parkrun, 7th September 2013

Newcastle parkrun:

20:58   Mungai Wairia    PB
21:19   Daniel Beardsley
23:00   Luke Woodend
23:16   Chris Hogarth
25:01   Elisabeth Stoddart

Blackhill parkrun:

20:49   Sumanth Nayak
24:36   Robert Brand

Blackhill is easily the toughest parkrun in the North-East. The bus from Newcastle conveniently stops right outside Consett and Blackhill Park, just metres from the start. Just like Gateshead, the course consists of one small hilly lap followed by three big hilly laps on a mixture of tarmac and gravel. There are many sharp corners and short steep climbs but also a long downhill stretch at the end. The paths are quite narrow in places making them tricky to negotiate when you are lapping people.

Most of the club runners belong to Blackhill Bounders and the faster ones must have been saving themselves for the Farringdon Relays because no one finished under 20 minutes but then, that’s indicative of how tough the course is. There’s coffee and according to the race director, “the best tea in the NE” served in lovely ceramic mugs at the nearby café. After a hard 5k in cold conditions, it certainly went down a treat. A small, very friendly, but testing addition to the region but I couldn’t see myself doing it every week!