Rosliston parkrun

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Date of Visit

02/07/2022

Number of runners

166

Event Number

256

Visit Number

1

This has been on the list for a little while as it’s easy to get to from our place but a running club friend visited recently and recommended it so I bumped it up the list.

Results

https://www.parkrun.org.uk/rosliston/results/256/

parkrun Link

https://www.parkrun.org.uk/rosliston/

Facebook Page

https://www.facebook.com/roslistonparkrun/

Strava Segment

https://www.strava.com/segments/11551908

Weather

Wet! Was chucking it down when I arrived but thankfully was still pretty warm. Fortunately it stopped just in time for the run. It was a bit muggy going round but nothing too horrible. It then started raining again just as I left!

Getting There

Event is at Rosliston Forestry Centre, Swadlincote.

Public transport links aren’t great for this parkrun. Burton train station is four miles away so unless you’d like an extended warm up that’s not the easiest choice unless you bring a bike or grab a taxi. Also there are no buses that would you get you there in time for the start.

Getting there by car isn’t too complicated though as it’s not too far from the A38, A444 and the M42. If you’re coming via one of the main routes you’ll see brown road signs to guide you in.

There is plenty of parking though it isn’t free. It’s £1.50 for an hour or £4 all day. The ticket machine is cash only so take some change with you. There is a note on it saying you can pay by card at the café but it’s not open before parkrun starts.

Follow the signs for the visitor centre and that’ll take you to where you need to be for the start.

Facilities

Being at the forestry centre there’s not much to worry about on this front. Plenty of space to gather before hand. There are toilets next to where everyone gathers and there is a cafe for food and drink after. You can stay inside and they have tables outside too for when the weather is good. I had a cup of tea and cheese and bacon toastie. It was nice but I wish I’d had cake instead as they looked so good!

Briefings and Volunteers

This has got to be one of the most well oiled parkruns I’ve been to. Plenty of volunteers and everyone was very friendly. They even had some golf style “quiet please” signs for the briefing!

First time briefing was clear and concise and the map is always a helpful inclusion. She apologised twice for the “inclines” and I clearly failed to understand what she meant by that (more on that later)

Main briefing was facilitated by a microphone and a big massive speaker which thankfully didn’t succumb to the rain.

There were marshals at all the key turning points so no chance of getting lost. One of them was out there with a massive speaker and jumping up and down cheering everyone on. I love that enthusiasm that early in the morning!

Start line and finish funnel

I’d been given a bit of a heads up about the start line. It’s a very short walk down to a big grass area not far from where everyone initially gathers with signs for lining up in predicted finishing time. The start goes from the grass onto the path so you have an immediate sharp right turn and a climb back up the hill. Not a huge problem but if you’re a fast starter it’s slightly odd to get going.

Finish funnel was in front of the cafe, was really well marked out and had loads of room.

Course

This is a really nice course. As you’d expect from a forestry centre this is a run through the trees! It’s essentially a single lap around the centre but there is a small section where you run back over a part of the course you’ve been on before so will have runners coming in the other direction so need to make sure you stick to the right.

It’s a bit twisty and lumpy but also has a couple of nice flat straight sections. One of the inclines mentioned in the first time briefing is in fact a full blown hill and not an easy one. I’ve been doing parkrun long enough I should have realised that’s what she meant!

Surface is the gravel trail type paths you usually get for walking off road so may get a bit muddy and slippy in the winter when the trees drop leaves on it.

Shoes

Broadly speaking road shoes. Other than the start on the grass this is pretty much all path. If it’s particularly bad weather and gets wet you might want something with a bit more grip but it’d have to be pretty bad to need trail shoes.

Short or Long? (based on our watches and checking out other Strava profiles)

Maybe a touch short. I had 3.09 miles on my watch. That was the longest out of the other 9 or 10 strava profiles I looked at.

Andy Stats

parkrun number:

58

Tourist event number:

27

Official time:

19:55

Position: 3 (69.04% age grade)

Bryony Stats

No Bryony this week. She was away for the weekend and had a train to catch that didn’t fit in with a parkrun visit.

How did it go?

I really enjoyed the run though I didn’t quite get the pacing right. I struggled to figure out how fast I was going at the start as there are a few twists and turns and I ended up hanging on to someone who finished in a time that would have been a PB for me! When my watch beeped for the first mile my pace was just about on the limit for my current capabilities and I wasn’t feeling too bad but the hill just past half way was much bigger than I was expecting and gave me a bit of a kicking. I really slowed getting to the top and couldn’t pick things back up after that so was a bit of a battle to the finish.

None of that took away from the enjoyment though and I was still happy with my result. I’d love another crack at it now I know the course.

Return Visit Likely?

Yes, especially at some point during the summer as I think this is one Bryony will enjoy. Nice scenery, good café for after and easy to get to from home.

Pictures and that.