My 32nd parkrun found me at another new parkrun in the Northamptonshire area, and another Country Park parkrun. As with my visits to Irchester and Salcey Forest I visited on the second week of this new parkrun. I love these Country Park parkruns, because they tend to be pretty, scenic, fun to run, and well served in terms of toilets, cafes and parking. This didn't disappoint on all counts. It's a stunning out and back course keeping to the shoreline of a reservoir. You can get away with Road shoes on this one and parking is £1 to parkrunners.
[I visited here on the 7th December 2019 for event number 2 and again on the 11th January 2020 for event number 7]
Difficulty
I'm going to rate this as a 3 out of 5, this is a surprisingly undulating course with a hill to finish. Total climb is only about 38m but it seems like a lot more than that, but the terrain is reasonable and the course is almost entirely on hard trails and footpaths, although some of the trails and paths get muddy and slippery on the surface after a lot of rain and puddles can be plentiful. Wind is also very common here, all of which can slow you down a bit. Road shoes with grippy rubber are probably the best choice.
Briefings
The briefings are held on a patch of grass next to the car park and forming the start/finish area. They have a PA system, and they will give a description of the course, including instructions to keep right on this out and back course, as it's another course where you will encounter runners coming the other way, and a puddle warning, because this is a very puddly course after a lot of rain. After the briefing you start on the grass and head to a footpath at the other end of the grassed area.
Course
This course is a mostly out and back course but with a deviation at the start and finish. The start is on grass and you head south and downhill across the grassed area until you reach a path at the far side, you then turn left and then left again having now reached almost level with the shore of the lake. You are now heading North East. You take a left turn and then a long sweeping right turn followed by a sweeping left turn to keep heading North East, all the time holding the shoreline of the lake. You'll soon come to an inlet of water, which you run around, good views of runners behind and in front of you at this point, after the right turn around the inlet you'll have a slight climb followed by a downhill you may start to encounter faster runners coming the other way either here or a bit further along the path (remember to keep right), you'll have three more right turns followed by a rise and fall, the last of which ends in the turnaround point (you'll almost certainly be encountering runners coming in the other direction by this point, so remember to keep right at all times). Now you head back the same way all the way back to the inlet, after the inlet has been run around you'll soon be directed right and steep uphill (to head back to the finish a different way then you came out. After the steep climb you head downhill again passing by some wooden sculptures and a pond, before you have a final climb to the finish.
Elevation
I measured the elevation at 38m, which doesn't sound too bad, but the large number of mild undulations certainly take their toll and the climb back up to the finish once you leave the lake is hard going. This is not a particularly quick course, but the terrain is reasonable.
Parking, Facilities and Coffee
Upon arrival at this parkrun I was struck by the number of car park marshals, this is a very well organised parkrun from a parking perspective. You'll be informed to collect a ticket from a volunteer manning a small desk in front of the visitor centre toilets, parking is a very reasonable £1 for parkrunners, please use the man on the desk, because the parking meters do not issue tickets for £1. This parkrun also has toilets, a visitor centre, a cafe, and a cycling shop. These country parks tend to be very well served in terms of facilities and Brixworth is no exception.
Other Points of Interest
There are lots of wooden sculptures out on route, including some large structures with carved poetry and some cute little chairs. Also a walking route with some little story plaques.
Summary
Another amazing Country Park parkrun, with great views of the reservoir, an entertaining and challenging course and a very friendly core team, if you are very lucky you may encounter the Northampton Crayons, or maybe a friendly policeman. It has already established itself as a popular parkrun tourism destination.
Links
Link to official parkrun site for this course - https://www.parkrun.org.uk/brixworthcountry/
Link to my Relive summary of the course - https://www.relive.cc/view/vYvrDVjgmx6