Since 1890

Nice early start this morning. I hadn't been asked to work this weekend and so my friend Casey and I decided a few weeks ago that today would be a chance to get a few training miles under our belts with the Dublin Half Marathon on the horizon.

I then had the bright idea of doing a parkrun first, followed by a longer run after. It was decided, we would meet at Avery Hill Park near Eltham which required the aforementioned early start.

Tube from Loughton to Stratford. Change for Jubilee to North Greenwich and finally the 132 bus to Avery Hill Park. Arrived at 08:30 which was in plenty of time for the 09:00 start.

Casey arrived just after so we prepared ourselfs for the 5k that lay ahead. It was nice to see a big group of the regulars getting a picture taken with their VMLM finishers medals. The group numbered at least 20 which is an amazing amount of runners to have participated from one parkrun community.

After the usual instructions from the parkrun marshalls, there was a nice touch with the announcement that one of our number was running their 250th parkrun, which elicited a well deserved round of applause.

And then we were off; 180 runners and 3 laps of the park. After making our way through the congestion at the start we settled into a nice rhythm, picking off a runner every now and then. The course is on both grass and concrete pathways so is quite challenging.

Fast forward 2 and 1/2 laps and we're both puffing a bit but we kept going and eventually crossed the line in a respectable 24 mins.

After a visit to the cafe for a lucozade we were off on our 2nd run, a 5 miler back to Greenwich via Blackheath.

Quite a hilly route and I won't lie, I was cream crackered when we arrived in Greenwich but the thought of our refuelling stop at Goddards was what kept me going.

Picture is of exterior of a cracking pie and mash establishment; all pies made on premises and served with choice of liquor, gravy and eels.

Feels good to have had such a busy/active start to the day and to have my Blip in the bag so early!