Parkrun Tourism: Wimpole Estate

At the end of 2014 after Ealing Half Marathon, I took a break from "serious training" and went on some fun runs. For several weeks in succession, I made an effort to explore a new parkrun visiting Roundshaw Downs, Lloyd Park and Crystal Palace.

Over the Christmas break, I did some more parkrun tourism, tackling an extremely wet and muddy Wimpole Estate with my brother Sam. He ran Windsor Trail Half Marathon with me back in May last year, and still occasionally heads out for a few miles so it was great to catch up over a run, even if the weather wasn't ideal!

The route consists of 1 lap around the estate grounds, which is pretty much all off road across grassy fields- trail shoes are recommended.

I ran around Wimpole Estate before when I visited my parents, but in very different conditions! I think it was actually sleeting at one point, and one poor guy fell on his face in the mud right in front of us.

I had mud all up my legs, and was completely soaked through my shoes and socks with very muddy feet by the end!

Despite this though, I really enjoyed the route- I had to walk up one of the hills as my calves cramped up (I don't think I was warmed up properly) but overall Sam and I had a great run, laughing about how mad we were when everyone else was tucked up at home eating leftover turkey and mince pies!

And as I always go on about, I love running in new/different/more exciting locations, and much prefer a bit of trail to a pavement.

Here's to more parkrun exploring! And thanks Sam for braving an early grey, cold and rainy Saturday morning with me. We got the mud off eventually! 🙂

Did you run anywhere new over Christmas? Are you a fan of mud and rain or are you a fair-weather runner? 😉

Beki x