We headed to Leamington parkrun for Christmas Day. It was just the four of us and a last minute decision. The first thing I did when waking Christmas morning to was to check the traffic and it was saying that we would need to leave by 6:30 to get to our original destination – that was never going to go down well with our 16 and 18 year old so a change of plan was needed!
Newbold Comyn, Newbold Terrace East, Leamington Spa
Facilities at Leamington parkrun
Also Leamington parkrun had clear parking facilities (with a 2m height limit) – plus a toilet!! There was a dry place to leave bags and coats but we had lovely weather. There are also play areas.
The parking was a short walk from the start.
The event is approximately a 1 mile walk or taxi ride from Leamington Spa train station or from the bus stops on the Parade.
It also turned out that there was a McDonalds open on Christmas Day on the way home!
Leamington parkrun Course
Leamington parkrun is pretty much a one lap course. With Christmas Day parkruns often handling more participants than usual this seemed like a good idea. There was absolutely no waiting at the finish funnel for us!
The Route
A stunning route on their summer course.
Advice was that unless you were sub17 just to follow those in front. In fact the first finisher’s parkrun pb is sub15 but it was his first time at Leamington. The junior who was second (JM15-17) has a PB there of 15:56. The later was also the highest age grading (81.07%)
With the highest female age grading in 29:26 (VW65-69) being 75.75%
My Experience of Leamington parkrun on Christmas Day
We arrived in plenty of time and got a good photo of the sign. Our youngest had said he was going to walk so arrived in jeans. Therefore I asked about him being a walker and they gave him a volunteer credit.
More and more people turned up in festive dress – including some inflatable trees from Germany. They kindly stayed at the sign whilst we took it in turns to take photos of each other with them. A lady was handing out festive jokes too!
Son Running with Me
Our 18 year old said he’d run with me and the plan was to run non-stop. We had agreed on a Sub28 as I still wasn’t feeling great. Also I had changed my watch to miles so I had less of an idea about what was going on in terms of speed and distance.
We lined up about 3 maybe 4 rows from the front and he thought we were a bit close. Personally I was worried we were a bit far back as it was a wide field that would suddenly narrow. I was right and it was a slow start for a short while. This was just the start of him experiencing how different it is not to be at the front!
The Incline
We warned there was a slow incline but actually there were also several ups. At one point I had no choice but to walk because there were too many people in front not going fast enough for me to actually run.
Potentially this is where it first went wrong and I struggled to breathe and get the motivation back. Resulting in me actually walking quite a fair few times.
My son patiently just waiting and encouraging me along. Telling me where the downhill was coming!
The Finish
We did manage a sort of sprint finish and I got in under 29 minutes. During the run (and not just my nose) we had decided that sub 30 would be good. So he was even telling me that I didn’t need to speed up.
Then I was able to go back and make sure my youngest was okay. Not usually a good idea but I had checked with the RD and he said that it was quiet enough to. This also meant I could encourage people finishing – including the Christmas trees.
Stats at Leamington parkrun on Christmas Day
- 491 participants – 221 male, 200 female and 70 unknown.
- Times ranged between 16:40-1:02:52
- 14 sub 20
- 86 sub 25
- 254 sub 30
- 17 first timers to parkrun
- A further 50 tourists
- First Lady 22:32
- Turns out our 18 year old was the only one in his age category!
Other parkruns nearby we have visited:
Warwick Racecourse parkrun (3.9m), Stratford-upon-Avon parkrun (10.9m), Brueton parkrun (13.7m), Daventry parkrun (14.8m), Banbury parkrun (16.8m), Babbs Mill parkrun (17.3m)
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