Last week on holiday in Crackington Haven, North Cornwall, I took the oppotunity to do a bit of Parkrun Tourism and run the Tamar Lakes Parkrun a few miles from Bude. It also happened to be the 100th run there, so I expected a large, strong field.
We set off from our accommodation in typical fashion: i.e. late! We arrived just in time to park the car, me to use the facilities, and get to the run briefing. Unfortunately I couldn't hear most of it, so can't comment on its content. However, I'd been told by a friend that this was a pretty flat run with a small kick at the end.
I made my to near the front of the starting pack on fairly narrow bridge that we started from. We set off with a few people running cani-cross leading the way- their dogs were very excited to being with- and I soon settled into my pace running in fourth place.
Once the dogs settled a bit I went past a couple of them into second, and in the first km caught the runner ahead of me. By this time we were onto a cinder/gravel path that runs around the lake. This is basically a single lap round Upper Tamar Lake and is pretty much flat: yes, there are a few gentle and short inclines as you go round, but nothing to really make a huge difference to pace; there is also the little kicker at the finish, but more on that a bit later.
The two of us at the front then paced each other for a while. I asked him about the course: what it was like, was it straight-forward; but he didn't know either as he was also a first-timer who was on holiday too. However, I did notice he had an Ironman tattoo on his upper arm so I assumed he could run a bit. We ran together until about 3km, when I upped my pace a little from 3:50m/km to about 3:45min/km. This was enough to open a gap of about 20m, so I then used the tactic of putting in ten or twenty harder strides when I went round a blind corner- I soon managed to open up a gap of about 50m and there was no sign of a chase coming. At 4km I felt fairly comfortable that I was going to finish first, but made myself keep pushing- partly to make sure I was first over the line, but also to make the most of the training it was giving me.
With about 150m to go there is a short, sharpish climb up some grass, where I put in a bit more effort just to be sure, and I managed to get my first ever Parkrun "victory", as it were.
I didn't have a copy of my barcode, and they couldn't scan it from my phone, but the race organiser kindly took my details and athlete ID number and inputted it manually.
As it turned out the field obviously wasn't as strong as I'd expected as I won with a time of 18:50. Decent, but not exactly super-fast. However, with 94 runners it was a decent turnout and you can only beat the people who turn up.
All in all this is a lovely run- nice terrain, beautiful surroundings, friendly volunteers, and a good cafe for a cuppa (and a scone with cream and jam- we were on holiday after all!) for afterwards. Of course I was pleased to come in first, but that was just an added bonus rather than affecting my opinion of the run.
If you're in the area I'd definitely recommend this as a good run to participate in, setting you up nicely for the day and weekend.
We set off from our accommodation in typical fashion: i.e. late! We arrived just in time to park the car, me to use the facilities, and get to the run briefing. Unfortunately I couldn't hear most of it, so can't comment on its content. However, I'd been told by a friend that this was a pretty flat run with a small kick at the end.
I made my to near the front of the starting pack on fairly narrow bridge that we started from. We set off with a few people running cani-cross leading the way- their dogs were very excited to being with- and I soon settled into my pace running in fourth place.
Once the dogs settled a bit I went past a couple of them into second, and in the first km caught the runner ahead of me. By this time we were onto a cinder/gravel path that runs around the lake. This is basically a single lap round Upper Tamar Lake and is pretty much flat: yes, there are a few gentle and short inclines as you go round, but nothing to really make a huge difference to pace; there is also the little kicker at the finish, but more on that a bit later.
The two of us at the front then paced each other for a while. I asked him about the course: what it was like, was it straight-forward; but he didn't know either as he was also a first-timer who was on holiday too. However, I did notice he had an Ironman tattoo on his upper arm so I assumed he could run a bit. We ran together until about 3km, when I upped my pace a little from 3:50m/km to about 3:45min/km. This was enough to open a gap of about 20m, so I then used the tactic of putting in ten or twenty harder strides when I went round a blind corner- I soon managed to open up a gap of about 50m and there was no sign of a chase coming. At 4km I felt fairly comfortable that I was going to finish first, but made myself keep pushing- partly to make sure I was first over the line, but also to make the most of the training it was giving me.
With about 150m to go there is a short, sharpish climb up some grass, where I put in a bit more effort just to be sure, and I managed to get my first ever Parkrun "victory", as it were.
I didn't have a copy of my barcode, and they couldn't scan it from my phone, but the race organiser kindly took my details and athlete ID number and inputted it manually.
As it turned out the field obviously wasn't as strong as I'd expected as I won with a time of 18:50. Decent, but not exactly super-fast. However, with 94 runners it was a decent turnout and you can only beat the people who turn up.
All in all this is a lovely run- nice terrain, beautiful surroundings, friendly volunteers, and a good cafe for a cuppa (and a scone with cream and jam- we were on holiday after all!) for afterwards. Of course I was pleased to come in first, but that was just an added bonus rather than affecting my opinion of the run.
If you're in the area I'd definitely recommend this as a good run to participate in, setting you up nicely for the day and weekend.
