It always surprised me on trips to the South West that Weston-super-mare didn't have a parkrun and now it does with the newly created Marine Parade parkrun taking it's name from the Sea Front. I managed to get here for event 12 and only the second time they had run the event on the sand itself (I understand they run the event on the sea front when the beach is not viable). I loved the novelty of running on the wet sand and wished I had thought to take my shoes off and run barefoot but to be fair the majority of the other runners also kept their shoes on. This is a popular one for tourists, Weston being a popular holiday destination. The sand itself was surprisingly runnable, wet enough to be nicely compacted but still very soft and very easy to run on. It was a warm and sunny morning on the day of my visit, and there were great views of the coast and over the sea to the south coast of Wales.
[I first visited this parkrun on 16th April 2022]
Difficulty
This course is a 1.5 out of 5. Flat and Fast, with an extra half a difficulty point for the wet sand. When run on the Sea Wall this would be a 1 out of 5, unless it is a particularly windy day. Other than the slightly soft running surface there is nothing to trouble you on this course.
Briefings
Really friendly and welcoming core team. Visitor and First timer Briefing (as well as bag drop) was further up the beach on the dry sand, and gave a good description of the two lap (or 2x out and back course) as well as the usual call outs, announcements and reminder of rules (I have included the visitor briefing in my Youtube review below if you are interested). After the briefing we were moved down to the wet sand for the start.
The Course
You can think of this as either a very narrow two lap clockwise course, or an two times out and back. You basically head out south parallel to the sea, after a while you pass the Revo Kitchen the raised building on stilts, which used to contain the Seaquarium (now closed), and then the large building containing Tropicana and the (also now closed) Funland on the left, the sand was a little wetter here due to the shade so there was a little more sinkage here. Soon you will reach a marshal who is roughly level with the end of the sea front. You will be directed around some cones to head back North along the beach, slightly closer to the sea on the way back and passing the runners further behind you on course on your right. Past the Tropicana building again, past the start finish area, and heading towards the pier, before you reach the pier, you will encounter another marshal, and some more cones to take you back South again passing the start area for lap 2. Lap 2 is identical to Lap 1, so don't forget to stop at the finish when you reach it for the second time. It's a very straightforward course in practice, with only two turns which you both do twice.
Elevation
Garmin has this as 4m of elevation (not sure how it reaches this figure), it's as flat as a pancake this one. I suppose when you are turn, you go up the beach slightly, but you're not talking metres of elevation here. Just regard it as flatter than flat.
Parking, Facilities and Coffee
There is a multi-story car park at Carlton Street about 5 minutes walk away, postcode BS23 1UA (with loads of EV Chargers if you happen to drive electric), which is very reasonably priced. You can also park on the front or in the surrounding streets. There are plenty of toilets at Marine Parade, one set at Royal Sands near the start, another at the Bay Café, another at the Victorian Café. The post parkrun coffee is also at Victorian Café a sea-front café a little to the north of the start on the sea wall. There is a bag drop near the start on a tarpaulin on the beach. There are various shops and stalls along the sea front, and shopping streets are not too far away, and there is the beach itself to enjoy also.
Other Points of Interest
See if you can spot some street art by the local artist JPS, there are a couple of pieces of his artwork at the car park I used.
There is a big wheel again very close to the start of the parkrun. You could take a walk along Grand Pier. There are also Donkey Rides available on the beach.
There is plenty here to see and do if you wanted to make it a day at the beach.
Summary
A fairly unique experience for a parkrun running on the sand. Fast and Flat, opportunity to run barefoot, with stunning scenery of the town, the beach and coast line and across to the coast of south Wales. Lots of places to eat and drink or amuse yourself afterwards. Really strongly recommend you visit if you are visiting (or indeed live in) the South West.
Links
Link to official parkrun site for this course - https://www.parkrun.org.uk/marineparade
My YouTube Video Review of this parkrun:
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