Adam Bird - My Personal Blog

On the 30th March 2024 I ran the Gunpowder parkrun which was the 573rd event held at the venue, my 176th parkrun and 100th different course I'd attended. If you'd have said to me in 2014 after my first parkrun that I'd do it again another 175 times, and that I'd run at 100 different parkrun venues I would have laughed at you. The truth was, I didn't like running and I still can't say that I do all these runs later! There's a secret sauce in the parkrun enterprise that keeps me coming back and whatever it is, whether it's the accessible nature of the event - that irrespective of ability everyone is welcome, or the fact that the volunteers are so helpful and supportive. For my 100th different parkrun venue I wanted to celebrate by running at an iconic venue and/or running with as many friends and family as possible. Due to the Easter Weekend and other plans coming up we wasn't able to get to an iconic venue, think Severn Bridge, Woolacombe Dunes or Fo...

On the 23rd March 2024 I ran the Pymmes parkrun which was the 604th event held at the venue, my 175th parkrun and 99th different course I'd attended. There are 62 parkruns in the Greater London area, and visiting them all is arbitrarily known as LonDone. If you widen that out a little bit further to include all parkrun events inside the M25 you'd need to attend 76 parkrun events and you'll get to rightfully claim LonDone+ status. Which is why I found myself in North London, a stones throw from Tottenham Hotspur Football Club and their impressive new stadium at White Hart Lane. In nearby Pymmes park to tick off my 36th Greater London event, and 44ti picked h out of 76 inside the M25. Foordy said that he wanted to visit somewhere quick and fast. I checked my planner and ruled out the scheduled event at Lloyd on the basis of previous research and the 'challenging' reputation of the course. And once I'd read the Pymmes course description which used words such as ...

On the 16th March 2024 I ran the Beckton parkrun which was the 548th event held at the venue, my 174th parkrun and 98th different course I'd attended. The beauty of parkrun tourism is seeing places that you'd never normally see by any other means. By visiting and trying to visit all of the parkruns inside the M25 you are guaranteed to see parts of London you'd never normally visit outside of the key tourist areas. Like Beckton for example, just a stones throw from the London ExCel centre. London has a rich variety of parkrun events, some vastly more popular than others.The two closest events to Beckton are Victoria Dock and Thames Path Woolwich which average 200 and 250 participants each week respectively where as Beckton is a much smaller event with and average of only 64. It's nice to visit a smaller event as there is much more of an intimate, community feel about it. The first timers meeting and race brief at Beckton were taken at the same time for example, and the ...

On the 9th March 2024 I ran the Tilgate parkrun which was the 550th event held at the venue, my 173rd parkrun and 97th different course I'd attended. There are two parkruns in Crawley, Tilgate and Ifield Mill Pond . Like many alphabet chasers I visited the latter in search for a rare 'I' event and would have missed out on Tilgate had it not been for geography and the fact that Crawley isn't that far and quite accessible from home. I also had another reason for wanting to visit the event, which was to say hello and catch up with a former James Villa Holidays colleague who like me has taken up running since our time ended at the company. He is a regular runner at Tilgate and ahead of my visit I slid into his DMs to get the lowdown on what to expect. He reiterated advice which I'd already learnt in that the course was a beautiful one around a lake, but he warned me of 'chevron' hill, a short sharp beast that was somewhat of a nemesis to him. Tilgate parkrun ge...

On the 2nd March 2024 I ran the Heaton Park parkrun which was the 624th event held at the venue, my 172nd parkrun and 96th different course I'd attended. This parkrun touristing lark is hard work. Planning where to run each week and what number event is exhausting. Adding the challenge of combining it with football adds a whole new level of complexity, and budget! Stephanie had planned a trip to Portugal this weekend with my sister, my nieces and some of my female cousins to celebrate my cousin Bethany turning 30. I was due to pick up all Stephanie's parenting commitments on Saturday morning and so my usual parkrun trip was due to take a back seat. I'm very lucky to have Stephanie do the Saturday routine. Hayden and Phoebe have football and performing arts clubs that are reasonably close to one another and timings currently work quite nicely. I'm aware that if the situation was different or changes then my parkrunning ambitions will need to be scaled back accordingly. ...

