Bromley parkrun - event 607

Bromley parkrun

On the 4th February 2023 I ran the Bromley parkrun which was the 607th event held at the venue, my 116th parkrun and 46th different course I'd attended.

I had some good news this week with the repair of our car which saw a new battery installed and back to road worthy status. This meant that I would be able to continue as planned and drive to the new Stockley Country parkrun for event number 4, with the goal being to complete the gap in my Wilson index. I had drawn up a contingency plan in any case but was nervous about travelling by train the day after a train strike as the network suffers with teething issues the day after industrial action.

However, late in the week I received a message from my friend Mark who was keen to participate again this week but had a time window in which he needed to be back home. It's always more enjoyable having someone to share the parkrun experience with than travelling on my own so I was more than happy to tweak.the plan accordingly. Via WhatsApp we looked and settled on three different events before finally making a call on Bromley as this was the one we thought would give us the best chance of being home in time for Marks deadline.

Bromley parkrun was according to the research running it's winter course, which is an all tarmac two and a half lap route around Norman's Park. With free parking around the venue and a stress free drive from Gravesend we were parkrun ready with plenty of time to spare, giving us time to familiarise ourselves with the course which was actually a pretty straightforward exercise.

From anywhere on the course you can see the entirety of the lap. A field with multiple football pitches across it, dotted with small pavillion type buildings and a pathway that covers it's circumference. It is almost a rectangular shape laying on its side, except the eastern part has a small semi-circular detour that cuts into the rectangle where a clump of trees are diverted around.

As we were waiting for proceedings to start I recognised one of the guys who was warming up alongside us. A guy named Richard who I had spoken to online as part of the Facebook parkrun tourism group. We'd previously met at Pegwell Bay and got chatting after the event about our travels. Funny how these arbitrary decisions we make about what venues we are going to run combine with random coincidences.

From the finish line where we stored our coats and drink bottles we made our way across to the other side of the park avoiding the football pitches as directed by the signage. The start and finish are level with one another, polar opposites on the north and south sides of the park. We knew that the parkrun was a popular event as I had done my research so I tried to seed us in the middle of the pack as that is where I tend to finish.

The event was another that had pacer volunteers and to my delight there was a 27 minute pacer completing the set. But due to the congestion at the start and the number of participants out of position I couldn't get anywhere near him. As the run started I found myself quite bogged in and not moving with any great progress. I took a detour onto the grass and ran a hundred meter sprint and made my way up the field via the alternative route. There were others in a similar position and talking to Mark afterwards he too did the same thing.

It took me almost the entirety of the first lap to reach the 27 minute pacer and as I felt I was running well I decided to keep going as I was and see where it would take me. I couldn't quite see the 26 minute pacer ahead of me and wasn't going to try to catch him. Running as I was and keeping the pace going was my only goal at that point and the course was an absolute enabler of that strategy.

Not all parkruns are equal, you have those that are stunningly beautiful, trail runs, tarmac runs and those with multiple loops. Billericay the other week for example was 5 laps long, but each lap had interest and variety making each lap a challenge. Bromley didn't quite have that variety of interest so it definitely became more about concentration on the running itself which is definitely no bad thing at all.

That concentration paid off. Reaching the end of the course I could see the 26 minute pacer who was a short way in front. I had run my last two events under 27 minutes and beaten my parkrun time twice in succession. Being greedy I wanted a hattrick, I'm not going to lie. So I was massively chuffed to see my Strava time once I'd crossed the finish line with a determined sprint finale.

I finished in 282nd place in a time of 26:39 out of a field of 671 participants. I'd knocked off another 7 seconds from my parkrun PB and my parkrun journey continues to surpass my expectations. At some point I'll run my fastest ever time and will never again beat it. I just hope that days a while off yet!


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