Tilgate Parkrun - Crawley with J&M Runners

Last week was International Women's day and all marshalling duties for Clair Parkrun was taken over by our female athletes, this Saturday is going to be all male allowing all of those volunteers to run, so the plan for Saturday was simple.

Unfortunantly by the time I volunteered all the slots had been taken, which is great because with the volunteers in place it leaves me free to run it, and with a major national event coming up, I need to keep on top of the training.

Then came the news from Marion Hemsworth that J&M Runners were planning to run Tilgate parkrun in the tourist slot.   I have now managed to do a number of parkruns from Haywards Heath, Reigate, Hove and Poole to Wales with Pontyprith, Aberdare and (home of Gavin and Stacey) Barry Island.   But I have not done Tilgate, just down the road?

The closest I have got is with the WSFRL with the Saints and Sinners run around Tilgate Forest and more recently with Crawley Run Crew's "Run Your Heart Out", 8km run around Tilgate Forest and Park.

I managed to blag a lift the J&M Runners from Beechurst in Haywards Heath all the way to Crawley.   It always amazes me how inclusive athletes are and the level of "community" there is in running.   But there we were heading for Crawley on time for the start of parkrun.

This was a really nice, but challenging course, starting off just below the Smith and Western pub you run the big lake, which cuts between the smaller lake.   You then loop back around (with a very nice challenging hill) to the Smith and Western you run it anti clockwise to the rear of the public house and down past the car parks.

 

Very quickly you turn left back into the park and run up the side of the Nature Centre (being the second hill on the course).    Looping back to the start you run one last complete lap of the lake and into the exit tunnel.

Coming into the second loop of the large lake Marion caught me up and we started to cat and mouse each other around the lake and to that elusive exit tunnel.   This isn't the first time we have done this, Hove Promenade was a great example of how we can bounce off each other and increase motivation.  

 

It was great running with J&M today and we managed to finish the run with coffee in the walled garden along with Marion's Jaffa cakes.   Great day and a great run.