T is for Tring parkrun - another letter checked off and a location fairly close to Milton Keynes which I have been meaning to check out for a long time now. This was my 19th different location, so brought me very close to official tourist status (when you reach 20 different parkrun locations it means you appear on the parkrun most events official listing, and it also means you can join the UK parkrun tourists group on Facebook). Tring is currently on its winter course, which is an out and back up a steep ridge. I visited on a snow day and it was beautiful and stunning, and is now probably my new favourite parkrun event, closely followed by Wendover Woods and Rushmere. They are very friendly to visitors here, and give a great tourist and first timer briefing. They even took a photo of some of the tourists visiting that day. [I visited this parkrun on the 2nd February 2019].
Difficulty
Yes this one is easily a 5 out of 5, you are climbing pretty much from the start, a very gentle climb across some undulations until you reach the bottom of the ridge, then a steep climb up all the way up to the top of the ridge, the views from the top of the ridge are stunning and are worth the effort, but be prepared for a climb. Add snow into the mix and it's possibly a 6 out of 5, but it's worth it... I've never had such fun on a parkrun.
The Course (Winter Variant)
OK, so the winter course is very straight forward. You start by heading out across the gently undulating fields in the above photo, after 300m you'll reach some woods at the bottom of the ridge as seen on the extreme left of the above photo, you then turn right and head steeply uphill for 300m towards an Obelisk (you will climb nearly 40m so it's over a 1 in 10 here). When you reach the Obelisk, you turn left and keep climbing for 200m towards the Summer House (see photo).
Before you reach the summer house, you turn right again (still climbing) until after another 200m or so you reach the top of the ridge and the track levels out. You've now completed your first km of this course, and you've climbed over 70m at this point, so well done. You now basically follow the top of the ridge for the next km or so, which is slightly undulating (not forgetting to look right on occasion for stunning views of the local area). You'll then be directed left for a final short climb for 200m or so until you reach a marshal at the turning point, and you now basically head back the same way you came. Enjoy the run back down, it's pretty much all downhill and you can really get some speed up if you let gravity take you, you might even have your photo taken, which may look something like this...
Elevation & Terrain
On the winter course at least, this is an out and back up a massive hill. Most of the work is done in the first km, but be prepared for a massive climb, terrain in normal circumstances is grassy field, followed by a woodland trail, but on the day I did it, it was all snow. It's a fair challenge this one. According to https://jegmar.com/stats-hq/fastest-races/parkrun/ this ranked 504 flattest out of the 519 parkruns they have ranked with a total climb of 346ft or 105m...
Parking, Facilities and Coffee
The car park is on Hastoe Lane, which is free. Sat Nav coordinates are HP23 6AP. It is normally open from 8.30am, but was closed on the morning we visited due to the snow, so we parked in the stunningly beautiful high street and walked over to the park from there. No toilets are listed on the official parkrun page for this event. Post parkrun coffee, The Akeman, 9 Akeman Street, HP23 6AA. This parkrun also has a bag drop.
Whether you park in the High Street or the car park for the park itself you will probably access the parkrun across the curly bridge, which was incredibly icy when we visited and took a while to cross, due to everyone slipping and sliding...
Summary
This is a very challenging, but bags of fun multi terrain, hilly wooded course with great views, a friendly volunteer team, and so much stunning scenery (especially on a snow day). Highly recommended and a real Jewel in the parkrun crown. I'm really looking forward to going back in Summer to try the summer version of the course.
Link to official parkrun site for this course - http://www.parkrun.org.uk/tring