'complete the set'. I had carefully planned the last Greater London venue and tied it in with the first available gap in my Wilson Index, number 59. Meaning a wait of over a year before I could visit and mark the event as done. Of course they are my own rules and nobody else's so I don't have to stick to this methodology, but it works for me and I quite like it. Waiting is all part of the fun! However, as I worked my way around our great capital with the goal of making Ingrebourne Hill the 64th stop of 64 parkrun venues in Greater London a new one popped up! Greenwich Peninsula parkrun started on t...
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