Adam Bird - My Personal Blog

On the 30th March 2024 I ran the Gunpowder parkrun which was the 573rd event held at the venue, my 176th parkrun and 100th different course I'd attended. If you'd have said to me in 2014 after my first parkrun that I'd do it again another 175 times, and that I'd run at 100 different parkrun venues I would have laughed at you. The truth was, I didn't like running and I still can't say that I do all these runs later! There's a secret sauce in the parkrun enterprise that keeps me coming back and whatever it is, whether it's the accessible nature of the event - that irrespective of ability everyone is welcome, or the fact that the volunteers are so helpful and supportive. For my 100th different parkrun venue I wanted to celebrate by running at an iconic venue and/or running with as many friends and family as possible. Due to the Easter Weekend and other plans coming up we wasn't able to get to an iconic venue, think Severn Bridge, Woolacombe Dunes or Fo...

On the 23rd March 2024 I ran the Pymmes parkrun which was the 604th event held at the venue, my 175th parkrun and 99th different course I'd attended. There are 62 parkruns in the Greater London area, and visiting them all is arbitrarily known as LonDone. If you widen that out a little bit further to include all parkrun events inside the M25 you'd need to attend 76 parkrun events and you'll get to rightfully claim LonDone+ status. Which is why I found myself in North London, a stones throw from Tottenham Hotspur Football Club and their impressive new stadium at White Hart Lane. In nearby Pymmes park to tick off my 36th Greater London event, and 44ti picked h out of 76 inside the M25. Foordy said that he wanted to visit somewhere quick and fast. I checked my planner and ruled out the scheduled event at Lloyd on the basis of previous research and the 'challenging' reputation of the course. And once I'd read the Pymmes course description which used words such as ...

On the 16th March 2024 I ran the Beckton parkrun which was the 548th event held at the venue, my 174th parkrun and 98th different course I'd attended. The beauty of parkrun tourism is seeing places that you'd never normally see by any other means. By visiting and trying to visit all of the parkruns inside the M25 you are guaranteed to see parts of London you'd never normally visit outside of the key tourist areas. Like Beckton for example, just a stones throw from the London ExCel centre. London has a rich variety of parkrun events, some vastly more popular than others.The two closest events to Beckton are Victoria Dock and Thames Path Woolwich which average 200 and 250 participants each week respectively where as Beckton is a much smaller event with and average of only 64. It's nice to visit a smaller event as there is much more of an intimate, community feel about it. The first timers meeting and race brief at Beckton were taken at the same time for example, and the ...

On the 9th March 2024 I ran the Tilgate parkrun which was the 550th event held at the venue, my 173rd parkrun and 97th different course I'd attended. There are two parkruns in Crawley, Tilgate and Ifield Mill Pond . Like many alphabet chasers I visited the latter in search for a rare 'I' event and would have missed out on Tilgate had it not been for geography and the fact that Crawley isn't that far and quite accessible from home. I also had another reason for wanting to visit the event, which was to say hello and catch up with a former James Villa Holidays colleague who like me has taken up running since our time ended at the company. He is a regular runner at Tilgate and ahead of my visit I slid into his DMs to get the lowdown on what to expect. He reiterated advice which I'd already learnt in that the course was a beautiful one around a lake, but he warned me of 'chevron' hill, a short sharp beast that was somewhat of a nemesis to him. Tilgate parkrun ge...

On the 2nd March 2024 I ran the Heaton Park parkrun which was the 624th event held at the venue, my 172nd parkrun and 96th different course I'd attended. This parkrun touristing lark is hard work. Planning where to run each week and what number event is exhausting. Adding the challenge of combining it with football adds a whole new level of complexity, and budget! Stephanie had planned a trip to Portugal this weekend with my sister, my nieces and some of my female cousins to celebrate my cousin Bethany turning 30. I was due to pick up all Stephanie's parenting commitments on Saturday morning and so my usual parkrun trip was due to take a back seat. I'm very lucky to have Stephanie do the Saturday routine. Hayden and Phoebe have football and performing arts clubs that are reasonably close to one another and timings currently work quite nicely. I'm aware that if the situation was different or changes then my parkrunning ambitions will need to be scaled back accordingly. ...