Zuiderpark parkrun - event 130

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 running another parkrun event on a Monday morning whilst everyone else in the UK heads off to work.

Except we very nearly didn't make it.

The original plan was for the five of us to travel, and that plan was going really well until I checked us into the P&O website and added our Advanced Passenger Information. Oliver and Phoebe's passports expire at the end of July and with new EU rules around validity and expiry dates it meant that they weren't eligible to travel on their existing passports. Two months and one week remained on their passports from the date of our return to the UK, but EU rules now state that three months are necessary.

We initially decided that we had no choice but to cancel. We had paid out all of the big costs, the accommodation, the ferry crossings and two full days tickets at two European theme parks which were meant to incentivise the children into wanting to come on a double parkrun trip with me.

Oliver wasn't too bothered about missing out and would quite happily stay at home whilst we went away. He said he had revision to do anyway and would rather spend time doing that then watch me do parkrun but it was Phoebe we were sorry for.

After a night of discussion, bribery, compromises and deliberation we settled on a plan B. We'd stick to the original plan as we didn't want to lose the money on everything that had been paid for. Instead of Oliver and Phoebe coming along with us we would take our niece River with us as company for Hayden and we'd do another, similar trip later in the year just for Oliver and Phoebe. Germany do their special day in October and that would be a great opportunity for a very similar weekend of activity.

We were up and out the door at 4.30am on Friday morning to make our way down to Dover for our channel crossing with P&O. The plan was to stop at Plopsaland De Panne in Belgium a short 45 minute drive from Calais. We'd spend.the day there before heading into Holland afterwards and making our way to our accommodation for the weekend.

Plopsaland De Panne was a brilliant day out, and I highly recommend it for a family day out. The highlight was the fairly new Ride to Happiness which has put Plopsaland De Panne firmly on the map. It is the best rollercoaster I've ever been on and the rest of the park had more than enough to keep us entertained.

Hayden wasn't quite brave enough to make the most of the reduced height restrictions across their attractions in comparison to top UK based parks. But River went on everything, including the Ride to Happiness which not only had several inversions but had launches and vertical drops too.

By the time we'd made our way to our accommodation on the Friday night it had gone 8pm and the onsite restaurant was closing for the night. We'd booked a self-catering lodge on a camp site near to Efteling, which is another Theme Park and part of our weekend itinerary. So we had to hit the road again to find some sustenance and found a McDonalds a short drive away. 

By the time we'd eaten and found some snacks at a supermarket, plus a few beers and a bottle of wine we were knocking on 10pm and the long day had taken its toll. We had an early start in the morning and a drive up to The Hague needed as much beauty sleep as possible.

It took us around 90 minutes to drive to Zuiderpark in the morning. All night long the rain battered down on the roof of our cabin. We'd had a day of glorious warmth and sunshine at Plopsaland, but our campsite was evidently living under a cloud. So when we woke up in the morning we dressed to the weather conditions and all prepared ourselves accordingly.

But by the time we'd arrived in The Hague and had parked outside Zuiderpark ready for parkrun the weather couldn't have been anymore different. From grey skies we now had blue ones. For torrential rain we now had sunshine - the parkrun weather Gods had delivered for us once again.

I must admit to being slightly apprehensive upon arrival at Zuiderpark as I had been reading online Facebook groups around possible inundation of events with too many tourists. Parkrun isn't as established overseas as it is in the UK. So events with averages of 60 participants may not have the experience or knowledge of dealing with 200 people. Some events even have restrictions placed upon them by landowners and run the risk of cancellations of these limits are exceeded, accidentally or otherwise.

So when I saw the large crowds of people congregating by the start and the lines of people queuing for the toilets I did cross my fingers and hope for the best.

As it was, I need not have worried. The parkrun community are a well behaved group of people and look out for one another and appreciate volunteers for what they do. The whole atmosphere was jovial, fun and celebratory. I was evidently not the only potential alphabeteer. Indeed there were many who were running to complete their second or third alphabets - the real hardcore tourists!

River wanted to join in with me, but I'd already made the conscious decision to run the event as I wanted to enjoy the occasion, and th e park for what it was. As we were also at a parkrun on Monday I made her a promise that I'd run with her then, as under 11's need to be accompanied by an adult. 

Zuiderpark is made up of a large green space on the south side of The Hague, Zuider meaning south in Dutch. The central part of the park contains a number of different sporting venues and the course start and finish takes place right next to one of them. The main gymnastics arena which is clad in a distinctive reflective panelling and makes for some recognisable and iconic photos.

From the start the course is a simple two lap, clockwise route around the main pathway that loops around the park itself. The pathway is wide and firm tarmac underfoot. It makes for some good running conditions, particularly as the elevation is pancake flat making a very fast time very much possible.

After a long, long day the day before and an early start on the morning I wasn't expecting anything ground breaking. But after my obligatory two laps were completed I crossed the finish line in 154th place out of a field of 435 participants in a time of 27:07.

The route had been incredibly beautiful with vibrant green fields and trees alongside the wide tarmac path. We crossed canals and saw a lake. Saw play areas and football pitches, all of which would have been brilliant to run around on any day let alone one where the venue experienced it's highest number of participants.

Whilst in the queue to take a photo of the purple pop-up sign the man in front of me was looking around as if to find someone. I made some lame joke about a wife asking to save a place in the queue and not turning up. But he didn't respond to me. I realised that it was because of him being deaf and I felt terrible as I often do the same thing to people on a routine basis. He stared talking to the chap in front of him using sign language and I explained to Stephanie what had happened. 

Eventually we got talking and I apologised to him about what happened. He was with a group of three, and they were over from Ireland to do the Dutch Double just as we were. We talked about deafness and made other small talk and eventually said our goodbyes. 

Part one of our Dutch Double was complete and we still had lots to look forward to.