I am not one of life’s great planners. It is not unusual for me to get to Friday evening without having any idea which parkrun I will do on Saturday morning. This week, the decision was easy. Banstead Woods.
It’s been on my list for a long time, but as it’s one of the few local parkruns I haven’t been to, I’ve been saving it for a special occasion. When I read in the parkrun newsletter that they were inviting people to stay on after the event to help pull up some unwanted Himalayan Balsam, I knew the time was right. Not only would I get the smug feeling of virtuousness that a parkrun brings but I would also get to do something community spirited as well, all before Saturday lunchtime. Leaving me free to slob the rest of the weekend away with a clear conscience.
So this morning, I headed down to Banstead. I got there bright and early, and who did I bump into but Derek, who’d taken me under his wing when I’d been to try out one of my local running clubs. We chatted for a bit, and then Derek excused himself to go and be useful (he was volunteering today, rather than running). I turned around, only to find that the event reporter was Sandhya, the guru who had guided me through my first ever parkrun at Wimbledon, and whose friendliness had made me love parkrun from the very first.
What can I say? I have enjoyed every parkrun I’ve been to. Small or large, flat or hilly, trail or tarmac, near or far, they are all wonderful. But with its trees, its one-and-a-half hills, it’s glorious downhill section and the exuberance of its welcome, Banstead is definitely one of my favourites.
PS. I was going to post a picture of the running shoes I bought yesterday (Adidas, from Sweatshop for any parkrun officials reading this), but the cat had other ideas…
…possibly because he was trying to save me from the hate mail that you’d send if you saw the state of them…
PPS Did I mention that Banstead Woods is a little muddy?
abradypus 
Muddy it is indeed! When I worked at L&G we used to do the ‘nature trail’ run on part of the parkrun course.. I really must go and do it one saturday! well done, and love the shoes 🙂
sorry, should have been more clear, the L&G building is adjacent to Banstead Woods :O)
The pink on them is still quite PINK!
I’m working on it!
adidas seem ti have gone neon lately, when I first started buying my adistars, they were nice muted colours, but seem to be getting louder and louder 🙂
I love the course at Banstead. The part that I secretly love most of all, even though it hurts me a lot, is when you pass the half-way point and hit the incline that the race starts on. I was over at Riddlesdown this weekend. That one didn’t suffer from the rain so much.
Pretty shoes!!
What about the Himalayan Balsalm? Am haunted by visions of triffids…
We cleared great swathes of it, though masses more remains. Basically it grows really densely stopping other grasses from growing but then dies back in winter leaving erosion-prone bare soil. But it’s shallow rooted so easy as pie to pull up. Unlike dandelions.
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Wow – LOVE the pink shoes why would you want to cover them in mud???? Great parkrunning as usual…I wouldn’t be surprised if peple start asking your for your autograph when you turn up at them in future!
They are lovely on their own, but combined with my bright orange practical action top they are a bit too much for a Saturday morning. I’m hoping the mud will take the edge off 🙂
I like your idea of “slobbing the rest of the weekend away with a clear conscience.” :O)
Ticks all the boxes for me:
-Indulges in the Banstead Woods Parkrun
-Gets down to slobbery at the weekend (earned or not in my case)
-Has fantastic pinks trainers
Cannot be faulted…….