Posts Tagged ‘parkrun’

This is a hidden gem of a parkrun. The Sport Ireland Campus is based on a former country estate and contains a mix of historic buildings and new state-of-the-art sports facilities. The parkrun course varies but is usually a couple of laps all run on grass and trail. It’s so scenic you wouldn’t even realise you were in Dublin. And there is tonnes of parking and a public toilet, too.

After four weeks of not running it is good to be back! I’m still not feeling great but I managed to run the whole thing so I was pleased with that.

The parkrun itself is nice enough. Three laps around a field, so nothing to write home about (although I am writing about it here) but the marshals were friendly and everyone had a good time. Not to be confused with Waterstown which is, ironically, next door.

Another week, another new parkrun. This is two laps of flat sith a short stretch through some trees but otherwise around the edge of fields. Unfortunately, I felt ill on the second lap and had to walk most of it. But I still came home in under 40 minutes so the first lap can’t have gone too bad. I managed to get a post-run brownie from the coffee van, too.

Waterstown parkrun celebrated their 400th event this week. Which meant there was cake! It is a lovely course, too, although has a fair few hills in it. Nothing too step but it is is up and down.

I’ve been doing some parkrun tourism recently. Yesterday, I did Dodder Valley. It’s a nice course. Two laps and mostly flat, with a slight rise on the second lap. Some lovely views looking down into the valley, too.

If you’re looking for a flat parkrun, Selby is a good shout. It takes place on an airfield and you run an out-and-back hockey still shape that is entirely flat. There isn’t much else to look at but I didn’t find it boring and there was a good crowd. Thank you to all of the volunteers for making it happen.

Last Saturday, I completed my 300th parkrun.

Unfortunately, there was no time to celebrate. I was hoping to do it on 1 April and had even cleared a space in my diary to finally stop for coffee after. But then I had the flu so missed that run. By the time the next week rolled around, it was in the middle of the DUHAC 24-hour relay, so I had to keep running. But good to make it through the unofficial milestone.

Venla recently completed her 21st junior parkrun, earning her the marathon wristband (21 x 2k = 42k). She didn’t look too impressed but I think she’s mostly there for the food trucks after the run.

Yesterday, Venla set a new PB at Marlay junior parkrun: 15:15. The big shift, though, was that she ran the whole thing for the first time (with me, at least).

I don’t encourage pacing because that is a boring adult thing to do. Sprinting a bit and then walking a bit is usually much more fun. But Venla spontaneously decided halfway around the course that she wanted to try and run all the way to the end. And she managed it!

With my parents visiting, we were determined to get out and do a parkrun on Saturday. And that took some determination because it was raining heavily. More heavily then when my first parkrun in Ireland over at Fairview. And that was in the warmth of early September.

The run starts at the top of the hill by Cabinteely house and then goes down the hill and back up again for one short loop and then two longer loops. I set off quite hard as I wanted to stay warm and was soon wondering if I had overcooked it given I still have a cold. By the third lap I was ready to walk up the hill but another runner slowed down to chant encouraging words at me and then I was socially obligated to keep pushing. I managed to hold it together to the line, squeezing in at 22:59.