- Location: Raphael Park, Havering – RM2 5AA
- Terrain: Fast tarmac. The start gets very busy and it takes a while to pass the start line if you line up in the back
- Elevation: 37m. Flattish with 2 short but steep ‘hills’
- Parking: Available for a small charge, not very large
- Facilities: Cafe and toilets near the start
- Attendance: Average, around 250 runners
- Last visited on: 18 Mar 2023
- Number of visits: 1
- PB: 29:52
Raphael parkrun was a long way away from me, about 30k from my SW London base as the crow flies, but Waze sent me on an 85Km route all around the capital via the M25 and the Dartford Crossing to avoid crossing the centre. I am determined to work my way through Lon-Done, so I took the hint from a Nelson 333 event and decided I would go. Long commutes are going to be more frequent going forward, but this is probably one of the furthest ones from Wimbledon.
I woke up early to a grey but dry morning, got on my car shortly after 7am and drove South and then East and North along the M25. At times, I was essentially sailing and drifting, that’s how bad it was raining, but I was determined to get there and have my parkrun-parkswim. When I got there, before 8:30 there was still room in the (smallish) parking and magically, the rain was stopping. It will stop until 9.30, perfect timing and a big thank you to the parkrun gods.
I had never been this far East in London and this is one of the things I like about parkrun tourism. It gives me excuses to explore part of the city and the country (or the world) where I would probably never go otherwise. The first section of the park is beautiful, with a little lake, a gorgeous water feature, plenty of birds and a hill with tall lush trees. Also, beautiful houses facing the water.
The parking is probably 400 metres walk away from the start and I get the feeling in a sunny day you might want to get here before 8:30 if you want to be sure you will find a spot. It needs you to pay for a session on RingGo, but it’s only nominal 20p, used to cap stays at no longer than 5 hours, it seems.
There is a small cafe on the front of a restaurant by the entrance of the park and it has public toilets inside, but these seemed to be closed when I arrived. The other options for cafe and toilets are on the opposite side of the park, so about 1K walk I’d say. If you come from afar, come prepared or early enough 🙂
Location
Parking
Facilities
Hills (lower is easier)
Terrain (lower is easier)
The first timers/tourists briefing is by the bandstand, then 2 minutes walk up the hill and the main briefing happens as runners line up along a narrow path that goes briefly uphill before gently sloping down for a couple 100 metres. Both briefing were friendly but very short, with no chat or questions about visitors etc… maybe because of the weather. Also, no mention about the ‘special 333’ event, which did not seem to have attracted unusual numbers either.
The course is 2.5 laps. After the start you go back down to the lake, run along the lake avoiding ducks and swans who are unfazed by the runners and keep eating on the pavement, then turn right for a short but steep little hill. At that point you turn left and enter the second part of the park, open fields and tennis courts, much less appealing to the eye. At the end of the tennis courts, you loop back and reach the start again for one more lap.
The third lap is cut short at the hill after the lake, instead of turning left you keep going up towards the start and exit the path for a short hop to the finish tunnel (not a busy one).
The surface is even and fast. A bit slippery under the rain, but nothing dramatic – road shoes are fine. My time was crap, I guess because of the little hill that I did not expect.
Raphael parkrun volunteers greet you with a smile at the end, with scanning just downhill and plenty of friendly locals very happy to make you feel at home and share a quick chat.
There is life East of the Wharf!
Raphael parkrun video highlights
As usual, I’ve take a few video snippets during the run to give an idea of the course. All my other course review and video highlights can be found on course review summary post. If you like it, please subscribe on my YouTube channel, it’s a fun past time for me 🙂
It was event 333 so headline Nelson, but it did not seem to attract the crowds that the larger numbers attract.
Finish time just below 30, so kind of crap. My training volume has tanked since summer and with work and life I’m really struggling to bring it back up… the Marathon in April will not be fun.
I ticked quite a few boxes in my fun chase of useless challenges here:
- 1 more new location, getting me to 44/94
- One more tick for Nelson, now at 5/10
- One more tick for Date Bingo (26%)
- One more tick for Position Bingo (65%)
- 31/61 for Lon-Done
The park is really nice. The cafe near the entrance is a bit basic, but the one on the other side looks bigger. If it wasn’t so far from where I live I would definitely come back to Raphael parkrun to see the park on a sunny day and get a better time… who knows, never say never!
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