On the 24th February 2024 I ran the Dover Waterfront parkrun which was the 24th event held at the venue, my 171st parkrun and 95th different course I'd attended. In December 2022 I ran the Margate parkrun , earning myself 'A total Kent' status which is given informally to anyone who runs all of the parkrun events in Kent. At the time this would have been a full set of 24, but on the 9th September 2023 a 25th event was added when Dover waterfront ran their inaugural event. I could of course visited Dover sooner and reclaimed my unofficial title already. But I've been saving my visit to coincide with an event number I'd not ran at yet to try and fill gaps in my 'Wilson Index' (another phrase/unofficial challenge from the parkrun tourist lexicon).  Once again I was joined by the two Andrew's who have unwittingly become parkrun tourists recently, albeit without wanting to self-identity with that label. I'll keep calling them my running companions until ...

On the 17th February 2024 I ran the Southend parkrun which was the 529th event held at the venue, my 170th parkrun and 94th different course I'd attended. All week leading up to parkrunday I'd planned to visit Oak Hill parkrun, for what feels like the fifth attempt. Everytime I add it to the planner something crops up and I don't end up making it and run elsewhere instead. This week was no exception. The message arrived on my phone Friday morning. 'Can we run Leigh-on-Sea or Southend?'. It was from my friend Foordy and it was too random a request to be random. I acquiesced and said that Southend wouldn't be a problem. But it wasn't until later in the day that I received a follow-up message explaining the reason behind it. Foordy needed a new pair of swimming goggles and unlike most normal people, avoided Amazon and wanted to hit the closest swimming Google shop to home... Which happened to be in Leigh-on-Sea. It could have been a lot further I suppose! And ...

On the 10th February 2024 I ran the Wollaton Hall parkrun which was the 128th event held at the venue, my 169th parkrun and 93rd different course I'd attended. Last week I revisited Malling parkrun on request of the two Andrew's who are enjoying the parkrun experience but haven't quite taken to touring in the same way as I have. Despite having a posse of pacers I wasn't able to get anywhere near to last year's PB, although I suspect the heavy night of alcohol the night before was partly to blame. I didn't mind the revisit as I knew I had this weekend coming up and it's been a weekend that I've looked forward to now for some time. Last September a colleague in my department arranged a volunteering day at Wollaton Hall which involved us spending an afternoon in the walled garden and doing chores around the place to try and maintain it's upkeep. As part of the day we had a guided tour of the house, including walking out around the rooftop and deep unde...

On the 27th January 2024 I ran the Brentwood parkrun which was the 377th event held at the venue, my 167th parkrun and 92nd different course I'd attended. It's now part of my weekly routine, rewriting my parkrun planner on the basis of my mate Foordy and his last minute decision making. I've planned my parkrun schedule out well in advance and there are routine changes depending upon cancellations or last minute things that crop up. But invariably I'll stick to a plan. Foordy doesn't and he likes to live a day at a time. Nobody answered my weekly call to arms and so I assumed I'd be running by myself at the as planned Crystal Palace event. Foordy was due to head down to Folkestone with Will and Reaso and so I was very much looking forward to the challenge. But I got a text message on Friday morning from Foordy saying that he and Reaso were available on Saturday morning after all and would be up for a parkrun, albeit one a bit closer than Crystal Palace.  Challen...

On the 20th January 2024 I ran the Cassiobury parkrun which was the 404th event held at the venue, my 166th parkrun and 91st different course I'd attended. Having enjoyed the last few weeks with running company having Foordy join me on my parkrun fix, it was time for me to go it alone again. Whilst Foordy is still over in the UK he wasn't able to attend this week due to issues with his knee and there's no reason to aggrivate anything further just for the sake of it. Since Foordy has been back, the runs that we've done have tended to be flat, and mostly tarmac so this week I was going to suggest an off road course with a few hills thrown in for good measure. Ideally we'd do Lullingstone again, but with wanting to keep up this streak of new courses I pencilled in Brentwood which looks.to be a great challenge. Nevertheless it will.wait for another day as Foordy was unavailable. My original plan was to visit Cassiobury with the goal of ticking off another of the parkru...

