Adam Bird - My Personal Blog

On the 30th December 2023 I ran the Basildon parkrun which was the 443th event held at the venue, my 162nd parkrun and 87th different course I'd attended. Before we get onto my trip over to Essex, there's the small matter of Christmas Day and my return visit to the Great Lines where I ran for the 16th time and has now become customary on Christmas Day. I finished in 139th position out of a field of 374 participants in a time of 28:31. My last three visits have all finished within times just 8 seconds apart - Mr Consistency! Last year I kept to local events and paused the tourism game over Christmas, but with a long streak collected I wanted to keep up the momentum so chose to start working through my list of nearest events not done yet. Top of the pile was Basildon and so that's where I found myself on the last parkrun day of the year. Also, seeing as it was Christmas my friend Foordy is home for the festive period and he messaged me saying he'd come along again with m...

On the 23rd December 2023 I ran the Chalkwell Beach parkrun which was the 127th event held at the venue, my 160th parkrun and 86th different course I'd attended. Last year I completed my last parkrun before Christmas with a trip to the seaside and ran Margate parkrun. This year I decided to follow suit and complete another coastal event in the hope that they'd be big raging winds and rain to do battle with. Strange guy aren't I?! I chose to run at Chalkwell Beach which is just to the east of Southend pier. I'd been there plenty of times before, using part of the course for parking when on a day trip to Southend.  The start is approximately 3 kilometres further east along the coast and there is plenty of places to park up before the event. The course is a simple and straightforward one. An out and back towards the pier. It is evidently a popular event with a growing number of people arriving before the start full of Christmas cheer with many dressed up as Santa, elf...

On the 16th December 2023 I ran the Sunny Hill parkrun which was the 174th event held at the venue, my 159th parkrun and 85th different course I'd attended. Having suffered a little bit with my leg at last week's parkrun I decided to take friends and family advice and have a rest. Every evening I sat with an icepack on my thigh and missed my usual Wednesday wellbeing run in the hope that I'd not suffer or make worse whatever it was that was affecting me. I also considered my choice of venue, instead of Sunny Hill I thought I'd look to run somewhere a little flatter. I'm also borrowing Mum and Dads car whilst they are away travelling so I've got easy access to a reliable transport that I can use to travel to further away venues whilst the car is in my care. But after a couple of weeks of unplanned, last minute changes I decided to stick to the script and tackle whatever Sunny Hill had in store for me. Last week, I bemoaned the direction instructions provided by ...

On the 9th December 2023 I ran the Hockley Woods parkrun which was the 384th event held at the venue, my 158th parkrun and 84th different course I'd attended. These pages of tales of parkrun tourism are littered with revised plans, changes of venues, weather related disruptions and generally things not going as expected. This weekend was probably the greatest example of all of those things happening at once. I'd originally scheduled a visit to Sunny Hill parkrun, but Stephanie said that she thought the car was making funny noises so I changed to Highbury Fields as I could visit quite easily by train. We are borrowing my mum and dad's car for a period of time whilst they go on their travels starting this week, so our car issues will temporarily go away whilst we have two cars for the duration of that period. My niece Layla was off Saturday and wanted to come along with me, which was great - the more the merrier. However, on Thursday she asked me if she could give it a miss ...

On the 2nd December 2023 I ran the Valentines parkrun which was the 599th event held at the venue, my 157th parkrun and 83rd different course I'd attended. Last week I skipped the tourist trail again. Twice in three weeks I revisited a previously attended event and twice in three weeks I set a new course PB. Last weekend was a revisit to Mote Park parkrun for event number 74. I first visited for event number three, struggled in the heat and on the hills and set a time of 30:18. In much cooler temperatures and 18 months of psrkrunning behind me I set a new time of 27:59 which greatly exceeded my expectations. But whilst I certainly enjoyed returning to Mote park and enjoyed what is a lovely course. I also had the pleasure of sharing the experience with Reaso and Amelie who smashed her first full length parkrun. I couldn't help but miss the feeling of discovering a new course for the first time and the fulfilling sensation of adding another tick against the lost of events I'...

