Woodgate Valley Country Park parkrun

Introduction / List of reviews

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Date of Visit

03/06/2023

Number of runners

173

Event Number

91

Visit Number

1

In the area visiting friends on Friday night so tied it in with a bit of parkrun tourism

Results

https://www.parkrun.org.uk/woodgatevalleycountrypark/results/91/

parkrun Link

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

Facebook Page

https://www.facebook.com/WoodgateValleyparkrun

Strava Segment

https://www.strava.com/segments/29498705?filter=overall

Weather

Glorious sunshine and blue skies. Just about ok for running in when we got there but temperature did start to jump pretty quickly.

Getting There

Number 23 bus stops right outside the park for anyone getting there via public transport.

From further afield, pretty easy to get to from the M5 as it’s only a few minutes away from junction 3. Putting Woodgate Valley park into your mapping app will get you there fine.

Can also come through Birmingham via A38 towards Selly Oak

Entrance to the park is on Clapgate Lane and there is free parking on site.

Facilities

Nothing really there at the moment. There is normally a visitors centre with toilets but that’s apparently been closed for some time.

For our post run drink we followed the recommendation of the RD and went to Coffee at Cogs about a mile up the road. The owner is a member of Halesowen Triathlon Club so it’s cycling themed cafe! Has a very nice seating area setup for attracting groups of people on bikes. It was very nice and we had a couple of lovely pastries with our tea.

Briefings and Volunteers

Because of how the course is laid out the briefing isn’t near the carpark. The finish funnel is though so you may see some volunteers milling around but you need to make your way down the path to get to the start and the briefings. Everyone here was really friendly and I enjoyed chatting to the RD and the time keepers after I’d finished.

Start line and finish funnel

The start line is at cross roads in the path at the half way point of the course. It’s pretty easy to find as it’s downhill from the car park and it’s nicely signposted. It is right on the path though which isn’t all that wide so can make for a bit of a queue if it’s busy.

Finish funnel is the exact opposite as you approach it after doing half a lap of a huge field. Means there is tons of space!

Course

As I’ve alluded to above it’s a bit unique. It starts as an out and back course but you start at the half way point, run until you get to the end of the path, turn and head back to the start. You then turn left at the start up the hill back towards the car park before running on the edge of a field to the finish funnel in the far corner. The out and back and the hill section a really flat so it’s just the single to finish you have to content with. Means some potentially fast times though while it’s not a brutal hill it’s not over quickly!

Shoes

When it’s dry road shoes are fine. It’s a decent surface on the out and back section and the grass section is only for a couple of minutes. When it’s wet you’ll definitely need trail shoes. That field alone will get pretty muddy!

Andy Stats

parkrun number:

91

Tourist event number:

42

Official time:

18:49

Position:  

4 (73.60% age grade)

Bryony Stats

parkrun number:

76

Tourist event number:

37

Official time:

39:42

Position

151 (38.75% age grade)  58th Female

How did it go?

Andy – Not too bad. Pleased overall considering the lack of sleep and a tiny bit of a hangover. We’d had a good night on Friday! I went out pretty hard with the front runners and wasn’t doing too badly but as soon as we had to climb up the hill the heat hit me and realised I should have taken it a bit easier. My first couple of miles turned this into a good time as the last one was vastly different.

Bryony – I’ve never been a fan of out and backs and this one wasn’t any different. I was mentally prepared for the hill but not the grassy section at the top which came as a surprise. I’m also not a fan of grassy sections either! Considering I’m not on form on the moment, overall the weather made it enjoyable.

Return Visit Likely?

If we’re visiting those friends again yes. It’s a really lovely park and I really enjoyed the route, especially when the weather is good.

Pictures and that.