Harwich parkrun - event 483

On the 6th November 2025 I ran the Harwich parkrun which was the 483rd event held at the venue, my 264th parkrun and 181st different course I'd attended.

Gillingham are never likely to win the FA Cup, but that doesn't stop us Gillingham fans from dreaming the dream every season. This year however, as many years previously the dream lasted momentarily as we were knocked out in round one away to Newport County.

Gillingham were not the only supporters who had their hopes dashed, so did fans of Colchester United. And seeing as Colchester and Gillingham both had a free Saturday the officials of both clubs agreed to bring the match, which was scheduled in the midweek forward by a few days. And not only that, but to retain the television coverage by playing the game at the earlier time of twelve o'clock (instead of the traditional time of 3pm).

This arrangement had plenty of benefits, with sound rationale. But for me it meant all sorts of changes and rearrangements needed to happen as whatever parkrun event I had planned needed to be changed to account for the football.

Originally I was scheduled to visit Basingstoke. But with plenty of parkruns in and around the Colchester area it made more logistical sense to head that direction and ensure a timely arrival at the ground in time for kick-off.

After plenty of deliberation I opted for Harwich. I do enjoy a coastal event and particularly enjoy a coastal event in December when the tempeyis low and the weather buds are high. Don't ask me why, I just do. I'm a bit mad like that.

Last week at Shrewsbury parkrun I added myself and Hayden to the volunteer roster and we tailwalked the course. I decided that rather than moan at Hayden for an hour encouraging him to rest n, I'd just walk with him instead. As I'm walking, we may as well do a job whilst are at it 

With that in mind, looking at the volunteer roster in the middle of the week, I noted that nobody had stepped forward to do the park-walker role. So mine and Hayden's names was duly added.

I'd never completed the park-walker role, but it's purpose is to encourage anyone who might feel intimidated about running, or not feeling fast enough to participate. I really like the sentiment, but on the day it was Hayden and I a few yards up the road from the tail-walker and any other participant who was walking were walking much faster than Hayden and I went couldn't keep up!

The course started in Cliff Park on the eastern end of Dovercourt beach. It's a fairly small space, with a bandstand and some toilet facilities. The event starts with a small lap of part of the park before following the path and drooping down onto the promenade.

Majority of the course takes part on the promenade and is an out-and-back route taking out all the way to the far western end of the prom. The surfaces here are good, all firm concrete but there are a few bumps as the paths rise up to meet the roads, and in places pebbles from the beach below have been swept up onto the concrete.

On the way out, the sea to the left, grass banks and colourful beachhuts to your right with a firm wind into the face. I've got a nice photograph of Hayden with his hair all windswept and blowing vertically upwards. Of course on the way back, everything is flipped around with the sea to the right and the wind giving you an assist all the way home.

Once the out-and-back section has been successfully navigated, it's a simple case of running back up the short ramp and back tmingo the park, following the path back around to the bandstand where the finish line awaits.

I finished in 102nd place out of a field of 103 participants in a time of 51:32. Whilst time isn't really important when in a volunteering role such as this. It was almost 15 minutes quicker this week than last week in Shrewsbury. Those hills made a bit of a difference after all!