New Years Day #2 took me to Cassiobury for the letter C of my alphabet challenge. On the subject of New Years Day doubles, I discovered that my double was unique according to the following Google Map of all parkrun doubles. Having being the only person to visit a combination of Luton Wardon and Cassiobury. I didn't do much reading up on this one beforehand so was very pleasantly surprised to find myself on a fast flat course with huge PB potential. Great course and very well organised, they even have a bag drop! [I visited here on 1st January 2019].
Difficulty
This is about as easy as they come, fully tarmacked footpath, the slightest of inclines and only 8 corners. Easy to rate this as 1 out of 5.
The Course
This course is basically two and a half laps of a large triangle. The assembly point is near the finish, with a bag drop (On the south side of the triangle about halfway along the triangle).
After the first timer and visitor briefing there is a group jog\walk to the start, which is at the Eastern end of the triangle. The start is at the beginning of a long straight on the northern side of the triangle, you are heading north west and ever so slightly downhill until you reach a sharp turn with some cones and a marshal. They will direct you along the next (shorter) straight heading south east and very gently uphill towards a gentle corner and some more cones to direct you (this corner you can take at speed, taking care with other runners of course), you now have another long straight heading East, you will pass the finish area on the right still heading very gradually uphill, before eventually reaching another sharp left turn with some cones and another marshal, and you are now back at the start for lap 2, once you reach this point again you're ready for lap 3 which finishes on the second of the two long straights. All in all it's a very straightforward course to follow and almost no elevation to speak of.
Elevation & Terrain
Fast, almost flat, entirely tarmacked and with very good PB potential. According to https://jegmar.com/stats-hq/fastest-races/parkrun/ this is the 135th flattest parkrun out of the 519 they have ranked. Take it from me though with only 47ft or 15m of elevation this is a great course.
Parking, Facilities and Coffee
No official car park near the start. The official parkrun site recommends parking at the nearby Watford underground station WD18 7LE (roughly £2 to park). The post parkrun coffee is at the Cha Café, which is close to the finish point. There is a children’s play area next to The Cha Café, The Café does have toilets, but parkrun cannot guarantee that they will be open before the run starts each week.
Other points of interest
The owl tree which is fairly close to the assembly point. It is a dead tree with some carved out wood features including a bears bottom (see photo)
Summary
I really enjoyed this one because it's very fast with a great running surface. The park is quite pretty with lots of tree lined paths and it's secluded despite the fact you're in the middle of Watford. Come here if you're looking for a PB, or just an enjoyable run around the park.
Here is a link to the offical website for this parkrun:
Here is a video of this parkrun which I found on Youtube:
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