The 13 Parkruns of Surrey
Surrey has an array of beautiful parkrun courses, and I am on a mission to run them all. Completion status: 5/13.
A parkrunner called Richard Gower made this map of the 13 parkruns in present-day Surrey. They are pleasingly distributed about the county. This blog post contains my course notes.
| # | Parkrun |
|---|---|
| 1 | ✅ Banstead Woods |
| 2 | ⏳ Broadwater |
| 3 | ✅ Brooklands |
| 4 | ⏳ Cranleigh |
| 5 | ⏳ Egham Orbit |
| 6 | ⏳ Frimley Lodge |
| 7 | ❌ Guildford |
| 8 | ⏳ Hazelwood |
| 9 | ✅ Homewood |
| 10 | ✅ Mole Valley |
| 11 | ✅ Nonsuch |
| 12 | ⏳ Reigate Priory |
| 13 | ⏳ Woking |
Banstead Woods
I like woodland, so this course is one of my favourites. On a late summer’s day I was too early for the autumn leaves but enjoyed the dappled light shining in patches through the canopy. I’m afraid my photos are horribly blurred as I didn’t want to stop to hold my camera still.
At the halfway point I was surprised by an unexpectedly good time, only to be immediately hit by a steep uphill that took all the energy from my legs. Watch your step – I saw two people fall (and be helped up by friendly parkrunners), and a man I spoke to after had a similar tale of woe. The guide said it’s because rubble from a buried Prisoner of War camp is slowly being exposed.
On my visit, there happened to be two notable milestones. One runner joined the “422 club” – a local tradition of recognising 422 runs, with at least 250 at Banstead Woods, in honour of a popular runner called Alan Collis who ran 422 times before he passed away. And a lady in the 75-79 age range completed her 100th parkrun, having been present at the very first Banstead Woods event back in 2007. Inspiring.
Broadwater
Not yet visited.
Brooklands
Brooklands is a historic aerodrome and motor racing circuit. The parkrun begins on the old runway, where the guide delivered a funny flight-themed briefing.
The bulk of the course used to be a go-kart track. You wiggle dizzyingly left and right, and if you look up you will see lines of colourful parkrunners snaking all over the place.
Brooklands was the first purpose built ‘banked’ (sloped) motor racing course in England and the world. The old banking is visible from Tesco car park and in other places around the loop. I was hoping to run on it, but the parkrun course follows a woodland path next to the banking rather than on the banking itself. In winter I expect it would be visible through the trees, for extra historic interest.
Cranleigh
Not yet visited.
Egham Orbit
This blog post was originally going to have the pleasing title ‘The 12 parkruns of Surrey’, before the good folk of Egham added their course. Not yet visited.
Frimley Lodge
Not yet visited.
Guildford
Failure! I turned up to Guildford, only to discover that it was cancelled for an event in the park. A pity, because it was a perfect day for running and the course was prettier than I expected. A few other disappointed runners set off for an unofficial parkrun. I am afraid that I did not.
To return.
Hazelwood
Not yet visited.
Homewood
Homewood is a lovely course. It begins beside an idyllic cricket pitch, surrounded by copper beeches and other majestic trees, then quickly disappears into woodland, up “Achilles Hill”, along “rooty row”, then bounces around a copse of pines before curving downhill back towards the start.
There is a U-shaped silver birch (not the one pictured) that called to me like the sirens of ancient mythology: while I was sizing it up for a jump, I crashed over a tree root. Luckily the ground was soft.
On my final lap, a little boy was giving us all a high five. Later when a marshal appeared through the trees and stretched out his arm, I switched my car keys to my left hand and began to raise my right for another high five, only to realise the marshal was just pointing the way. But I passed it off as a kind of wave and the awkward moment didn’t stop me enjoying this beautiful run in the countryside.
Mole Valley
I sat in the car at Denbies Wine Estate a few days before Christmas, listening to the rain pattering on the windscreen. In an answer to prayer it stopped just in time for a warmup and the first timers’ briefing, which warned us of mud and false summits.
Mole Valley is supposed to be one of the most beautiful parkruns in the country. But I barely noticed it, because I spent the whole run looking at my feet. It quickly became apparent my 5-year-old road shoes were completely flat soled: a bad combination with liquid mud. From the first hill I was reduced to a slippery walk, seeking every tuft of grass.
I had no grip at all. It was so bad that I almost bailed half way through, only to be persuaded by a marshal to carry on “just up there”. I should have listened to the first timers’ guide instead because the path continued a lot further than it appeared. “Don’t hate me,” she said on my way back.
But at last I was making progress. I picked up some speed on a gravel section, and ran the final straight on grass. My final time was 45 minutes – my slowest ever, and yet I was strangely pleased with it. And to think that my original plan for the day was Brooklands, running on tarmac on a literal runway!
Added to Christmas list: trail running shoes.
Nonsuch
Nonsuch is a very popular parkrun, on the boundary between Greater London and the rest of Surrey. It routinely attracts 600 runners, creating quite a buzz. Wiggle to the front to improve your time by 30 seconds!
I love to see the long line of colourful jerseys running beneath the ancient trees. As usual in parkruns you need to watch your feet – this time especially in autumn, when one of the avenues becomes lined with conkers ready for you to slip on. One lady was enjoying her run and commented on the bouncy grass.
On my visit, members of the running club Epsom Harriers were pace-making, wearing 28-minute, 29-minute, 30-minute (and so on) tops. Perhaps today isn’t a fast day, I thought early on, as I sadly watched one after another overtake. But later in the run they became a useful yardstick, I picked up steam and shocked myself by almost setting a personal best.
Reigate Priory
Not yet visited.
Woking
Not yet visited.