Orangefield parkrun event #96
Number of runners: 81
Weather: Hot – 14 degrees, cloudy
As part of an 18-mile marathon training run, I went to Orangefield parkrun this week. A bit of an odd one for me – I’d volunteered there a few months back but never ran it! It’s about 5 km from my house so it seemed like a great way to start my 29 kilometres.
I knew the route had changed since I’d been there last so once I was in the park, I went to my nearest hi-vis hero and asked where the start was – I wasn’t far away. Wondered down just in time for the brief, but, as always, I didn’t really grasp the route from the description. What was helpful though was the information that you pass Kingfisher bridge twice then turn to finish when you get there a third time. It was also really helpful that I’d already done 5k exactly so when my watch was nearing 10 km it would be time to finish!
We set off and I hung back to make sure I stuck to a gentle pace. The route is undulating and quite windy – it would be tricky to do without volunteers or signs! You start on the path for a bit, but then do a small section on the grass with the route clearly mowed into the long-grass field. Then over a small bridge to the left, up a small hill, back down to another bridge, along the path to the small but very uphill forest section, back on the path, up another hill, down the hill, then left to the start and all over again! It’s a two-and-a-half lapper which was makes a change to most parkruns. The finish is also up a steep hill but it’s nice and wide, with lots of space around the finish to distance from other people whilst getting barcodes and scanned. The variety of the route keeps it interesting! The windy-ness of it did seem to make it go on forever though!
The volunteers here are lovely, I’d met most of the core team before so I already knew this! Throughout the course they were directing and cheering, and the one at the start of the wooded section even held his dog and was making it wave to all the runners going past which gave us all a giggle.
The runners here are also really lovely. Most are local and clearly have a lovely sense of community. I chatted to a couple of people on my way round and it was really pleasant.
Orangefield park is situated at the base of the Connswater greenway which is where I continued my run after finishing. In Belfast, greenways are paths for pedestrians and cyclists away from the main road. This greenway follows the Conn’s water – previously a river but is now more of a stream. It’s beautiful and great to be away from the roads.
All in all, this parkrun is super friendly, a very interesting route but not a PB course!