Barking parkrun - event 533

On the 6th January 2024 I ran the Barking parkrun which was the 533rd event held at the venue, my 164th parkrun and 89th different course I'd attended.

At the time of writing there are 62 parkruns in the Greater London region, and by my calculations 76 inside of the M25. My aim is to try and complete both totals by the end of the year and after visiting Barking this morning I have 28 and 35 left respectively.

Once again I was joined by Foordy who is back home for an extended break from life in Canada. He said he wasn't feeling it this morning but went on to crack a new parkrun PB so I'm no longer trusting his pre-run psychology.

Barking parkun is two anti-clockwise laps around Barking park and is virtually pancake flat and entirely on tarmac paths. Starting in the centre of the park by the play area and cafe, participants meet at the finish line where there is a tarp of trust for people to leave their belongings as they run. Before the briefing takes place the run director invited everyone to walk to the start line which is just around the corner from the finish line. The briefing took place and off we went.

Heading north-wesr, around 400m to the farthest corner of the park the route swings around left and dips down hill ever so slightly to the edge of the lake which spans the northern border of the park. The route runs alongside the full length of the lake and you pass all of the unicorn pleasure boats moored up for the winter. On the left is the back of the cafe and the toilet block where the start/finish area sits on the other side.

Once the far side of the lake has been reached the path doubles back on itself 180 degrees following another path that runs parallel to the lake. This wide avenue is lined with tall trees either side of the path, typical of Victorian parks of the era. Whilst the trees were stark on this cold winters day in early January I can this part of the course looking great during the spring and autumn.

Participants follow the path to the end where they reach the side of the cafe and toilet block complex, the route turns right and heads south, deeper into the park.

From out of the trees and the formal gardens area of the park where also an impressive war memorial sits, (In fact looking at the memorial when we first arrived I noted the four 'Birds' who were listed and wondered as always whether they were distant relatives of some kind) the route reaches the wide open playing fields and follows the path that circumnavigates the south eastern perimeter.

At the farthest point on the southern corner the path turns 90 degrees left and follows the edge of the park in a north western direction. Like much of the course the path is long and straight allowing for a steady pace to be kept. At approximately half way along the edge of the park the path turns left again 90 degrees and the route follows the path that bisects the fields into two. The path here is also tree-kined either side and you can see the finish line up in the distance which is straight ahead. On the first lap you turn right just before the finish and complete the lap again for the second time. On the second approach it's full beans ahead for the glory 

On my second lap I took a look at my watch to see what time I was running at. It had just turned 26 minutes and I sniffed a possibility of a PB. Except the long straight was longer than I thought it was. It felt like I was running on the spot with the finish line appearing to get no closer. Eventually of course I crossed the line and stopped my watch 

I'd finished in 69th position out of a field of 197 participants in a time of 27:07. I hadn't quite managed to get close to a PB, but still managed to record my 11th fastest time and my fastest time of the year. Foordy managed an impressive 24:45, alright for someone who wasn't feeling it!