On the 13th January 2024 I ran the Hove Promenade parkrun which was the 357th event held at the venue, my 165th parkrun and 90th different course I'd attended. My Saturday had looked very different at the beginning of the week. I had planned to travel north to watch Gillingham Vs Accrington Stanley, as I've still got three grounds in league two I've not visited with Accrington being one of them. The plan was to make an early start and stop off in Birmingham and run a parkrun with easy access of the M6. But Hayden received an invitation to a birthday party and accepted the better offer. I contemplated travelling north by myself, but it's a long way and there will hopefully be other opportunities. Plan B was to tick another event off inside the M25, but when I shared the details with Foordy who is still home at the moment he suggested an alternative. He wanted to run by the sea and wondered if there was anything in Brighton that fulfilled his criteria. Indeed there was a...

On the 6th January 2024 I ran the Barking parkrun which was the 533rd event held at the venue, my 164th parkrun and 89th different course I'd attended. At the time of writing there are 62 parkruns in the Greater London region, and by my calculations 76 inside of the M25. My aim is to try and complete both totals by the end of the year and after visiting Barking this morning I have 28 and 35 left respectively. Once again I was joined by Foordy who is back home for an extended break from life in Canada. He said he wasn't feeling it this morning but went on to crack a new parkrun PB so I'm no longer trusting his pre-run psychology. Barking parkun is two anti-clockwise laps around Barking park and is virtually pancake flat and entirely on tarmac paths. Starting in the centre of the park by the play area and cafe, participants meet at the finish line where there is a tarp of trust for people to leave their belongings as they run. Before the briefing takes place the run director...

On the 1st January 2024 I ran the Catford parkrun which was the 225th event held at the venue, my 163rd parkrun and 88th different course I'd attended. The hardest parkrun of the year is the special event held on New Year's Day. Getting up out of bed after the night before and having to moderate how much you can drink (unless your not driving) all adds to the challenge. The last thing you need after all of that is a challenging course.  Being New Years Day I was limited in which event I could attend. Not every course hosts a special event on New Year's Day and with two years worth of touristing under my belt the closest event to me that I've not completed yet is getting ever further away. I contemplated re-running Bexleyheath which was my very first tourist venue (before touristing was a thing), but I figured Catford wasn't that much further up the road so why not visit their instead. I was joined again by Foordy who is having an extended stay at home. He and his m...

On the 30th December 2023 I ran the Basildon parkrun which was the 443th event held at the venue, my 162nd parkrun and 87th different course I'd attended. Before we get onto my trip over to Essex, there's the small matter of Christmas Day and my return visit to the Great Lines where I ran for the 16th time and has now become customary on Christmas Day. I finished in 139th position out of a field of 374 participants in a time of 28:31. My last three visits have all finished within times just 8 seconds apart - Mr Consistency! Last year I kept to local events and paused the tourism game over Christmas, but with a long streak collected I wanted to keep up the momentum so chose to start working through my list of nearest events not done yet. Top of the pile was Basildon and so that's where I found myself on the last parkrun day of the year. Also, seeing as it was Christmas my friend Foordy is home for the festive period and he messaged me saying he'd come along again with m...

On the 23rd December 2023 I ran the Chalkwell Beach parkrun which was the 127th event held at the venue, my 160th parkrun and 86th different course I'd attended. Last year I completed my last parkrun before Christmas with a trip to the seaside and ran Margate parkrun. This year I decided to follow suit and complete another coastal event in the hope that they'd be big raging winds and rain to do battle with. Strange guy aren't I?! I chose to run at Chalkwell Beach which is just to the east of Southend pier. I'd been there plenty of times before, using part of the course for parking when on a day trip to Southend.  The start is approximately 3 kilometres further east along the coast and there is plenty of places to park up before the event. The course is a simple and straightforward one. An out and back towards the pier. It is evidently a popular event with a growing number of people arriving before the start full of Christmas cheer with many dressed up as Santa, elf...

