Our NENDY was Queenswood Country parkrun and I had waited until event 12 before visiting. This was to help build my Wilson Index. Obviously alphabet chasers are more likely to go with it being a Q – so I was well warned about CruellaDeHill!
Queenswood Country Park & Arboretum, Dinmore Hill, Leominster, Herefordshire, HR6 0PY
Getting there
Car parking. 140 car spaced car park. £1 for parkrunners. Getting pretty full already by 8:30am. Also people were blocking the main road trying to get in.
The website states the nearest train station and how to get there by bus. However, note that there is no pedestrian access – only accessible by car, bike or public transport (which I am assuming means you need to get a bus).
Facilities at Queenswood Country parkrun
- Nice onsite toilets (mine had butterflies on the seat)
- Café – for cakes, breakfast, coffees and post parkrun faff
- Gift Shop – with free site map available
- Dog poo bags
- Water bottle refill station
- Hose to clean shoes
- White board to write tourist destinations, milestones, celebrations, etc
Queenswood Country parkrun Course
Two laps. After the first lap you turn right to do it again, and at the end of the second you turn left to the finish. Personally, I felt that it seemed like it was going to be straight down to the end – but actually there was a turn and another slight incline before the finishing straight.
Which Shoes
It was definitely a trail course. With a lot of mud, hills and hazards (such as tree roots). Although the ground was rather firm on the finishing straight so did hurt my legs a bit in barefoot trainers.
Steepness
Described as mostly flat but with a steep hill towards the end of each lap. 95m of elevation gain according to my Strava. Personally I wouldn’t call it “mostly flat.” On the second lap when I was going up I even said, “oh and this isn’t even CruellaDeHill yet!” In saying that there’s also some lovely down sections.
Dogs and Pushchairs
There were dogs and I was actually grateful that one stopped me from running up the hill the second time. However, this may have been annoying for someone who had wished to keep running it. It is hard to gain momentum again when stopping to walk for some.
Volunteers at Queenswood Country parkrun
St.Michael’s Hospice – Hereford were doing a volunteer takeover. They were also letting people know about their event – the RUN Hereford. This is on May 10th with distances of 5K, 10K and half marathon distance.
Volunteer Milestones
- Well done and big thanks to the following people volunteering at parkrun for their very first time: Amy Johnson, Sarah Askey, Gill Badham, James Buckley, Moira Davidson, Robert Eden, Amanda Gillard, Amy Leeth, Arthur Potter, Sophia Tagg, Lesley Wilson, Carole Canning, Luke Richards.
- Also congratulations to Marie Harrison on her 10th time volunteering at parkrun.
Without volunteers parkrun could not run. Today there were 30 hi-vis heroes. Thank you all.
My Experience at Queenswood Country parkrun
It was nice that my husband and I were once again joined by our youngest son, who is now 16. We are very proud that he completed such a difficult course. Once you stop going to parkrun regularly it can be hard to get back into it. Especially when people you are faster than are ahead of you and it’s a challenging course.
Community
When I arrived it was also a pleasant surprise to see a familiar face as Jo had also come because it was an event 12. Parkrun really is about more than a 5k but about spending time with others. I feel it is invaluable to helping with mental health.
Also on the course there was a lovely couple from Liverpool and I chatted to the lady on the way round. Plus the lady with the beautiful orange top who kept me going in those last moments. She was also my guide as I just followed her!
The Course
Such a beautiful course. Loved the things in the park we passed such as the mouse from The Gruffalo. Plus it was nice that the hill had its own sign at the bottom.
CruellaDeHill
The first time I tried to keep running up Cruelladehill. Described as being like a mountain goat. However, I did not manage to keep going for 90 seconds! The second time was when the dog allowed me the chance to walk. Unfortunately, I didn’t want to run again at all afterwards and would have been happy if the finish had of been at the top!
Jeffing
Due to hearing about the hill I had decided to Jeff and shorten the ratio to a 90:30. Somehow I still had high hopes that I could manage a sub 30 even on the second lap! Dear reader not even my husband got sub30 so I had no hopes, especially not with walking so much! In fact, in hindsight I am pretty pleased with the just over 32 ½ that I did do it in. Plus, of course, I did manage a sprint finish!
Plus, it was nice that it was acknowledged that people chose to do a mix of running and walking in the briefing too.
Queenswood Country parkrun Event 12 Stats
- 138 participants completed Queenswood Country parkrun Event 12.
- 70 male
- 64 female
- And 4 unknown.
- A further 107 tourists
- 6 PBs
Times ranged between 21:48-1:13:17.
With the highest age grading being 63.07%.
First Timers
Welcome and well done on 3 people completing their very first parkrun.
Unofficial Milestones
Also unofficial milestones were
- 150 Philipp Gerstenberg
- 300 Mark Philip Bragg
- 450 Dave Whittaker
Tourists
From Abeereeg, Coventry, Gloucestershire, Liverpool, Melton Mowbray, Neath, Newent, Newport, Nottingham, Stevenage, Walsall, and Widnes.
Other parkrun locations nearby I have completed:
Hereford parkrun (6.2m), Ludlow parkrun (13.6m), Ross-on-Wye parkrun (17.8m), Riverside Walk parkrun (18.1m)
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