Haldon Forest parkrun

Introduction / List of reviews

If you’re new here click the link for an introduction post and list of other reviews –> Click me

Date of Visit

05/08/2022

Number of runners

Event Number

104

Visit Number

1

We made this visit while we were on holiday in Devon

Results

https://www.parkrun.org.uk/haldonforest/results/104

parkrun Link

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

Facebook Page

https://www.facebook.com/Haldon-Forest-parkrun-392119701336830/

Strava Segment

https://www.strava.com/segments/19979746

Weather

Honestly, perfect. Blue sky. Warm but not hot. Little bit of a breeze and not too humid.

Getting There

Haldon Forest park is straightforward to get to from the A38. Postcode is EX6 7XR

parkrun page says you can get a bus from Exeter that drops you half a mile away.

Once you’re there it’s worth knowing the first time briefing and the actual start are in separate places.

First time briefing is near the cafe and the toilet block. It’s also where barcodes are scanned post race.

From there it’s a short walk across the road to the start. It’s easy to find as there are sign posts and is behind the Haldon Forest parkrun banner.

Facilities

Haldon Forest Park is a Forestry England site so it well geared up for visitors for walking, cycling and activities like Go Ape. Means there is plenty of parking though you do have to pay for it. £4.00 for 2 hours and £6 for 4 hours.

Plenty of toilets and there is a cafe which we were told is really good but we had to get back to check out of our accommodation so couldn’t check it out.

Briefings and Volunteers

We ended up being the only people at the first time briefing. Not sure if this is because of the being in two different places and other people didn’t realise. Ended up having a nice chat with the volunteer who rather than an actual briefing.

For the main briefing, the microphone died but she did a fantastic job of being loud enough so we could all be heard. She also did a bit of promotion of the 5k and 10k races that are happening in the park later in the year.

There were marshal points dotted at key points throughout the course to make sure we all went the right way.

Start line and finish funnel

Start and finish are in the same place. It’s reasonably wide path and is it’s not a hugely busy evet there isn’t a ton of queuing to get over the start.

Finish funnel was a set of cones on one side of the path so as not to impede other park users. This probably could do with being a touch wider as I saw several instances where people who were trying for a faster finish were getting tangled up with people who like to slow and sometimes stop right on the line. This happened to Bryony as she finished as the person in front of her essentially stopped dead on the line and Bryony wasn’t able to slow her momentum.

Having the barcode scanning away from the finish line caught me by surprise but it would have made the path a little crowded. I imagine it would also help encourage people to visit the cafe as the scanning happens directly in front of it.

Course

2 laps, one short and one slightly longer.

A really beautiful course through the forest with a section up high that you do twice that gives you stunning views of the countryside.

In contrast to last week this one starts flat and then goes downhill. There a few challenging climbs on this one though. One in particular won’t have been runnable for everyone. I saw a couple of people pushing buggies and I’ve no idea how they made it up!

Needless to say while there are some really runnable flats and downhill sections the hills mean it’s not a fast course.

Shoes

Road in the summer, probably trail in the winter. Most of the course is on well maintained gravel style paths. The park is meant for visitors to walk around so that’s no surprise. But there are a few sections, particularly the hill climbs which are dirt trails so when it’s wet and muddy you’re going to need that extra grip.

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

I had this a touch short. That said with all the trees I wouldn’t fully trust my GPS on this one!

Andy Stats

parkrun number:

61

Tourist event number:

30

Official time:

20:04

Position:

2 (68.52% age grade)

Bryony Stats

parkrun number:

49

Tourist event number:

24

Official time:

37:39

Position

91 (40.64% age grade)  40th Female

How did it go?

Andy – I really enjoyed this one. It’s such a great place for a parkrun. Pleased enough with how I ran and had a nice little battle with the person who finished in 3rd place (I was never catching the guy in front of me though)

Bryony – Having checked out the details for the course in advance I felt mentally prepared for the hills that were coming which really helped as I already knew my time would be slower than usual. With the pressure off I just enjoyed the scenery although I was surprised with how few runners there were around my pace (and slower). Maybe the hills put them off which is a shame especially as everyone around me walked them anyway.

Return Visit Likely?

No. While it was a really nice one to do the main reason for choosing this was how close it was to where were staying. If we did visit the area again I wouldn’t be against another visit, but we’d more than likely pick another one to try out.

Pictures and that.