Adam Bird - My Personal Blog

On the 25th May 2024 I ran the Lee-on-the-Solent parkrun which was the 405th event held at the venue, my 185th parkrun and 108th different course I'd attended. After completing my alphabet of parkrun challenge I am now relatively unburdened by where I visit now on a Saturday morning. There are opportunities if I wanted to chasing multiple alphabet's but this is probably a step too far. I mean it would be amazing to visit Japan, Australia and New Zealand in a hunt for parkruns beginning with Y, but not sure my bank balance or long suffering wife would agree. So my alternative goals now remain as completion of particular geographic areas, Greater London and South East are the first two and cover off majority of the events that I have visited. So when Foordy tells me he wants to run at another parkrun event by the sea I had to weigh up my options. I wanted to avoid Essex and anywhere via the M25 as I'm using Mum and Dad's car still and have probably racked up a fair bill ...

On the 20th May 2024 I ran the Karpendonkse Plas parkrun which was the 145th event held at the venue, my 184th parkrun and 107th different course I'd attended. The sole purpose of our visit to the Netherlands was to tick off the Z and to complete the parkrun alphabet. The fact that there was an opportunity to run another parkrun on the same weekend was a complete bonus. So therefore I wasn't actually that fussed which event we headed to on the Monday. All I knew was that we were staying near Efteling and we needed to head south at some point after the event to make our way home. Our choice was made somewhat easier with the declarations made by the events themselves. Just because events are able to host special days, doesn't mean that all of them do. It depends on the permissions provided by the land owner, or volunteer appetite. As it was, there were closer events to our accommodation, but neither of them were running on the Monday. The nearest and most practical event was...

On the 18th May 2024 I ran the Zuiderpark parkrun which was the 130th event held at the venue, my 183rd parkrun and 106th different course I'd attended. Last March I ran the York parkrun which marked the completion of the UK parkrun alphabet. There are no parkruns beginning with X anywhere in the world and none starting with a Z here in the UK. So to complete the (non)official parkrun alphabet I'd need to travel overseas to collect the full set. Every country that hosts a parkrun event is allowed to host a special day event which takes place outside of the standard Saturday morning routine. Here in the UK our special day is New Years Day, whilst Poland for example hosts theirs on Boxing Day. Holland, which has three events beginning with Z holds theirs in May on the Whitsun Bank Holiday. Which is why I found myself onboard a Calais bound ferry enroute to The Hague to tick off, at long last the final letter missing from my parkrun alphabet and enjoy the unique privilege of runn...

On the 11th May 2024 I ran the Wickford Memorial parkrun which was the 150th event held at the venue, my 182nd parkrun and 105th different course I'd attended. Another weekend and another adaptation to the parkrun schedule. I had planned to attend South Oxley near Watford to eat away at the wider list of events inside the M25. But Foordy had to be back for 10:30 and so I had to pick an event a little closer to home. Without doing a revisit that challenge is a little easier said than done, but Wickford Memorial was second closest on the list of Nearest Events Not Done Yet and with the course offering a flatter option Vs Hadleigh in first place, a decision was made. In the lead up to any parkrun event I subscribe to the event Facebook page to keep an eye out on any up and coming potential cancellations or news. On Thursday evening the event posted that this week would be packets week and that all positions had been filled. The pages of this blog are littered with tales of me Vs a pa...

On the 4th May 2024 I ran the Crystal Palace parkrun which was the 619th event held at the venue, my 181st parkrun and 104th different course I'd attended. My 2024 parkrun goal was to complete all of the parkruns inside the M25, but having Foordy home and enjoying touristing with me I've had to change plans slightly to accommodate venues he wishes to visit alongside those of my own. Previous week's visits to Seaford Beach and The Leas were Foordys picks in an attempt to break his PB record which he managed to do both times. But45 this week was listed as Crystal Palace in the diary and so that's where we headed for event number 46 out of the listed 76 that I've got written down as located inside the M25. There is a slightly shorter list of 62 events, which are allocated in Greater London and will officially give you a LonDone status, but all of the events inside the M25 feels more complete and aesthetically pleasing when viewed on a map. It's also worth a remind...