It was a bit of a concern when we set off for our weekend in Bridgwater to learn that Storm Claudia was planning on joining us. Last time we booked a weekend away and a storm blew in, every parkrun in the part of the country we were visiting cancelled and we ended up high tailing it back home late on the Friday to find an event that was still on. This time, despite the Friday deluge, news from the Burnham and Highbridge core team was that, subject to final course checks on Saturday morning, all was good to go. We felt very grateful.
Waking on Saturday we made regular checks of the growing cancellation list before setting off on the short journey to Apex Park. It was a relief when we spotted a message that appeared on Facebook en route that all was good, that there were surprisingly few puddles, and that we could look forward to our planned run.
We had suffered a significant soaking the day before, checking out parking and the course route, but were at least now familiar with exactly where to go. Arriving just before 8.30am we were surprised to find that the recommended car park near the start point was already so full. A friendly marshal directed us to a parking spot and I then made use of the toilet facilities available – portaloos but they were clean and, at that time, no queues (there were no charges for either parking or toilets). The car park was signposted as full by around 8.45am.
I had time to introduce myself to the lovely run director, who made me feel very welcome, before setting out on an easy warm-up run. We got back in time for the briefings, even getting a shout out as report writer – a first!
It was then time for the countdown to Go.
The start point is close to the car park, on a gravel path leading into the park. The loop of the park is on tarmac, returning to gravel when the route goes out along the river. Before it reaches the esplanade it is again tarmac, and the esplanade is lovely and smooth. I had opted to wear my hybrid trail shoes which are suitable for any surface. Husband felt comfortable running in road shoes.
As had been stated there were surprisingly few puddles given the previous days weather – my feet remained dry throughout. The start was congested as the initial paths are fairly narrow but the convivial atmosphere proved this wasn’t an issue for us back of the pack runners. An easy running pace also allowed for full appreciation of the lovely scenery.
The course starts and ends around a lake. Leaving the park it joins a river path – tidal but with no vegetation to impede the views. Once up on the esplanade the beach and sea are to the side. This is a broad path and some other people using it kindly cheered us on. I say up, and it is a slight climb, but the undulations on this course are so slight as to be insignificant.
The turning point is a wide sweep around a shelter so it was much easier to keep running than on some out and back again courses. The wide paths also meant there were no issues with participants travelling in both directions. Rejoining the riverside path I passed those who were walking. It was then time to veer left back into the park – earlier than the riverside path was joined but easily spotted thanks to the presence of a marshal – for the final push towards the finish.
324 participants passed through the finish funnel today of whom 46 were first timers and 30 recorded new Personal Bests. The pack was led by Luke Burnett in a time of 18:04.
6 participants earned the right to wear a new milestone t-shirt. Congratulations to: Neil Wallburton and Kerry Broughton (100); Matt Harding, Jamie Jones and Tommy Nellmeyers (50); Ryan Filer (25).
Biggest thanks go to the 35 volunteers without whom today’s event wouldn’t have been possible. Do please consider joining the roster from time to time – the core team will be very grateful.
Burnham and Highbridge is a lovely location for a parkrun and the course was truly a pleasure to run. That the weather was so much better than forecast – dry and with no noticeable breeze – was an added bonus. The friendly volunteers ensured everything was well organised and participants supported.
If we return to the area we would be very happy to join this parkrun again. Hopefully next time this will be without the concern of a potentially gate crashing storm.
(Burnham and Highbridge parkrun started on 20th June 2015. Since then 18,628 participants have completed 125,942 parkruns covering a total distance of 629,710 km, including 18,596 new Personal Bests. A total of 1,087 individuals have volunteered 12,087 times.)
