Stockley Country parkrun - event 28

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 make it after all. But as I was already enroute I carried on going and kept to the planned agenda.

I had planned to visit Stockley Country parkrun earlier in the year for event number 4, but changed it at the last minute due to Mark wanting to come along but not wanting to travel quite so far. I am glad that things turned out the way they had as in the earlier days of the events history when the novelty was still warm the event managed to attract a fair sized gathering. But as the event has gone on the field has gotten smaller and on a course like this, the lower the numbers the better.

Upon arrival, parking at the recommended parking facility on the events course details page you are directed to follow the yellow signs towards the start. Participants meet on the main football pitch a short walk away from the car park. Except that the football pitch, despite still having two goals erected at either end had been over taken by the summer growth. The grass was long, shin deep and a sunbaked yellow. It would have been great fun watching a match take place on it that's for sure. Not sure anyone would get very far, but it would be hilarious watching!

The pre-run briefing takes place here and afterwards the entire field is walked to the start line which is a short five minute walk away via part of the course itself. There is a lovely straight tree lined path that forms the central spine of the course and participants walk along it before turning left at the end and the start line is just a short way ahead.

From the start line participants follow the lose gravelled pathway in an anti-clockwise direction and after a few twists and turns you come out alongside the football pitch where the meeting place happens. The finish funnel is also here, but on the first mini-lap you continue past the finish funnel and follow the path around the the football pitch until you reach the straight tree-lined avenue for the second time. At the end, instead of turning left participants take a right hand hand turn and start the first of two long laps which take you around the perimeter of Stockley Country park and part of a golf-club, skirting one of the tees.

This part of the course offers the most challenge to participants as it starts to run uphill. It's a steady climb, not a significant one but definitely notable, particularly on the second lap. But shortly after the path reaches the top you are rewarded with a steeper down hill section which I found rather quite fun as always.

The two longer laps are tree-lined for the whole duration pretty much and the paths underfoot were of the loose gravel variety meaning that I'd imagine it would be fairly manageable in the winter months albeit not without mud completely.

Each lap comes back out by the football pitch, rejoining the path that leads to the tree-line avenue for the third and fourth time of asking. This area is actually a really lovely place to run and so it didn't feel repetitive in the slightest. In fact it was quite welcoming each time it came around and I'd imagine it would look lovely in the autumn months.

At the fourth time of asking, instead of turning right participants take a right again, through the start line and follow the path around to the other side of the football pitch where the finish funnel sits a little off-path onto the grass.

I finished in 30th position out of a field of 86 participants in a time of 27:54. As mentioned above, the event has now plateaued in terms of visitor numbers and the event is all the better for it. The paths are quite narrow in places and so overtaking can be a bit of a challenge. There were also a number of locals using the park for their own recreational purposes and parkrunners don't get any preferential treatment over other park users (rightly so), which did mean that in one or two places it became a little congested. But overall this was a lovely event with a challenging course through some lovely areas of countryside right next to Heathrow airport which you'd never have guessed if you didn't know it was there.