A very challenging parkrun for my 56th course. Church Mead has been on the edge of our parkruns not completed for a while, and my regular parkrun buddy Jacquie decided that for her 250th parkrun, she wanted to do a new tourist event. Church Mead was duly selected and off we went on the 11th March. I knew it was cross country with a hill but I wasn't quite prepared for the difficulty level of this course. Still it was one of our NENDYs and it was another 'C' towards my 'Pirates' challenge. There are a number of different parkruns in the Chilterns and they all tend to have at least one fairly brutal hill in them and Church Mead is no exception. I was quite surprised to learn this course has more elevation than the nearby Wendover Woods, which is well known for it's massive hill. Church Mead takes place in Old Amersham, and although difficult is a very pretty and varied two lap course, mostly cross country with a wooded section and a small amount of hard surface in the (downhill) finish area. They were on event 48 on the morning of our visit.
[I first visited this parkrun on 11th March 2023]
Bit of History
Amersham is effectively split into two parts, Old Amersham is very old indeed with evidence of settlement here going back to ancient times and is mentioned in the Doomsday book. The modern part of Amersham is where the bulk of the population live and is mostly modern housing estates, but Old Amersham is very pretty and very much in picture postcode territory. Apparently the name Church Mead takes it's name from the fact it is the Meadow by the Church. The church in question is St Mary the Virgin, and the briefing area is behind the Memorial Garden next to the River Misbourne (a chalk stream) and close to the grounds of the Church. Amersham was reliant upon farming for much of it's history and has been a market town since Medieval times. It grew slowly up until modern times and there are many historic buildings still visible in the high street, so that is well worth a visit after the parkrun. Also worth a visit is the Memorial Garden itself a floral and art garden created in 1949 to remember the fallen in both World Wars.
Briefings
Both briefings take place in an area of parkland next to the Church and Memorial Garden next to the River. There were some very excitable dogs on the visitor and first timer briefing this morning. Someone attending was doing their first ever parkrun here (very brave). Farthest tourists this morning were from New Zealand. On the Main Brief there were shout-outs for a couple both doing their 25th parkrun, all of them at Church Mead! as well as a 9 year old doing her 50th parkrun. The visitor brief gave also gave a good description of the two lap trail course, which gave mention to the 'slight incline'. They also advised you to take a moment at the top of the hill to check out the view. Both briefings mentioned Seasons Cafe for the post parkrun coffee, but the visitor brief also advised that it was worth checking out the Memorial Garden and High Street and also advised there are a number of more good cafes in the High Street as well. The start is a short walk East from the briefings at the Finish area.
The Course
The start is a short walk from the briefing area. From the start you are on footpath and run back towards the briefing area, and around the little green before being directed over a small footbridge and taking a left turn passing the church graveyard on your right, at the end of the graveyard you take a right turn leaving the footpath and you are now on a trail path running South East along the side of a field on your left and passing back along the graveyard on your right. At the end of the graveyard, you take a slight right and left, to enter the boundary of another field, but basically still heading in the same direction. As you reach the bottom corner of the second field you are then directed left and up along the field boundary to head uphill and North which is where it gets a bit muddy, there is some shingle in the middle of the trail path which helps a little with the traction, eventually you will reach the end of this field, remember to at least look over your shoulder at the amazing view before heading into another field, still climbing and still heading roughly North along the parameter of the next field. At the top of the field you take a left turn and shorty after you will reach a Marshal who invites you to turn right into the wooded section. Again remember to take in the view in before entering the woods, the first climb is now complete. The wooded section is a relief after the climb up through the fields and the change in scenery and terrain is pleasant. As you enter the woods, there is a short downhill section before starting another climb although this is much less brutal than the climb through the field, at the far end of the woods, you take a couple of left turns, which takes you roughly South and you are now heading back towards the start on a woodland path running alongside Rectory Park road on your right. The road will disappear from view as you crest the top of the second climb and the woodland path starts to drop into a downhill section, you will then emerge from the trees and back into the field, still heading downhill and back towards the graveyard. When you reach the graveyard you will be directed left and you now start lap 2. After doing the hill climb and wooded section again you will come back to the Graveyard for the third and final time, but this time you head straight on, back onto the footpath and on to the finish.
Difficulty
Yeah I'm going to give this my very rare 6 out of 5 rating. Perhaps try and at least come here when the ground is dry because I suspect in wet conditions it is even harder. You have 70m of elevation each lap giving 140m of elevation across the whole 5k of the course. The climb is made more difficult by the fact it is a trail along the edge of a field and if the ground is soft, which it was on the day of our visit, you will struggle a bit for grip in places. You will find lap 2 more difficult simply by virtue of the fact that you'll be tired from doing lap 1. Trail shoes or hybrids are recommended here, unless you come in Summer when the ground will be hard, there is a small amount of hard footpath on this course, but the vast majority of the course is field tracks and woodland trails. It is very pretty with some stunning views, but please come prepared for a challenge. Also don't expect this to be a quick course, you can expect your time to be a number of minutes slower than your best efforts on the quickest courses. I managed a time of 26:52 (and just snuck into the top quarter of finishers) as opposed to my more standard mid-22s on flatter courses.
Elevation
My Garmin says there is 140m of total elevation across the two laps, the majority of the 70m climb each lap is up the side of the field boundary, although there is a little bit more of a climb in the woods it is far less noticeable and easier to deal with (and the terrain is also a bit better). When you get to the top of the field the second time you have broken the back of the course, and you do have a downhill finish to look forward to. I even managed to find a bit of extra finishing pace on the second lap knowing I didn't have to do that hill again.
Parking, Facilities and Coffee
We parked at Tesco and made a small purchase after the run, there is a pay and display car park as well, both are accessible from the Tesco roundabout on Broadway. From either car park it is an easy walk to the parkrun. Entrance to the Pay & Display car park is between the Tesco roundabout and the war memorial and is £1.40 for two hours (RingGo 9025). The closest postcode is HP7 0HL. Walk towards the back of the carpark and you will see the path on the left to Church Mead. There are toilets both in the Old Town Pay & Display car park and in Tesco. Post parkrun Coffee is at Seasons café at 6 Market Square, Amersham, HP7 0DQ.
Other Points of Interest
The memorial garden is well worth a visit, it is a floral garden with art installations and memorials to the fallen in both wars. On our visit the garden was not yet in bloom, but I've seen pictures of it in the summer and it looks great in full bloom. I would also recommend visiting the high street if you have time.
Summary
This is a pretty and welcoming parkrun, with an interesting and challenging course, with great views from the top of the field, a wooded section which gives a bit of relief after the hill and an interesting and historic start finish area next to the river. The core team were very friendly, and parking was easy and straightforward and near to the start. It wasn't too busy either and has the feeling of a smaller parkrun compared to some of the busier parkruns in the area, meaning it didn't fell congested out on course. I would recommend a visit to Church Mead but come with fresh legs, this is not a parkrun to tackle if you are in need of an easy recovery run, but the interesting course and great views are worth the visit, and you get a real sense of achievement as you cross the line. I think I would like to come back in summer and check out the memorial garden in full bloom and see if the climb is a bit easier on harder ground. Almost there now with C's for my Pirates challenge.
Links
Link to official parkrun site for this course: https://www.parkrun.org.uk/churchmead/
Link to the Amersham Town council webpage for Church Mead Park: https://amersham-tc.gov.uk/church-mead/
My YouTube Video Review of this parkrun: