Dartford Heath Parkrun
Some things are found by chance; the inaugural Dartford Heath parkrun was one of them. Friday, I was eating my lunch and killing time between meetings by exploring the parkrun map. By pure chance I inadvertently zoomed into the west Kent area and noticed two parkrun icons in the Dartford region. Strange. I knew about the existing Dartford parkrun, but I wasn't aware of anything else nearby. I quickly discovered this was the Dartford Heath parkrun and that this was due to have its inaugural event the very next day.
I know there's something of an unwritten rule that tourists (and pseudo-tourists like me) should avoid inaugural events in order to not overload the volunteer team and cause unnecessary work, however, the serendipity of finding this event and the fact that it would start the very next day, well....surely it was a sign! I decided I'd break the unwritten rule and make the 55 minute journey to Dartford... I was in the same county at least.
The course is on the heath land to the south west of Dartford, two minutes off the A2. There's a smallish car park and plenty of street parking nearby. I parked up and did a little jog of the course as I was ridiculously early. I spotted some fellow parkrun tourists (as denoted by their yellow and black cowls).
During my warm up I noticed how well signposted the course was. The route leaves the open tracks of the heath land and heads into a wooded area where it could be easy to get lost if it were not for the abundance of arrows and cones. I noticed that there are quite a few exposed tree roots in the woods which had been highlighted to runners with little white flags.
A small crowd gathered at the start. The run director gave a friendly welcome and thanked everyone who had helped to get the event off the ground. There was a nice buzz amongst the runners. Before I knew it, the runner director shouted "Go!" (scaring the crap out of me) and we were off.
The course is a two-lapper over variable terrain; some gravel, some compacted mud, some grass. There's virtually no change in the elevation; just a couple of humps and bumps along the way. I led for the first mile and wondered whether I'd have a chance of finishing first. Leaving the wood however I could hear a couple of runners approaching from behind and I was soon reduced to fifth. I was still suffering with a cold and didn't have much in me and so kept plodding on in that position. The marshals on the course were excellent; offering helpful directions and giving encouragement. As I approached the final few hundred metres I took a quick look over my shoulder to make sure I wasn't going to be pipped at the end; I was relieved to see no one behind me. I finished fifth.
At the end there were problems with the scanners and so someone had the great idea of taking a photo of every barcode/finish token to avoid causing chaos. I expected the results to be delayed but they pinged in at around 11am, which is very impressive.
I was really pleased to be one of the 192 runners at the event. It was really well organised and is certainly a potential PB course for some. Make sure you check it out!
I know there's something of an unwritten rule that tourists (and pseudo-tourists like me) should avoid inaugural events in order to not overload the volunteer team and cause unnecessary work, however, the serendipity of finding this event and the fact that it would start the very next day, well....surely it was a sign! I decided I'd break the unwritten rule and make the 55 minute journey to Dartford... I was in the same county at least.
The course is on the heath land to the south west of Dartford, two minutes off the A2. There's a smallish car park and plenty of street parking nearby. I parked up and did a little jog of the course as I was ridiculously early. I spotted some fellow parkrun tourists (as denoted by their yellow and black cowls).
During my warm up I noticed how well signposted the course was. The route leaves the open tracks of the heath land and heads into a wooded area where it could be easy to get lost if it were not for the abundance of arrows and cones. I noticed that there are quite a few exposed tree roots in the woods which had been highlighted to runners with little white flags.
A small crowd gathered at the start. The run director gave a friendly welcome and thanked everyone who had helped to get the event off the ground. There was a nice buzz amongst the runners. Before I knew it, the runner director shouted "Go!" (scaring the crap out of me) and we were off.
At the end there were problems with the scanners and so someone had the great idea of taking a photo of every barcode/finish token to avoid causing chaos. I expected the results to be delayed but they pinged in at around 11am, which is very impressive.
I was really pleased to be one of the 192 runners at the event. It was really well organised and is certainly a potential PB course for some. Make sure you check it out!
