F is for Frimley and Fundraising
My first November parkrun took me over to Frimley Green for the Frimley Lodge parkrun which had the most participants (410) of any of the events that I have done so far.
And for the first time since the letter A — in Australia — the weather was wet.
As the location was 13 miles from home I opted to cycle to the start, and at least with the clocks having gone back an hour last weekend that meant I left home in daylight. But with a weather system moving in from the west the conditions soon turned damp. And now that autumn leaf fall is in full swing the cycle pathway that I took alongside the Farnborough dual carriageway was also quite treacherous.
But no mishaps, and I arrived in good time to the country park venue.
The volunteers were all sheltering under the trees as participants arrived. Given the wet conditions I was really pleased that I had packed my trail shoes, as there were definitely needed today. I got changed and orientated myself to the course layout — two laps across a mix of paths, (muddy) fields, woodlands and a canal towpath — plenty of parkrun variety.
The other ‘first’ for me with this event was that they had a PA system, and with so many participants that made a lot of sense in terms of communications. One of the announcements promoted the “Walk with Joe” (Wicks) in support of the Children in Need Spotacular campaign. This is a national promotion taking place across all parkruns. You can read more here.
And that gave me the inspiration for the letter F association of the day — “fundraising”. So when you go to your next parkrun then you can dress up in spots/fancy dress and donate online. As parkrun is free then why not do it?
Anyway, back to the run. I lined up at the 25 mins sign and at the start followed a guy pushing his two young children in a very sophisticated buggy — a three-wheeler with suspension. It took me until the second lap to catch him, when I realised the muddy conditions were really acting as a handicap.
I also noticed a very speedy young girl running with her Mum.
She had great running form — the triathlon coach in me spotted that — and the finish was a sight to behold. Mum cruised passed me with one turn to go, urging her daughter to put in a last effort. Well I think she sprinted past at least 5 grown-ups on the way to the line. Chatting to them afterwards I found out that the daughter Chloe was only nine years old, and had just put in a sub 24 minutes 5k. Now I know it’s a ‘run not a race’ but even so — there’s a special young talent there that I’m sure will be nurtured in the future.
And for me, it was position 77, and seventh in age group. A decent outcome, in tough conditions, particularly as I had had my COVID booster jab the day before — proof if needed there were no side effects.
And don’t forget that every parkrun event cannot happen without the volunteers and they have to endure the wet conditions as well. Thank you all!
The cycle ride home was also uneventful. This time I stuck to the main roads through Frimley town centre that connected me back to side roads north away from Farnborough. And boy was the hot shower welcome when I got back home. I did that wet winter cycling trick by removing all my damp clothing as soon as I got inside the house and then going straight to the bathroom to warm up.
It’s November now, and I expect it won’t be the last time that happens.
And when I looked online at the results and social media promotion I found out one of the reasons why Frimley Lodge was so popular today, as the adjacent Edenbrook parkrun (which was the previous letter E event I did) was cancelled today due to flooding.
So I’m now one quarter of the way through the alphabet challenge, and as “F is for Fundraising” then if Children in Need is not your thing then a reminder that I’m raising money during my parkrun challenge for the British Heart Foundation — you can donate here. It’s a great cause.