On the 18th November 2023 I ran the Finsbury Park parkrun which was the 611th event held at the venue, my 155th parkrun and 82nd different course I'd attended. Once again my parkrun plans this weekend were reconfigured at the last minute by issues with our car. Ideally our Meriva would visit the scrap man and call it a day, but finances dictate otherwise. Friday night whilst driving home from Gillingham Football Club to visit the new club shop I noticed strange sounds coming from the vehicle. Once home it was confirmed to be an issue with the exhaust. So Friday night, right at the last minute I screwed up my plans to head over to Essex for Markshall Estates 98th event and trawled the map to find an alternative event that I could complete by public transport. Adding further complication to my last minute planning was the realisation that engineering works at Gravesend would mean an extra challenge to my morning travel plans. I asked Stephanie if she was able to get me to Ebbsfleet ...

On the 11th November 2023 I ran the Erdigg parkrun which was the 277th event held at the venue, my 154th parkrun and 81st different course I'd attended. Last weekend my touristing plans came to an abrupt halt. It was my friend Marks birthday and he'd arranged to run Shorne Woods parkrun and was being joined by Reaso and George. Weather in the lead up to the weekend has been horrific and wasn't much better on the Saturday morning. I didn't have a car and so wasn't relishing a train trip to North London and Oak Hill as I had planned. Instead I decided to remain local and joined the others at Shorne Woods where I ran for the fifth time and proceeded to set a new PB of 27:52 which was just shy of three minutes better than my previous best. This week was a return to new experiences and for me my first parkrun in Wales as we head to Wrexham to watch Gillingham and complete another weekend double. If I could and if my budget was able to stretch that far I'd visit ever...

On the 28th October 2023 I ran the Rendlesham Forest parkrun which was the 89th event held at the venue, my 152nd parkrun and 80th different course I'd attended. The first rule as a parkrun tourist is to have a plan B. If you have a plan C it will likely come in handy, particularly during this time of year when the rainy season adds jeopardy to the best laid parkrun plans. I had pencilled in Rendlesham Forest for this weekend, but last week's cancellations meant that Thornham Woods wasn't able to run, and that their event 20 wasn't going to run for another week. Perfect for me, I was still looking to attend an event 20 for my Wilson index and rejigged me diary accordingly. As the kids were on half term and their weekend clubs cancelled it offered us as a family an opportunity. I suggested to Stephanie that we head out for the day on Friday, stay over night somewhere in the evening and attend Thornham Woods on the Saturday morning. After much faff and discussion that...

On the 21st October 2023 I ran the Dulwich parkrun which was the 541st event held at the venue, my 151st parkrun and 79th different course I'd attended. After three weeks of parkrun events that featured hills, hills and more hills it was time to put that grueling effort to good use with a parkrun PB attempt at everyone's favourite PB attempt parkrun location - Dulwich parkrun. The course record here is an astonishing 13:57 which was set five years ago but consistently people come close as a whole range of athletes, including Olympians use the event as part of their training programmes. I'm not an athlete and far, far, far from being an Olympian, but if it's good enough for them it's good enough for me and well, everything's relative right? Dulwich parkrun was also the next stop on my long running ambition to run all of the parkrun events inside of the M25, so a chance to kill two birds with one stone. If I failed in one goal, I'll have definitely achieved t...

On the 14th October 2023 I ran the Hilly Fields parkrun which was the 517th event held at the venue, my 150th parkrun and 78th different course I'd attended. The last two parkrun events I've been to have involved hills. It's no surprise then that Hilly Fields parkrun also contains them, and was deliberately chosen for that fact. I can only get better at running uphill if I practice doing so. It should also help me when I finally do another flat one, even it's psychological. Upon arrival it was clear why the park had been given its name. A green space in the middle of a built up area in south east London centered around a field that was made up of a hill. Various paths ran across the space and I headed upwards to the top where the parkrun starts and finishes. At the summit of the hill is a tarmac path and along its route is a cafe, a play area and a couple of tennis courts. Running from west to east participants start from the western end next to the cafe and head east ...

