OK confession time, the first time I went to do this parkrun on the 4th of August 2018 it turned out to be cancelled. I reached the start and saw no obvious evidence of a parkrun. There were a few confused individuals standing around. One woman said to me "is parkrun not on then?" I responded that it was my first one here and asked where it normally starts and she confirmed that it starts where we were standing. Checked the Bedford parkrun website from my phone and sure enough it was cancelled. It's a lesson that you should always check the website for the parkrun you are planning on visiting. I ran the course anyway as a freedom parkrun, but this meant I had to go back a few months later to do it properly (when it was much wetter unfortunately). When I went back for my first official run here I checked and double checked the website and managed to actually do it properly the second time around. This is a scenic and pretty run around Bedford park, it looks flat but it's not quite as flat as you might think, the nearby Great Denham is quicker, but this one is prettier.
[First Official run here on 6th October 2018].
Update Nov 2022 - The course has swapped round since the Covid pause, see details in the 'Course 2021' onwards section below. I've also included details of an alternative (and very tasty) post parkrun coffee (and cake) venue 'Fancy Bakery' in the 'coffee' section.
Difficulty
Most people I think would rate this as a 1 out of 5, however I'm giving it 1.5 out of 5, for the reasons outlined in my course notes below. It should be a very quick course, but I didn't manage to dial into it for whatever reason.
The Course
This is a two and a half lap clockwise course entirely on footpath and should be a quick run, however the First timer and Visitor briefing warned that despite looking flat there are a couple of inclines out on course. You can't really see them but you can feel them and this parkrun seems to be much more of a challenge then it ought to be, for me I also found it a bit of a psychological challenge to be passing the finish three times before you actually cross the line. But it's really not a difficult course by any means, it's just that it's not the quickest of the local parkruns.
Anyway the briefing takes place very close to the finish (not the start) near a bandstand which is at the midpoint of the park at the end of a footpath leading up to the pavilion cafe. After the briefing everyone takes a joint walk up the footpath to the starting point, which is near the lake at the far east end of the park. The start can get busy as this is a popular run, so don't be afraid to run on the grass either side of the path if you need to. After the start you are heading back towards the briefing area, it's a very straightforward course to follow, basically you are just running the circumference of the park, after you have passed the briefing area at the bandstand, you pass some fields used for football on your right, and you will then pass a fitness centre on the left, you will be sweeping right and you are now at the far west end of the course and heading towards a pavilion (not the cafe pavilion, but a pavilion at the west end of the park) and some trees, you will feel a bit of an incline underfoot, after you pass the pavilion you are sweeping right again with a bit of tree cover. Next point of interest is the pavilion cafe, which you pass on your left, you keep heading around the circumference of the park, the east side of the park is a longer loop than the west side, and you will feel a second incline underfoot as you head back towards the start point. Lap two is as per lap one, Lap three is incomplete, after you pass the start for lap three, you head down past the bandstand, around the west side of the park past the other pavilion, but when you reach the pavilion cafe you turn right and head for the bandstand and finish area. After you've got your barcode scanned you might want to head back to the pavilion cafe for a well earned coffee.
The Course 2021 onwards
Since post Covid, the course has swapped direction and start point, the finish point is still on the path between the coffee shop and bandstand which runs between the two ends of the park, but the finish straight is shortened from the old course. The start is now on the South West end of the park, and the course is now 2.5 laps in an Anti-Clockwise direction. The inclines are all reversed as well which affects your pacing somewhat if you are used to the old direction, but the course is broadly similar and doesn't feel massively different due to the swap of direction.
Elevation
Basically this a flattish course with five (count them) slight inclines. They're nothing major but you will feel them underfoot. According to https://jegmar.com/stats-hq/fastest-races/parkrun/ it has 90ft or 27m of total elevation (I made it a bit more than this), but this ranks it at 251 out of the 519 that they have ranked.
Parking, Facilities and Coffee
Postcode for the course is MK41 7SS. Free parking is available along Park Avenue and in the car park next to Robinson Pool in Foster Hill Road. If you use the car park next to the Robinson pool you will need to get a ticket from the machine, it's free but you will need to display it. Coffee can be found at the excellent pavilion café and they make a great flat white.
There is also an alternative coffee venue a few streets away from the park at 35 Roff Ave, Bedford MK41 7TH, but it is well worth the walk, because the cakes are to die for, and the coffee is excellent as well.
Links
Link to Bedford parkrun website:
Link to a video I found on youtube of the Bedford parkrun course: