Dulwich park run - 22nd November 2025

THE THING WITH running communities is you get dragged into things you don't see coming, but that's one of the pleasures of being involved with a creative community that want to get involved in all sorts of shenanigans!   And if you are a bit like me, enthusiastic, you get dragged along in their wake.   The first time I got involved I ended up in Jersey on a parkrun!

The idea came from J&M Runners, we were to meet up as a group and run one of the London parkruns, in this case Dulwich.   Please don't think this is a one off J&M have a history of parkrun tourism and travel miles just to get another one under their belt.   This can be for a variety of reasons, the run begins with a letter in the alphabet they need, or is part of the Fibonacci sequence.   Whatever, they are an amazing, motivating run group.   I have never done a London parkrun and was very keen to get involved and looking forward to it.

The evening before I got the message, "You need to wear a toutou".   Like I own one of those, and even more importantly why?    There was no time for questions and I sent a message round to people I knew asking if they have one?   Jo, three doors up from me came back with a positive response and she brought in around.   I was now armed with a toutou and ready for another J&M experience.

Early the next morning we met on the railway station at Haywards Heath with our toutou's.   It turned out that the run was on Saturday 22nd, or to put it another way two-two (or totou).    This is the type of crazy community engagement that I was referring to at the begging of the article.   But it was too late, I was at the railway station with my toutou and it was too late to pull out!

Dulwich is a beautiful park in London and was a three lap course.   It was friendly and I was asked several times running the course, "Do you normally run in a toutou".   One person I tried to explain that I was a sound engineer and it's how we test the microphones, "One, one, toutou".    I think they believed I was serious!

I have to say I love those J&M Runners, they are always enthusiastic and welcoming which makes the whole thing contagious, how could you say no, when you know it's going to be a great day with them. 

 

WSFRL: New Years Day Hangover 5

HAYWARDS HEATH HARRIERS have had amazing success with the West Sussex Fun Run League over the last two years.    Starting with a club initiate in payment and supporting the event to new leadership that has resulted in Haywards Heath Harriers winning the League twice over the last two years.

The WSFRL is made up of 16 athletics clubs, who all host one run over the season.   That's 16 runs to gain points over the year.   They are all very different runs and amazing events to take part in.   The first is the Hangover 5 (miles or 8km) in Worthing hosted by Worthing Gazelles and the last is always Gun Powder Treason and Trot hosted by Horsham Joggers in Horsham.   Both events always have mud in common, rather a lot of it!

There was a good turn out from Haywards Heath Harriers with 28 athletes on the starting line, aiming to get as many points as possible to ensure a good chance of victory by the end of the season.

It's a tough course starting off with a run round a large field, before exiting through the car park onto a tarmac lane.   One through that there is a left turn onto the start of the trails run heading up on to the South Downs for a good two miles.   Then it drops down hill, with a few more hills for good measure circling back towards the finish line.

There was a good amount of mud and places where the mud mixed with the chalk creating, I do not know what, other than very slippery and sticky mess!   This is one of the runs that I look forward to each year and it never fails to deliver.

The race concluded with Horsham Joggers in first position just four points ahead of joint second place Haywards Heath Harriers and Worthing Harriers.   This is a great start to the season with three clubs already head to head for points over the coming 11 months heading for the Gunpowder Treason and Trot in Horsham. 

 

Christmas Day Aberdare Parkrun

CHRISTMAS 2025 was spent at the bungalow in Hirwaun, South Wales.   It was a chance to get away over the festive period, and spend some time with my wife in a beautiful location.   There was also the opportunity to get out and do some runs building on my knowledge of the local trails.

Christmas day started with a trip over to Aberdare for their Christmas parkrun.   It was a beautiful event with 213 people on the start line.   It was the only event I have done that started with a dance and singalong before the run started.   What a great atmosphere!

Aberdare is a small park and the run is 3 and 3/4 laps of the park, finishing at the boat lake.   There is a real community feel to this run and this was their 299th event since they started (this coming Saturday being their 300th and chance to celebrate).

When I went to Wales my intention was to participate at Pontypridd and do one of my favorite parkruns, but they were not operating on Christmas Day.   New Years Day was being advertised, but I was booked in on a run in West Sussex (Hangover 5 miles, part of the West Sussex Fun Run League) and had to be back in England.

After this is was back to the bungalow for a shower, simple breakfast, opening presents and looking forward to Christmas dinner.

On the Saturday I did attend the Pontypridd parkrun, with the same festive spirit and a lot of runners on the start line.   There is nothing like starting Christmas Day with a community event that unites people and just sets the day up.

Parkrun released that on 25th December 2025 there were 236,000 people over the parkrun finish line at 741 events over 5 countries, we are not alone!