On the 7th October 2023 I ran the Church Mead parkrun which was the 78th event held at the venue, my 149th parkrun and 77th different course I'd attended. All week long I'd been preparing myself for the Wendover Woods parkrun and tackling everything that event would likely entail, including the tough uphill climbs. However, a rare last minute discovery changed my mind and I found myself tackling a different hilly challenge in nearby Amersham instead. Looking through the 5k challenge app on Thursday evening I discovered that Church Mead parkrun would be running it's 78th event on Saturday morning and as that event number is one of those below 100 I'm still to tick off I decided to change my plans.  I'd known that the Church Mead parkrun was going to be a challenge as I'd seen videos on YouTube profiling the event. As my niece Layla had already agreed to come with me I had another decision to make. Do I show her the video and put her off, or do I take her along o...

On the 30th September 2023 I ran the Ally Pally parkrun which was the 516th event held at the venue, my 148th parkrun and 76th different course I'd attended. When I asked my friend Reaso if he wanted me to pick up his son George for this week's parkrun he asked where I was heading. "Ally Pally", I said. And that was the end of that. The next ten minutes was spent listening at how steep the hill was up towards the Alexandra Palace and how drunken darts fans roll down it after a day on the beer watching the arrows. He explained how steep it was and how close he'd come to having a coronary and wouldn't wish running up it on his worst enemy. I had, as always done my research. I'd also seen the Ally Pally on television enough times and so knew that grounds of the parkrun would be the hillier variety. But the graphic picture that Reaso had painted put a nervous fear into me and I drove towards north London on Saturday morning with deep regret! Hills and I don...

On the 23rd September 2023 I ran the Harrow Lodge parkrun which was the 469th event held at the venue, my 147th parkrun and 75th different course I'd attended. Harrow Lodge has been on my to-do list for some time. For over a year it had been top of my NENDY list, which if you've been paying attention means Nearest Event Not Done Yet. After I'd completed my Thurrock parkrun , Harrow Lodge took the NENDY crown and has remained ever since. This weekend was also my 75th different parkrun event milestone and so it seemed a logical place to celebrate and kill two birds with one stone. I was joined this weekend by Reaso and his son George who hadn't quite been put off by his first and last visit to a parkrun event, namely Whinlatter Forest back in April. Having had the experience of visiting multiple different parkrun events I've grown accustomed to arriving at a parkrun venue and being surprised by the contrast of the park with its nearby surroundings. Particularly in L...

On the 16th September 2023 I ran the Banstead Woods parkrun which was the 781st event held at the venue, my 146th parkrun and 74th different course I'd attended. Parkrun of course started at Bushy park in 2004 and it wasn't until 2007 when it was joined by a second event at Wimbledon Common. But both events were still known as time-trials and the idea of 'parkrun' was still some way off. Six months after Wimbledon Common started a third time trial event started at Banstead Wood before further events popped up in Leeds, Richmond and Brighton. Before much longer there were ten time-trial events dotted across the country and parkrun was born. In my quest to complete all of the parkrun events inside of the M25, I'd pretty much completed the southern section with Nonsuch , Riddlesdown and Roundshaw Downs all being ticked off in the last twelve months or so leaving Banstead Woods and Lloyd as my only gaps. With good weather over the last few weeks it was a perfect time...

On the 9th September 2023 I ran the Alton Water parkrun which was the 97th event held at the venue, my 145th parkrun and 73rd different course I'd attended. Another week, another parkrun venue and another passenger alongside me on my parkrun journey. This week was the turn of my niece Layla who has started lodging with us in our spare room. Jokingly I suggested that as condition of her lodging with us, she needed to come parkrun with me each week. But her enthusiasm caught me by surprise. In fact, it was her that instigated the conversation this week with an "Uncle Adam, I might come parkrun with you this week". Having gone on to explain that she really didn't have to if she didn't want to, and that we were going to be getting up early and that we were going to be driving quite far. I also explained that it was going to be very hot and nobody was forcing here to do anything she didn't want to. She remained steadfast and was to my great surprise that when I wa...

