Lyme Park parkrun

My legs recovered pretty quickly from the Freckleton Half and as I had a rare opportunity to do a parkrun last Saturday I thought I would give the new Lyme Park parkrun a try.

For those who are unfamiliar with Lyme Park it is a hilly National Trust park on the edge of the Peak District. The parkrun route embraces the hills, starting with half a mile of steep climb followed by two miles of gradual downhill. The last half mile is a slog uphill to the finish line.

I warmed up by jogging into Lyme Park from the Boar's Head pub in Higher Poynton. This involved one and a half miles of uphill jogging so was a thorough warm up!

There was a small group of about seventy people at the start and soon after 9 am we were off. I made a steady start up the hill, letting a few people zoom off and settling in to about 12th place.

After about half a mile the route steers away from the hill and gradually descends back towards the hall. This part is on rocky ground and is what fell runners call "technical". I would call it treacherous but I managed to stay on my feet and maintain around 6:30 pace.

The first mile ticked by in 7:30 mins. Not bad considering the hill.

About this point I caught up with my club mate Roger who had given me a right hammering at the Freckleton Half six days before. I figured I would be doing well if I could keep up with him but he gradually pulled away over the rest of the race.

The second mile takes you down to the "Cage" - a well known building in Lyme Park. I was in about tenth place here and approaching a group of about four people but in the long downhill from the Cage they gradually pulled away. I need to practise my downhill running because although 6:30 pace felt very comfortable here I didn't feel safe going any faster as the path was very uneven.

The second mile ticked by in 6:30 mins and it was a case of doing the remainder of the downhill as fast as possible before the long slog to the end.

After an initial steep climb the uphill section levels off slightly and I was able to maintain a 7:00 min/mile pace to the finish. I managed to pass one runner who was tiring to come home in 21:28 and 8th place out of 72 finishers.

My target was 22 mins so I was pleased to be well under that.

I cannot say how much more I enjoyed this race compared to the Freckleton half. The long downhill gives you a bit of a rest and the final uphill slog is a great fitness battle. The scenery doesn't hurt either! It was also nice to do a parkrun that is just one lap - most are two or even three laps.

It was great to be reminded why I enjoy running so much.

Next week I have the Offerton 10K. No PB will be forthcoming there - it is seriously hilly but I am looking forward to the challenge.