Knockbracken Reservoir parkrun 07-08-21 event #10
Number of runners: 90
Weather: Cloudy, humid, some rain 18 degrees
Knockbracken reservoir is home to the water sports centre: Let’s Go Hydro, so when you’re on your three lovely laps tat parkrun, there is always something interesting to look at! I first discovered there was a parkrun here when I was doing some open-water swimming, and I knew I needed to come back to run it!
I was pushing it for time arriving to Knockbracken as I had to run 9.5km to get there (I was using this as a marathon training run – 14 miles in total). Fortunately, I arrived just in time for the run brief, which was nicely spaced out, with the RD stood halfway up the stairs making it easy to hear and see them. We then walked round the reservoir path a bit to reach the narrower start, before quickly setting off.
Straight away I thought it was a fast parkrun, sticking with my moderate long distance pace meant that I was immediately at the very back! It’s 3 mostly-flat laps around the reservoir, with a short sharp hill on one corner. The path is predominantly wide, with a handful of narrow sections and a couple of 90 degree turns to get over a small bridge. I was surprised at the number of marshals on the course (though this week was a takeover by a local run club), so you never felt lonely on the course despite it being very spread out at the back. There were also important marshals on the short road section, keeping the cars in check along the access road to the camp site, .
The second lap was where the overtaking began by the speedsters! Due to the wide paths, most overtook with lots of space but I felt that some got unnecessarily close, despite me trying to stay as far left as possible.
On three lap parkrun courses, I always feel the 3rd lap is the slow-poke victory lap – although I got overtaken by some of the faster runners doing their cooldown laps! Lots of them gave a friendly “well done" to people still running, and lots of onlookers cheering - probably the most comaraderie I’d experienced at a Northern Ireland parkrun, presumably as this is out of the city.
The finish is thankfully just before the steep hill, and it’s such a small parkrun, you get you token and then get scanned almost immediately. My suspicions of a fast parkrun were confirmed later by text – I came 81st out of 90 with a time of just over 31 minutes! The final runner was 36:10 so definitely the fastest parkrun I’ve ever been to. Though, as we all know, no one finishes last at parkrun as there’s always a friendly tail walker.
Bonuses here include free parking (if you don’t chose to run there from Belfast city!), a reasonably priced café, and a tonne of water-sports for afters if you fancy something a bit different (though pre-booking is essential to guarantee availability!).
Overall, a friendly and smaller parkrun with stunning views. Definitely on the fast side, but slower runners will have plenty of space. Really lovely volunteers – thank you for the pictures! Highly recommend. Would love to come back here.
Alt text for images: Image 1: Grace in multicoloured shorts and a Hyde Park Harriers running vest, running past a row of pastel coloured beach houses. Image 2: finish text from parkrun reading "Grace, your time in position 81 today at Knockbracken Reservoir parkrun was 31:17. Well done on your 1st run here!" Image 3: a landscape of the reservoir with dramatic looking clouds and a footpath, with a grassy verge, expanding into the distance.