My NENDY (Nearest Event Not Done Yet) was for a number of years Letchworth, having done most of the parkruns local to Milton Keynes a while ago. I never quite got around to checking off Letchworth before the Covid sponsored parkrun break. After parkrun resumed I made it one of my goals to get Letchworth done. Letchworth Garden City is the worlds first 'Garden City' and is also home to the UK's first roundabout (according to the guy giving the visitor brief), click on the following links for more information on Letchworth and the Garden City Movement in general. I must confess to not knowing a lot about Letchworth or the parkrun course before my visit, other than it was a mix of trails and cross country, so didn't have many expectations coming here. So what did I find... basically it's a two lap course, with a lengthy 1km incline which you get to do twice (I was definitely slower on the second time round), and a nice mix of trails and cross country. It was a little bit chilly and overcast on the morning of our visit, but bone dry so trails were not needed. Anyway I found it a very pleasant and scenic two lap countryside run.
[I first visited this parkrun on 23rd April 2022]
Difficulty
On a dry day like the one we visited on I would say this is a 2.5 out of 5. The incline is draining (49m total ascent across the two laps) and the terrain is not optimum for the best times. On a wet day where it may get quite muddy it would probably go up to a 3 out of 5. I did manage a fairly good time here, so reasonable times are possible here if you put the effort in.
Briefings
The visitor and main briefings are held near the skate park at Grange Recreation Ground. the briefing was both light-hearted and entertaining, and included a very good description of the course including the "hill, slope, incline, mountain, whatever you want to call it." As well as the usual instructions for first timers. The main briefing included the usual call outs to visitors, milestones, birthdays and the usual parkrun rules. I have included a recording both briefings in my YouTube Video link further down the page.
The Course
An arrowhead shaped course, the meeting point and briefing area is in the Grange Recreation Ground at the finish, after the briefs, you take a shared walk out to the start along a lane a short walk North East to the start. From the start you run downhill along a tree lined farm track which is a hard surface, you will come to a left turn and you continue along the farm track until it almost meets Norton Road, before it reaches the road, you'll be directed right by marshal onto a dirt track which runs along the edge of a field boundary with a tree/bush line on your left. This is the incline and you'll be climbing now for the next km, it is quite a drag so my advice would be to stay relaxed and save your energy rather than trying to power through it. 700m or so along the dirt track you will cross another field boundary onto a grassier section. At the end of the hill, you'll reach a sharp right turn onto a harder surface which will take you back to the Recreation ground. At the recreation ground you will take a right and then a left around the perimeter of the recreation ground heading back towards the finish at the skate park. You will take a right at the end of the recreation ground along the lane you walked along earlier back towards the start and lap 2. Lap 2 is the same as lap one, except the second time you come back to the skate park you will peal off to the finish funnel.
Elevation
With 49m of elevation this was much hillier than the run of flat courses I had done of late. The incline is not very steep but it is the length of it, and the fact you do it twice which is quite draining. You basically spend 2km of the course grinding your way up the incline. However it is a pretty and scenic mostly cross country course, so try and take in the scenery to keep your mind off the climb.
Parking, Facilities and Coffee
There is a free car park next to the recreation ground itself. There are toilets available in the pavilion at the car park. Post parkrun coffee is at the Cafe 2U red van.
Other Points of Interest
There is some Outdoor Gym Equipment, near the pavilion next to a playground, this is great for a pre-parkrun warm-up. There is also a Skate Park on the far side of the recreation ground, which is where the meeting point for the parkrun as well as being where the briefings take place.
Summary
An enjoyable and surprisingly fast (but not flat) and scenic cross country course, with a challenging hill but pretty scenery and a friendly core team. Bring some fast road shoes in the summer, but trails if it is winter or has rained a lot recently. I also made a new friend, a kitten called Lilly.
Links
Link to official parkrun site for this course - https://www.parkrun.org.uk/letchworth
My YouTube Video Review of this parkrun:
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