On the 2nd September 2023 I ran the Mole Valley parkrun which was the 220th event held at the venue, my 144th parkrun and 72nd different course I'd attended. Occasionally I manage to convince a friend to run parkrun with me and as a result my friend Mark has inadvertently become a parkrun tourist. But with his work schedule, my football schedule and our holidays we've not managed to run together since Bevendean Down back in June. Knowing this date was coming up in the diary I saved Mole Valley for this very occasion. Mark prefers a one lap course and I knew it was going to be a gorgeous venue so if you are going to run, why not run in the best locations? Upon arriving at Denbies estate where the Mole Valley course is located you are immediately struck by how scenic the surroundings are.  The house at the end of the drive to the estate is imposing and reminded me of a scene out of a mobster movie with a house at the end of a tree lined driveway. Just like Squerreys Winery , Mo...

On the 26th August 2023 I ran the Southall parkrun which was the 81st event held at the venue, my 143rd parkrun and 71st different course I'd attended. After two weeks off enjoying a family holiday to Corfu where parkrun is yet to reach, I had a choice to make. Enjoy a other weekend parkrun free or get back on the running horse and keep up the habit. Fortunately for me I got back in the saddle. Routines are easily broken and as I'm not a natural runner there's always that fear that I'll simply stop one day and just not run again. I run because I need to, my body needs exercise and parkrun helps me maintain some semblance of an active lifestyle - the touring part is all just trying to make it more enjoyable. I had chosen Southall back one day when I was writing my schedule based on the fact that it was a flat course and that after two weeks of gyros, Mythos and Ouzo I'd need something gentle to break me back into it. Southall was actually my second post holiday run....

On the 5th August 2023 I ran the Woodbank parkrun which was the 649th event held at the venue, my 142nd parkrun and 70th different course I'd attended. The start of the football season is one of the most eagerly anticipated matches of the year and so when the fixture list came out and Gillingham were pencilled in to play Stockport County at Edgeley Park there was no way I was going to miss it! As Reaso and George were on holiday it was only Hayden and I who were going to be in attendance which gave me an opportunity to convert the days football into another parkrun tourism adventure. Ensuring that I was able to attend parkrun on time we travelled up by train after work on Friday and arrived at a local Premier Inn just after ten. This is a great way of traveling as it breaks the day up, albeit at a slightly increased cross. After what was a gloriously dry and sunny Friday we woke up Saturday morning with heavy rain. I looked out of the window from our room and looked at our clothin...

On the 29th July 2023 I ran the Eastbourne parkrun which was the 542nd event held at the venue, my 141st parkrun and 69th different course I'd attended. A couple of weeks ago parkrun asked the developers of the 5k achievements app to change their functionality and remove all challenges relating to event numbers including the Fibonacci, Prime and Nelson number challenges.  As documented on my previous parkrun blogs these challenges were completely arbitrary and didn't mean anything to anyone if you completed the set. For me, it was always a bit of fun and added some form of structure to my parkrun planner whereas otherwise it all felt a little bit random. I was due to attend Wormwood Scrubs this weekend for their 555th event and another Nelson number but despite the fact that I'm not entirely behind parkruns decision to remove these challenges I am certainly going to respect it. The thought behind the removal is that these occasions have the possibility of overwhelming smal...

On the 22nd July 2023 I ran the Stockley Country parkrun which was the 28th event held at the venue, my 140th parkrun and 68th different course I'd attended. After a week off touring it was back in the road for another new parkrun venue and a low event number to help contribute to my growing collection of lower parkrun event numbers. Today was also the fourth birthday of my local parkrun, Cyclopark and so I was in a bit of a dilemma. I had arranged to meet my work colleague at Stockley Park and so didn't want to let her down by cancelling so I changed last week's tourist venue (Walthamstow) to a revisit and rerun at Cyclopark for an early birthday celebration instead. As it was, it went incredibly well as I set a new PB time of 27:11! It was also great running with Auntie Melinda and Richard my brother-in-law. Unfortunately, after all the change of plans and not wanting to let my colleague down I received a message from her this morning saying that she wasn't able to m...