Richmond Parkrun 7.1.23

Pre 

Richmond Park was decided as the next stop on our Parkrun march. Myself and Arif the Conqueror set off at 7:15 and before long we were driving through the quiet streets of central London at 20mph (which I was thankful for, as this meant no lateral movement through the car). I often remarked at the beauty and stillness of an otherwise chaotic city. Arif has a far better knowledge of the geography than myself, and I enjoy his lessons on what and where everything is. At about 20 minutes away from the park I had the epiphany that we needed to have the exact post code entered into the satnav otherwise we may end up an unfeasible distance away from the course (due to the size of Richmond Park). After a slightly stressful delve into the location we needed, it turned out to be easily achievable. We entered the new destination. 

We turned the corner and began the slow saunter by car to the car park. We parked easily due to the multitude of spaces and fortunately, directly in front of the toilets. Once we had engaged in a quick Jimmy Riddle, we began to slowly jog towards the start line which happened to be under 10 minutes away. The run director was very likeable and charismatic. I believe his name may have been Alex.

The Parkrun

Learning my lesson from last week, I positioned myself towards the front obviously having no business there. Arif had evolved from Osterley and simply left the watch in the car. 

The course was a single lap which is quite unusual and most interesting to undertake. I doubt there are many courses within London that have the capacity to boast a single lap. It was very refreshing, with gentle undulations and expansive land all around us. No deers to be seen but that was expected. On the very first hill Arif had propelled forth and was initially in front of me. His courage and innocence were compelling. I finished with a 25 something and Arif over 30. This was a win for us both due to the hills and mud and such. 

Post

Once finished, we looked for the sign to have the customary snap. None was to be found, so I sought the charismatic Alex for advice. Something to do with the age of the park and you can't put this here or there. Made no sense to me, since you just had 300 runners trample through the woodland and I've also seen plenty of people accost the deers while venturing toddlers waddle to within gore distance. But he suggested we have a photo with him, as written on his silver vest in almost undetectably sized writing were the words 'Richmond Park'. Once the pleasantries were over, we jogged slowly back to the car park and decided to enjoy our coffee in the Pembroke Lodge, which the car park is named after. A lovely Georgian mansion so i'm told, with elevated sweeping views of the surrounding park. We stayed there for a few hours chatting about all sorts, fuelled by a double espresso for me, an americano for Arif, and the remaining endorphins from a successful run. There was nought morsel consumed between us but the sweet sustenance of camaraderie.



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