Whitstable parkrun - event 571

On the 3rd December 2022 I ran the Whitstable parkrun which was the 571st event held at the venue, my 105th parkrun and 39th different course I'd attended.

For some bizarre, masochistic reason I cannot understand I've wanted to run a parkrun on the seafront with big wind, dramatic waves and plummeting temperatures. It sounds romantic to me, madness to others, but is the reason why I had two coastal events planned for December. First up? Whitstable!

Up until very recently, I had never been to Whitstable which I found strange considering in forty plus years as Kentish man I'd been to virtually every other seaside resort in Kent and arguably Whitstable is one of the finest and most popular of all. Nevertheless, I found myself driving down Thanet Way a little over a month from my first ever visit with the weather very different than before.

Upon arrival at Marine Parade, the road that runs along the top of Tankerton beach, separated by Tankerton slopes I was comforted by the warm air of the car. But getting out and exploring my surroundings was a completely different story. Whilst not quite living up to my romantic ideal, the weather was indeed cold, the wind was fairly strong and the waves were aggressive and angry. I took a short walk down the steps to where a line of beach huts stood and head east along the coastal path into the wind. It certainly was cold and the wind made my eyes water and nose run. I turned back around again and headed back to the car where I hoped the warmth hadn't escaped - so much for my romantic ideals.

Heading back to the car was actually pre-planned as opposed to me wimping out. I arrived wearing road shoes and much of the course is indeed on firm concrete paths. But half of each lap of a two-lap course runs on grass along the top of Tankerton slopes which like Tunbridge Wells last week was wet underfoot, puddles in places and generally quite squelchy. For most of the winter now I'll likely be travelling with two pairs of shoes unless I know with any certainty that the course is road or trail shoes safe

After changing footwear, I headed towards the meeting point of the event, which is at the summer kiosk opposite the Marine Hotel. The toilet block there was open, but the building was primarily being used as a windbreak. The meeting point was on the east side of the building where the wind was coming from, so standing next to the kiosk on the west side took the wind away and made for much calmer and more pleasant conditions. As we were called over to the first-timers meetings, the few of us who the meeting was intended for tentatively head over from where we were shielding from the elements and listened in to what was being said whilst jumping up and down on the spot in a vain attempt to keep warm.

Once the briefings and welcomes were over, we head down the slope from the kiosk and head towards the start which is on the main coastal path next to the beach heading east. There were various pacers dotted around and I looked for someone wearing a 27 bib in an attempt to keep up, but couldn't see one. I spotted a 30 minute pacer and a 29 minute pacer so decided to use them as guide. As long as I finished ahead of those two I'd be in a good place.

As we were heading east from the start, we were running into the headwind. Fortunately as we were all bunched up the main effects of the wind were mitigated for most of the field. I'd imagine that the front-runners were impacted, but it wasn't until the second lap and the field spread out that the headwind became noticeable.

From the start, we headed east along the coastal path, along past the beach huts that were brightly coloured and lined up in tiers along Tankerton slopes. Once we'd reached Tankerton sailing club we took the path upwards, away from the main coastal path and head back the way we had come along Marine Parade. The slope came as a bit of a shock to the system after running on the flat for the first part of the course, but was manageable in the knowledge that it was over and would only need to be tackled once more.

Heading back towards the kiosk and the meeting point on the grass across the top of Tankerton slopes, the sponginess underfoot meant that the pace was generally slower than on the way out, even with the wind behind and aiding you along. It certainly felt tougher on the legs and there was a relief at the end when you return back to the concrete and more firmer ground underfoot. Once you reach the kiosk you take the path back down towards the lifeguard hut and turn right again the start the second lap.

Despite the wind and the cold, the streaming eyes and runny nose I still ended up overheating and taking off my long sleeved running top. Running the first part of the second lap in just a t-shirt, running top tied around my waist, red cheeks burning, wind in my face, waves tumbling to my left and the smell of salt in the air I was living in the moment. It didn't really matter what time I was running or how fast, it just felt like so much fun to be out there. 

Reality only bit back in once I'd reached the top of the slope on the return to the grass on the second lap. I was overtaken by the 30 minute pacer and wondered what the hell was going on. I felt like I'd been running well and that my pace was good. I started to try and run a little faster, but the 30 minute pacer was getting further away instead of closer. I resigned myself to the fact that I was going to get a sub-30 for the event, so wanted to finish strongly and see where it took me. Shortly afterwards I was overtaken by the 29 minute pacer which confused me even more.  As I got closer towards the finish line, the 30 minute pacer started running back towards me and the 29 minute pacer had slowed down to a very slow walk. Evidently the pacers weren't quite keeping the numbers on the back of their bibs, so goodness knows where I was going to end up.

After a couple of recently evil finishes at Bedgebury Pinetum and Royal Tunbridge Wells it was nice to have an ever so slightly downhill finish which meant for some competitive sprint finishes. I managed to give as good I got and crossed the line in 108th place out of a field of 258 participants, I finished in a time of 28.53 which was inside that 29 minute pacer territory.

Another Kent venue ticked off the list, number 22 out of 24. Still on track to complete the set by Christmas. Next up, Tonbridge!