Where running and music meet...
Seven years ago in January 2012, I had my first taste of parkrun tourism, completing Pollok parkrun on a very cold and icy morning in Glasgow. The bus ride from the city centre out to Pollok Country Park was an adventure and we were really pleased to find ourselves in the right place at the right time (9.30am starts in Scotland thankfully). The ice on the normal parkrun route meant an alternative route, which essentially involved running through icy puddles round a muddy rugby field, but that didn't stop me enjoying the experience,
We were in Glasgow to see Snow Patrol at the SECC and it was an amazing night.
Seven years later, almost to the day, we were down in Birmingham to see Snow Patrol on their comeback tour at the Birmingham Arena. Still amazing, it was a fantastic gig and there was something infectiously joyful about the big smile on lead singer Gary Lightbody's face - it looked like they were glad to be back and the crowd certainly was glad to see them.
When I first started running, I listened to music a lot when I ran and Snow Patrol were always on my playlist … some of their lyrics still run through my head now, even though I rarely run with head phones anymore. Especially at the end of a very long run, "there's joy not far from here" from "Everything You Are" is a recurring mantra. They didn't play this one on Friday night though - my only minor disappointment from an otherwise wonderful night out.
And that brings me back to running.... a Friday night in Birmingham meant another opportunity for some parkrun tourism with a visit to Cannon Hill parkrun... I've run through the park previously for the Birmingham Half Marathon and Marathon but we've never actually made it to the parkrun before.
We were definitely running with the crowd - with 876 parkrunners in total, this was my biggest parkrun to date (even more runners than the day we went to Bushy parkrun) and twenty times more runners than my very first run at Hanley parkrun in November 2011.
I really enjoyed the route, apart from the very sneaky lost hill; the on-course marshals were brilliantly supportive; and the café and post-run chat was great too, with a chance to catch up with Hanley parkrun founder Tommy. With the jog back to the city centre and another run to visit a friend once back in Stoke, I also managed another 10-mile day and completed two more Strava segment goals for the week.
Last week was all about running on my own, but this week I've really appreciated running with the crowd.
Seven years ago in January 2012, I had my first taste of parkrun tourism, completing Pollok parkrun on a very cold and icy morning in Glasgow. The bus ride from the city centre out to Pollok Country Park was an adventure and we were really pleased to find ourselves in the right place at the right time (9.30am starts in Scotland thankfully). The ice on the normal parkrun route meant an alternative route, which essentially involved running through icy puddles round a muddy rugby field, but that didn't stop me enjoying the experience,
We were in Glasgow to see Snow Patrol at the SECC and it was an amazing night.
Seven years later, almost to the day, we were down in Birmingham to see Snow Patrol on their comeback tour at the Birmingham Arena. Still amazing, it was a fantastic gig and there was something infectiously joyful about the big smile on lead singer Gary Lightbody's face - it looked like they were glad to be back and the crowd certainly was glad to see them.
When I first started running, I listened to music a lot when I ran and Snow Patrol were always on my playlist … some of their lyrics still run through my head now, even though I rarely run with head phones anymore. Especially at the end of a very long run, "there's joy not far from here" from "Everything You Are" is a recurring mantra. They didn't play this one on Friday night though - my only minor disappointment from an otherwise wonderful night out.
And that brings me back to running.... a Friday night in Birmingham meant another opportunity for some parkrun tourism with a visit to Cannon Hill parkrun... I've run through the park previously for the Birmingham Half Marathon and Marathon but we've never actually made it to the parkrun before.
We were definitely running with the crowd - with 876 parkrunners in total, this was my biggest parkrun to date (even more runners than the day we went to Bushy parkrun) and twenty times more runners than my very first run at Hanley parkrun in November 2011.
I really enjoyed the route, apart from the very sneaky lost hill; the on-course marshals were brilliantly supportive; and the café and post-run chat was great too, with a chance to catch up with Hanley parkrun founder Tommy. With the jog back to the city centre and another run to visit a friend once back in Stoke, I also managed another 10-mile day and completed two more Strava segment goals for the week.
Last week was all about running on my own, but this week I've really appreciated running with the crowd.
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