Adam Bird - My Personal Blog

On the 26th July 2025 I ran the Markshall Estate parkrun which was the 178th event held at the venue, my 246th parkrun and 164th different course I'd attended. As parkrun day fell on my birthday it was a chance to have a rare Saturday morning with my family in tow - although that didn't quite include Oliver who can't be convinced to get up early in the morning for anyone. So knowing that I'd have them joining me, and knowing that they'd not be willing to participate i had to encourage them by other means - breakfast. My normal planning schedule now had another criteria it needed to meet. Event number, unvisited and a stones throw away from aeam bacon sandwich. Top of the list that met all of those parameters was Markshall Estate, my 17th Essex venue and home to Mrs Salisbury's of Coggeshall Tearooms. Once again, another example of where the road to parkrun has taken me to places I would never have otherwise heard of, let alone visited. An hour from home, a rela...

On the 19th July 2025 I ran the Watermeadows parkrun which was the 252nd event held at the venue, my 245th parkrun and 163rd different course I'd attended. Visiting different parkruns has always been about keeping my running motivation going. I figure that if I keep going back to my home event week after week, I'd lose interest and miss a week which would lead to two weeks and before I know it parkrun becomes something I used to do. Tourism has always been about ticking things off, all the events in Kent, letters of the alphabet, closest parkruns to football grounds and arbitrary numbers. But on Saturday for the first time I visited a parkrun where it actually felt like it meant something, a personal homage to someone I loved deeply. My Nan and Grandad lived in Towcester when she was diagnosed with cancer, eventually succumbing to the disease in 2005. I remember vividly the last time I visited her, knowing she wasn't long to live and her expressing her sadness that she...

On the 12th July 2025 I ran the Old Deer Park parkrun which was the 696th event held at the venue, my 244th parkrun and 162nd different course I'd attended. I had previously arranged to visit Old Deer Park a couple of weeks back, but instead ended up at Reigate Priory. On the Old Deer Park Facebook group it stated that the course would be using its alternative route and so knowing what I knew about the original course I wasn't sure whether the alternative route would be an upgrade or not. Three laps, all on grass around the perimeter of some rugby pitches doesn't scream out and enjoyable run. But I should know by now not to judge a book by it's cover and that facebook comments/reviews are entirely subjective. Another factor, often overlooked when visiting particular parkrun venues is the weather conditions. On Saturday we were at the prakmof a third summer heatwave. The grass was yellow like straw and the dirt on the ground was dusty like a fine powder.  Worse still wa...

On the 5th July 2025 I ran the Battersea parkrun which was the 33rd event held at the venue, my 243rd parkrun and 161st different course I'd attended. When Battersea parkrun was announced I was grateful, a new parkrun event in easy commutable distance for me to visit and to tick off one of my lower event numbers i'd not yet visited. So for 32 weeks I had to wait patiently for my turn to visit was an immediately popular event. I remember reading about Battersea on Facebook groups, firstly why there wasn't a parkrun in Battersea park and then eventually the campaign and public consultation in order to organise one. Battersea is home to a multitude of running and other events so to not be home to a parkrun event for a long time seemed to be unusual. But where there is a well there is evidently always a way. My challenge this week, rather rarely in recent times was how to get there. Aside from a few events in London I've tended to drive in rather than use public transport....