Harrow Lodge parkrun - event 469
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 London where the area is congested and full of roads, houses and concrete and yet in the middle of a park surrounded by trees, greenery and nature you leave that world behind and inhabit a completely new one.
We parked at the carpark as directed on the course description page, which is fairly small so I'd suggest arriving early. We pulled up at 8:30 and there didn't appear to be a huge amount of space left. But carpark marshalls were on hand and squeezed much more than expected in. If you don't have any luck, there is another car park at the opposite end of the park, but it will be a good ten to fifteen minute walk away from the start which was directly next to the car park we were in.
The centre of the park is dominated by a lake which had all of the things you would expect to see on a suburban park lake, with swans, ducks, paddle boats and looked quite resplendent under the late September morning sun.The course uses the lake too as it's focal point which meant that for majority of the event it was pretty much always in view.
Harrow Lodge parkrun is a single lap event, which starts from the aforementioned carpark and skirts the southern perimeter of the park eastwards in a clockwise direction. Slightly uphill the first section is a long straight slog to the first turn which helps with crowd control as the wide open expanse of space reduces any chance of a bottleneck and allows for a speedy getaway.
Running past football pitches on the right hand side the first corner comes up and the ground changes from grass to tarmac, turning right and following the eastern perimeter of the park from south to north. This change in ground underfoot becomes a common theme as the course progresses with constant transitions between grass, tarmac and trail paths. I don't think I've ran at an event before where the ground changes so often and I found it quite refreshing. I'd imagine in winter months that the course would be fairly punishing and mostly full of mud. But we didn't have that handicap, so could enjoy the hard ground whilst it lasts.
From the north, the course turns right again and starts to head west to the far opposite end of the park. This route isn't straight or direct, it's a winding, meandering, gently undulating route full of character and difference. Every corner brings a new view and/or a new surface and you almost want to stop and walk, enjoy it and take it all in.
It goes from single path tracks through trees to wide tarmac paths and open grassland in quick succession. Not just all the way out to the east, but again when you come back after reaching the far Eastern side of the park. The route heads back west after turning around and covers the northern side of the lake.
Once the end of the lake has been reached, the path follows it around anti-clockwise until it reaches the southern shore and then once back on the grass it's a case of following it back for a half a kilometre home to the finishing funnel.
After you've reached a line of trees the ground starts to dip downwards and so there's a glorious opportunity for a downward sprint finish, which I didn't quite have the energy or the competition around me to make the most of.
I finished in 54th place out of a field of 158 participants in a time of 27:44. Both George and Reaso finished 90 seconds up the road, so I was well pleased with my time considering the tricky nature of the course. Typically I started off too fast and led the way between us for the first kilometer. George soon overtook me and there was no way on earth I was catching up with him after that!
Chris and Linda Cowell were recognised as being the first people ever to record 100 different parkrun venues and so the achievement for reaching the same milestone sees people enter the 'Cowell' club. There are also sub-milestones for a quarter, half and three-quarters which I'm now a lucky member of.
Here's the full list.
1 Great Lines
2 Bexley
3 Hastings
4 Shorne Woods
5 Cyclopark
6 Maidstone
7 Dartford Heath
8 Ashford
9 Bear Creek Greenbelt
10 Malling
11 Uckfield
12 Dartford
13 Foots Cray Meadows
14 Sittingbourne
15 Orpington
16 Queen Elizabeth
17 Greenwich
18 Mote Park
19 Swanley
20 Lullingstone
21 Warszawa-Praga
22 Hoblingwell
23 Thurrock
24 Jersey Farm
25 Monsal Trail
26 Squerryes Winery
27 East Grinstead
28 Pegwell Bay
29 Nonsuch
30 Folkestone
31 Kingdom
32 The Leas
33 Walmer and Deal Seafront
34 Bushy Park
35 Charlton
36 Bedgebury Pinetum
37 Canterbury
38 Royal Tunbridge Wells
39 Whitstable
40 Tonbridge
41 Margate
42 Victoria Dock
43 Billericay
44 Sutcliffe
45 Mile End
46 Bromley
47 Peckham Rye
48 Lordship Recreation Ground
49 Southwark
50 York
51 Raphael
52 Hackney Marshes
53 Whinlatter Forest
54 South Norwood
55 Ifield Mill Pond
56 Milton Keynes
57 Roundshaw Downs
58 Dunstable Downs
59 Bedfont Lakes
60 Leavesden Country
61 Thames Path, Woolwich
62 Bethlem Royal Hospital
63 Bevendean Down
64 Canons Park
65 Riddlesdown
66 Aldenham
67 Edenbrook Country
68 Stockley Country
69 Eastbourne
70 Woodbank
71 Southall
72 Mole Valley
73 Alton Water
74 Banstead Woods
75 Harrow Lodge
Comments