Brockwell parkrun - event 598

On the 10th August 2024 I ran the Brockwell parkrun which was the 598th event held at the venue, my 196th parkrun and 118th different course I'd attended.

These pages include many a tale about last minute changes of venue and evolving weekend plans, but here's perhaps the latest last minute change of them all.

Driving to Tooting Common I decided to leave earlier than normal on account of their being a small car park and wanted to increase my chances of getting a spot. Everything was going swimmingly until I reached the south circular and was diverted by a police car. Further down the road behind him was a crashed vehicle, most of the front missing and facing sideways spanning two-lanes. How on earth they managed to do that on a 30mph stretch of road I'll never know.

But either way, I had to make a detour via the side streets along with all the other early morning traffic and that's where things started to go wrong. Either not moving or moving along at a snails pace isn't great when you have a time constraint and as the minutes passed by my anxiety levels grew. I'd missed the 8:30 arrival time and was heading towards 8:50 which would be far too late for the carpark at Tooting Common and wouldn't leave me with much time to find an alternative space on the nearby streets so I flung open my 5k app to see if there was any closer alternatives.

From where I was stuck in traffic there were quite a few alternatives. Catford and Hilly Fields were closed by, as was Sutcliffe if I could turn myself around. Dulwich and Peckham Rye were also well within the timeframe I had along with Crysta. Palace but I'd.alreasy visited all of those just mentioned. Except for Brockwell, that was well within reach and would be a new course for me, fulfilling all my Saturday morning criteria!

No sooner had I put the destination postcode in my phone, the end of the traffic jam had been reached. The rest of the journey was plain sailing and I ended up in one of the last remaining spaces at the carpark in Brockwell park, paying just 40p for the privilege of parking there.

I had hoped to combine a trip to Brockwell parkrun with a trip to the lido that's situated just inside of the park gates. It's one of last remaining Victorian open air lidos of it's kind and well worth a visit. But as I wasn't going to be able to visit I was able to admire the building from the outside and you can catch glimpses of the pool itself from walking around the perimeter through the windows 

The start of the event takes place on the western side of the lido. Behind a line of trees is a what I can only describe as wasteland. A flat, dusty expanse of crushed stone allies volunteers and participants to gather for the briefings without cogging up and blocking the main park pathways. Once the formalities are completed participants make their way to the start line on the path heading north towards the top of the park.

All my prior research this week was around Tooting Common and I'd prepared myself for three laps of congestions on a nice and flat parkrun. Upon arrival at Brockwell park I knew my morning was going to coping with some very different characteristics. Brockwell park is hilly!

The course is described as two laps, but both laps are not identical. From the start, participants run north and continue around the park in an anti-clockwise direction following the perimeter path. Initially the route is flat, but begins to rise gradually along the top part of the course. The ascent is very gradual so visually you don't realise your are going uphill, but your legs are painting a different picture.

Eventually the course flattens out and there follows a long descent which is much more noticeable (and enjoyable!) and takes you all the way around the western end of the park. The avenues are tree-lined, so plenty of shade in majority of places which on days like Saturday is very welcome.

Once the course reaches the lido again, instead of continuing onwards to the start, the route takes a left to begin the second lap. This lap is shorter, but more challenging as it goes up and over the hill rather than around it. Fortunately the gradient isn't particularly sharp, but does provide a good challenge and there's a sense of relief at the top. Once conquered, the route dips down again and picks up the perimeter path from the first lap.

Another loop around the perimeter of the park and back to the lido where the finish awaits alongside the trees of the start. All of the barcode scanner takes place the other side of the treeline on the dusty wasteland that seems like it was made perfectly for parkrun before and after activites.

I finished in 260th place out of a field of 397 participants in a time of 29:22. The official classification has me two places higher than the token I was given, which I'm not bothered by. In fact, it's been quite a blessing as the .22 gave me another stopwatch bingo number, meaning I've only got one number left to complete the challenge!

I enjoyed Brockwell parkrun a lot. Not sure if it was to do with the overall younger vibe, or the fact that I arrived last minute with much less information behind me - that the day felt more impromptu. But one I'll have to go back to and with my swimming trunks.

Up next, a couple of weeks in the North West!