Queen’s parkrun 17-07-2021 event #415
Number of runners: 126
Weather: Hot – 22 degrees and full sunshine
Queen’s parkrun isn’t at the main university site as some might think – it’s actually at Queen’s University Malone Playing fields, affectionately known as ‘The Dub’ as it’s off Dub Lane in South Belfast. I volunteered here a few times when parkrun first came back in NI so I was already familiar with the core volunteer group though was clueless on the course!
The run brief is in the wide grassy area just by the start so lots of room to space out. Runners are encouraged to arrange themselves in speed order and then off we go!
Pretty quickly, the wide path narrows to a footpath that fits two abreast, with a fence and a steep verge either side. There are some areas with grass either side to overtake, but not always. It’s a weird course – you run out on the narrow path to the playing fields, do two wonky laps of the pitches, then back along the narrow path to the start/finish.
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Once at the playing fields area, there is more room to overtake, but you may need to hop on the grassy areas from time to time to give others more space. The route is ‘undulating’ – mostly flat but with lots of small, steep, sneaky hills dotted about, and a couple of hairpin bends that can slow you down.
There are lots of volunteer marshals on the course – which is good as it’d be easy to take a wrong turn, and indeed I almost cut one of the hairpins off at one point!
For most of the way round I was chasing down a pair of well-known locals – a man pushing a lady in a wheelchair, which is a heroic feat given all those sharp hills throughout the course.
After the two laps of the playing field, it’s back down the narrow footpath. There’s one slightly sketchy bit where another major footpath intersects the run route, where many unaware walkers may wonder into your path – hence much needed marshals are at this point!
As a smaller parkrun, the finish funnel is never congested so it’s quick to get your token and get scanned. Sadly, Queen’s really struggles to get volunteers each week, but a few of the faster runners do volunteer to scan.
Perks at this parkrun are the free parking and secure cycle parking at Queen’s sports grounds – both right next to the start. This parkrun is really accessible by bike as it’s not far from the tow path which runs down the river Lagan from Lisburn to Belfast centre. Although there is no café nearby, nearly every week I’ve been here, someone has bought along cake! Also, due to the course layout, you don’t get overtaken much, so you never need to worry about getting in the way of others or having people pass too close in pursuit of a speedy time.
In summary, it’s a nice small-medium sized parkrun with a very interesting course! The out-and-back with two loops definitely keeps it fresh, even if the sneaky hills make it not-really-a-PB-course.
Alt text for images: Image 1: a group of people in a variety of colourful sports gear listening to the run brief on a sunny day. Image 2: a text message reading: "Grace, your time in position 91 today at Queen's parkrun, Belfast was 30:38. Well done on your 1st run here!". Image 3: Grace wearing a purple running vest, smiling in the sunshine, with the parkrun start line in the background.