We headed to Warwick Racecourse parkrun. Not only was it our NENDY but it is one near a University that our third born is considering so always nice to get a feel of the area. As it turned out he has had to swap when he works. Plus our youngest wasn’t well. So in the end it was just myself and my husband that went along.
Warwick Racecourse, Hampton Street, Warwick, CV34 6HN
Facilities at Warwick Racecourse parkrun
There is 2 hours free parking right by the start. You just need to make sure you take a ticket. Obviously not driving is encouraged and now Warwick Racecourse parkrun have a new bike rack.
Toilets
Apparently the Foresters Arms pub, on Crompton Street, allows you to use the toilets but this seemed to be closed before the start of parkrun. Therefore we headed to the square which is a little walk up the hill.
Warwick Racecourse parkrun Course
It’s an out and back around the edge of the racecourse. It is NOT flat. There’s a very gentle incline not long after you start and a hill – which you do twice! Described as a couple of bumps. Well I guess compared to the likes of Ashton Court parkrun they are!
It’s on path but you may wish to move over to the grass. It can be WET! We were told at the start that the “swimming pool” was back and to go THROUGH it. Socks dry!
My Experience
Obviously I didn’t start at the very front but knew I wanted to set off fairly fast. However I think everyone went from the sides on the grass and we just didn’t move, then there was a little walk before I was off. In the grand scheme of things it wasn’t really that long but just more unexpected.
Then suddenly it felt like there were just so many people ahead of me really fast. They kind of started to disappear. I was at almost 2 km before my husband’s usual “hello dear” overtaking me.
Jeffing at Warwick Racecourse parkrun
Initially I looked at the narrow path and thought I needed to rethink about Jeffing. But I’d missed the first timers briefing and was listening to someone describing the course. It was then that I’d mentioned how it didn’t sound like a course I could Jeff and he seemed so accepting that it would be fine, so I did.
Was Jeffing a Problem at Warwick Racecourse parkrun?
Obviously I warned people at the start before we set off. Also when I felt it may become a problem before a walk (not if there was a big gap behind me). The only real time I felt it wasn’t great was at the top of the hill with runners coming back down the other side. Am assuming that many people give up and walk though!
Finishing
Obviously not my fastest time but was really happy to get 27:30 by Jeffing – and with it being a slow start and the hill each way.
The young man in front of me did speed up when he could hear my breathing on the sprint finish. However, he did just stop at the finish (can’t blame him really lol). Turns out it was his very first parkrun. Despite me not being able to actually cross the line the finish timers did give me the exact same time as him.
Token Sorting
Warwick Racecourse parkrun probably wasn’t the ideal place to try my first time at token sorting! They ran out of tokens at 500 so at least that limited myself a bit. Also, thankfully, my husband helped and in the end even another volunteer jumped in.
It was a real brief explanation about how they went together in 50s. That they had toggles holding them in place. How the pub was happy for us to sort there. That there were additional tokens if any were missing. Guess it is a quite straightforward responsibility. Only thing was thinking about where the box was with the toggles – it made so much sense when told that obviously they were at the finish!!!
There was a lovely young girl on token scanning (holding the bucket to collect the tokens). It was so lovely to see her enthusiasm. Not even for a volunteer credit as she’s not even four yet so couldn’t collect one!
Luckily it was a nice day so I started sorting as soon as I finished and the tarpaulin. It is crazy how numbers just didn’t work in my brain – and I was finding myself putting them in the wrong piles. The fact that they were all different with their fonts and colours of the numbers possibly made it harder. Also not knowing whether a token had been lost or if it was just lost in the sea of tokens!
Organising the tokens
Apparently some parkruns have an organised way of doing things. However I’m happy we could do it the way we wanted.
First I started with just putting them in piles of 100. My husband decided they would be better in 50s. Next he thought it would be easier in 10s. It is obvious things that at first you don’t think about – like that 50 has to go on first so that 1 can come off first.
Luckily the weather held and we got it all done just as our two hours parking ran out.
Warwick Racecourse parkrun Stats Event 226
- 528 participants
- 305 males, 203 females and 20 unknown
- 9 first timers
- 61 tourists
- 28 volunteers
- 16:59-57:54
- First Lady 19:39
- Highest age grading Carol 83.06% (VW60-64) 24:24 and highest male was first finish Chris (VM40-44)
- 326 30 mins or quicker
- 71 PBs
Other parkruns we have completed nearby:
Stratford-upon-Avon parkrun (8.0m), Brueton parkrun (11.2m), Arrow Valley parkrun (13.5m), Babbs Mill parkrun (15.8m), and Oaklands parkrun (15.9m)
Visit these other bloggers who cover parkrun: Sarah at Mum of Three World, Jackie at Never Imitate and Chrissy at It’s Me Chrissy J
Well done on token sorting! That does sound quite challenging. I’ve been told it’s fun. I think there are usually a few do it at our parkrun, so I ougbt to give it a go at some point. It’s one of the few volunteering jobs I haven’t done.
Thanks very much for the mention!