New parkrun in Beckenham

Yesterday saw 193 people taking part in the inaugural Beckenham Place parkrun in SE London. Andy Bond from Dulwich Runners set the opening men's course record in 17:34, with his club mate Selma Benattia establishing the women's record of 19:51. 

The two lap figure of eight course is pretty flat (certainly no hills), much of it on grass and the remainder on gravel. On the long lap it's certainly a relief to turn back at the furthest point and begin the run towards home, just under half a mile along the path by the River Ravensbourne, concealed among the trees. Yesterday the grass was still frosted over at the start after a cold night, so it was a little slippery. It was beginning to get muddy in places by the end, so you might want to consider trail shoes over the winter if you are really chasing a fast time. 

My main tip would be to take notice of the course directions before you get there. I know parts of Beckenham Place Park very well, with Assembly League races finishing by the mansion. I rocked up at the car park there thinking I would be bound to see some sign of the parkrun but couldn't see any trace at all. I bumped into a couple of similarly confused visitors in town from Perth and we headed off on a long run to try and find the start. The parkrun  actually starts at the Summerhouse playing fields on the other side of the railway at the East of the park. You are best coming to it from the Ravensbourne Avenue entrance, and by public transport to Ravensbourne station. There is car parking at the Old Bromley Road entrance to the park, which while not quite as near is on the right side of the railway line.

Facilities are limited at present. You can leave a bag on the grass at the start (at your own risk as per usual at parkrun), and I believe that the only public toilets are back at the old mansion/cafe/ex-golf club HQ. 

This is a good addition to the SE London parkrun circuit and should take some pressure off Bromley parkrun a couple of miles away, which regularly attracts more than 600 runners. There is a strong athletics infrastructure in the area with Beckenham Running Club based not far away (though of course if you're more in the Lewisham direction, come on down to Kent AC!) .

I will be returning to the park next month when the South of the Thames senior cross country race takes places there - though on a different, and much hillier course.

Thanks as always to all the volunteers, and for Lewisham Council in supporting the parkrun getting started.

(the run on Strava)

(Captain Badfoot has also reported on first run)

see also: Athletics in Beckenham 1881

Silence at Surrey League

I ran yesterday in the Surrey League Cross Country men's Division One at Farthing Downs outside of Coulsdon (home to South London Harriers). Before the race started there was a minute's silence to remember Lucy Pygott and Stacey Burrows, the two young runners killed this week while training with Aldershot Farnham and District AC. The driver of the car that killed them has been arrested.

Similar commemorations were held at races around the country yesterday, with many runners also wearing black ribbons. Although many of the runners would not have personally known 17-year-old Lucy and 16-year-old Stacey (left and right below), they were promising young runners who had already taken part in some of the big events of English athletics such as the national cross country championships at Castle Donington this year and the southern and national road relays.

The race started as soon as the silence finished, with 193 runners heading off on the two lap course. Kent AC (my club) won the race, regaining their place at the top of the league.  I was way towards the back in my first proper run since falling a couple of weeks ago, but did finish quicker than last time I ran that course a couple of years ago.

Gilles Peterson - PB at New York Marathon

I love Gilles Peterson as a DJ, I know if I listen to one of his mixes or radio shows that there will be lots of great music that I have never heard before - in short I trust him, he has even helped persuade me that jazz is OK, at least at the funkier end of its spectrum!

Gilles ran New York City Marathon last Sunday in a PB of 4:19:40. He ran his first marathon (London) in 2011 in 4:43:09, of which he wrote:

'Running around the streets of London yesterday made me appreciate this great city and its people – I love it here. The crowd was so encouraging – amazing… and it was funny how it changed from Greenwich to Deptford to the Isle Of Dogs – posh to chavvy – classic… the bands playing along were great – a lot of jazz funnily enough… more thoughts of Steve Reid!… and a brilliant bit about 21 miles in just before Tower Bridge on the Highway – massive sound playing – Rhythm Is Rhythm – ‘Strings of Life’… I thought I was on one in a rave on the Lee Bridge Road in ’88… I was properly tripping by then – that was my existential moment of the marathon!'

Since then he has run London Marathon three more times (2012, 2013, and 2014).  Gilles was running in New York to raise funds for the Steve Reid Foundation, a charity he helped set up a few years ago to help musicians in crisis (Steve Reid was a jazz drummer who died in 2010, unable to afford the medical treatments he needed).  After running 26.2 miles on Sunday, Peterson went on to another marathon DJ set at a fundraiser in New York at Le Bain, along with Francois K, Louie Vega and others. The flyer promised that 'his DJ set will be the length of his marathon run' and apparently he put in the full four hours.

He's already raised more than £5000 from the run, but there's still time to donate at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/GillesPeterson2016

See previously:

Musicians in Motion -

Emma Jackson (ex-Kenickie) and Johny Brown (Band of Holy Joy) at Great North Run

Dexys Midnight Runners, Running

Running with Madonna

Joe Strummer: Marathon Runner

Morrissey and Marr: The Running Smiths

Viv Albertine (The Slits) on Running

Stuart Murdoch/Belle & Sebastian

Billy McKenzie/The Associates
Northern Soul and Running as the New Raving

Record Sleeve Athletics:

Musique - Keep on Jumpin'

4-Play - Olympic Rap

Sergio Mendes - Olympia

Giorgo Moroder - Reach Out

Skids - Days in Europa
Three Degrees - The Runner

Blackbyrds - Action

Santana - Marathon

Joan Armatrading - Track Record & Roxy Music - Flesh and Blood

Carl Lewis

BBC Sporting Sound Effects

River Thames Half Marathon 2016

Running conditions were good for the River Thames Half Marathon on Sunday October 30th 2016, dry and cool but not cold as the mist lifted from the river at the start by Walton Bridge. The race, organised by Roy Reeder's River Thames Running, featured a field of more than 1700 runners on a course centred around the river at Walton-on-Thames, in Surrey just to the west of London.

The first two miles of the course are on road/pavement in surrounding streets, before joining up with the river path and heading east. Opposite Bushy Park/Hampton Court across the Thames, the course turns back and follows the river bank west for a good five mile stretch before a final loop brings you back to the start/finish.  

So more than half of the route is directly on the river towpath, a mixture of tarmac and gravel, quite narrow in places which can make overtaking a challenge - or on the positive side make it harder to be overtaken. It's a nice stretch of the river, with locks, boats and lots of rowing (the route passes directly in front of Molesey Boat Club). Best of all the course is more or less completely flat, unless you count a couple of bridges.

Seven ran from my club, Kent AC, with Che Compton winning first vet prize with his 11th overall position. At least five of us got good PBs I believe, I was pleased to take more than a minute off mine, finishing in 1.37.10.

Some of the Kent AC runners at the finish

Overall winner was Bedford's James Hoad in 1.10.16, while first woman was Becky Atkinson of Clapham Chasers in  1.20.11. Both set course records, in this the third year of the event (full results here)

It would have been a perfect race but for taking a tumble at the end. I was given it my all on a final dash to the finish when I tripped and landed with a thump on the hard gravel only about ten metres from the line. I got up and finished, but with cuts/grazes to head, shoulder, knee and hand. Nothing too serious, but quite painful and enough blood to be told not to come into the ambulance as I would make too much mess!

Blood, sweat and beer - nice medal doubling up as a bottle opener, I needed a drink after that.