On the 16th December 2023 I ran the Sunny Hill parkrun which was the 174th event held at the venue, my 159th parkrun and 85th different course I'd attended. Having suffered a little bit with my leg at last week's parkrun I decided to take friends and family advice and have a rest. Every evening I sat with an icepack on my thigh and missed my usual Wednesday wellbeing run in the hope that I'd not suffer or make worse whatever it was that was affecting me. I also considered my choice of venue, instead of Sunny Hill I thought I'd look to run somewhere a little flatter. I'm also borrowing Mum and Dads car whilst they are away travelling so I've got easy access to a reliable transport that I can use to travel to further away venues whilst the car is in my care. But after a couple of weeks of unplanned, last minute changes I decided to stick to the script and tackle whatever Sunny Hill had in store for me. Last week, I bemoaned the direction instructions provided by ...

On the 9th December 2023 I ran the Hockley Woods parkrun which was the 384th event held at the venue, my 158th parkrun and 84th different course I'd attended. These pages of tales of parkrun tourism are littered with revised plans, changes of venues, weather related disruptions and generally things not going as expected. This weekend was probably the greatest example of all of those things happening at once. I'd originally scheduled a visit to Sunny Hill parkrun, but Stephanie said that she thought the car was making funny noises so I changed to Highbury Fields as I could visit quite easily by train. We are borrowing my mum and dad's car for a period of time whilst they go on their travels starting this week, so our car issues will temporarily go away whilst we have two cars for the duration of that period. My niece Layla was off Saturday and wanted to come along with me, which was great - the more the merrier. However, on Thursday she asked me if she could give it a miss ...

On the 2nd December 2023 I ran the Valentines parkrun which was the 599th event held at the venue, my 157th parkrun and 83rd different course I'd attended. Last week I skipped the tourist trail again. Twice in three weeks I revisited a previously attended event and twice in three weeks I set a new course PB. Last weekend was a revisit to Mote Park parkrun for event number 74. I first visited for event number three, struggled in the heat and on the hills and set a time of 30:18. In much cooler temperatures and 18 months of psrkrunning behind me I set a new time of 27:59 which greatly exceeded my expectations. But whilst I certainly enjoyed returning to Mote park and enjoyed what is a lovely course. I also had the pleasure of sharing the experience with Reaso and Amelie who smashed her first full length parkrun. I couldn't help but miss the feeling of discovering a new course for the first time and the fulfilling sensation of adding another tick against the lost of events I'...

On the 18th November 2023 I ran the Finsbury Park parkrun which was the 611th event held at the venue, my 155th parkrun and 82nd different course I'd attended. Once again my parkrun plans this weekend were reconfigured at the last minute by issues with our car. Ideally our Meriva would visit the scrap man and call it a day, but finances dictate otherwise. Friday night whilst driving home from Gillingham Football Club to visit the new club shop I noticed strange sounds coming from the vehicle. Once home it was confirmed to be an issue with the exhaust. So Friday night, right at the last minute I screwed up my plans to head over to Essex for Markshall Estates 98th event and trawled the map to find an alternative event that I could complete by public transport. Adding further complication to my last minute planning was the realisation that engineering works at Gravesend would mean an extra challenge to my morning travel plans. I asked Stephanie if she was able to get me to Ebbsfleet ...

On the 11th November 2023 I ran the Erdigg parkrun which was the 277th event held at the venue, my 154th parkrun and 81st different course I'd attended. Last weekend my touristing plans came to an abrupt halt. It was my friend Marks birthday and he'd arranged to run Shorne Woods parkrun and was being joined by Reaso and George. Weather in the lead up to the weekend has been horrific and wasn't much better on the Saturday morning. I didn't have a car and so wasn't relishing a train trip to North London and Oak Hill as I had planned. Instead I decided to remain local and joined the others at Shorne Woods where I ran for the fifth time and proceeded to set a new PB of 27:52 which was just shy of three minutes better than my previous best. This week was a return to new experiences and for me my first parkrun in Wales as we head to Wrexham to watch Gillingham and complete another weekend double. If I could and if my budget was able to stretch that far I'd visit ever...