Clapham Common parkrun (#109)

This week I originally planned to go to Jersey Farm for the J, then I changed my mind and decided I would go to Lullingstone to see the lavender fields: how did I end up at Clapham Common parkrun?

The J is not going to run away, so the appeal of the lavender fields was strong, but when I woke up in the morning it was raining pretty brutally and the sky was clearly going to be overcast for most of the morning. Not exactly the best setting for large vistas across Kent and lavender fields in bloom. Plus, a few too many drinks last night did not help the motivation.

Clapham Common is pretty close to where I live, I had been there already 5 times. I’ve been more often only to WImbledon Common, Tooting Common and Richmond Park. However, I had not been there yet since I started this blog, so it had been high on my list for a few weeks.

Finally, the 6th visit to Clapham Common was a necessary step to progress my P-Index from 5 to 6. Not something I necessarily chase proactively, but as it goes, it is something I use to motivate myself to spread my non-tourist visits across my array of locals.

Trip to Clapham Common parkrun and parking

Fair to say, Clapham Common represents for people who don’t live in South-West London what the central and North/North-East locations represent for me: an event you should not go to by car.

In case of Clapham parkrun, not only public transport will be the right choice for the environment, but it is also extremely well connected and convenient: the closest tube station is Clapham South, with Clapham Common just a short while further out on the opposite side of the park.

If like me, you live in the South West, a short car ride might still be the lazy and convenient choice, but bear in mind that there is pretty limited parking in the park itself and not next to the start location. If you want to drive, the location where I usually park is by the West side of the park, roughy at the same height of where parkrunners meet. I am getting postcode SW11 6JY, if you wanna try dropping it in your GPS app.

Parking here used to be free pre-Covid, but it is now a chargeable location also on Saturday mornings. You can pay via the Ring-Go and, apparently, it is charged by the minute and not cheap: 90 minutes cost me £4.2.

From here to the area where parkrun starts it is just a matter of walking 2 minutes East and crossing the road into the park. .

Clapham Common parkrun: start and briefings

If you get here before 8:30, the area might still be empty, but if you come later, the meeting point will be unmistakable. When you get into the park here, you are immediately faced with 2 bare football pitches and that’s where the parkrunny magic starts.

Now a short aside: attendance to Clapham Common parkrun has essentially doubled since events restarted after Covid: it was always a fairly busy event, but it did not usually get larger than 4/500 runners to my memory. Now it seems to be the third largest event in the UK and the second largest event in London. This makes the start a delicate moment.

Last time I was here, the start was still at the South-West end of the pitches, with markers on the ground to suggest to people where to position themselves based on expected pace. This morning I found out that things have now changed. The briefing is now done on the start line, which has moved to the East side of the pitches, adding about 60/70 metres to the course, but giving runners some more room to try thinning out slightly.

The first timers briefing was particularly interactive and fun, well done to the volunteer holding it. The main briefing was a bit more mechanical, but that comes with having such a large event, so no complaints there.

Walk from briefing to start area? None, you start straight from where you are listening to the briefing.

Clapham Common parkrun course review – star ratings

Clapham Common parkrun course review – route highlights

It’s a big field or runners and Clapham Common is not Bushy Park. I think at these numbers it is still a perfectly enjoyable event, even if congestion follows you throughout the whole run, but there are three obvious choke points and if numbers swell further it might start being an issue.

Except a short bit just after the start where you have to run through high grass (might be temporary), the course is all on good, hard path or paved sections. It has the potential to be a fast course, if you don’t get stuck in a choke point, which is guaranteed at the moment, unless you are one of the sub-20 demons. Road shoes are ok and I’ve run with road shoes also during wet winter periods in winter in the past.

Basically no elevation: a couple of little bumps and descents, but nothing noticeable. I understand the technical term is ‘flat as a pancake’.

The route is very simple and there are no areas where you could get lost, also thanks to the many helpful and supportive marshals… or the fact that you are never further than a metre away from the furthest runner. It is 2 laps across the North section of the park, with a small detour to pass by the beautiful bandstand.

As said, you start on the football pitches with a busy mass start that goes down and then cuts on the grass to meet the main path at a corner that will lead you to the main West Avenue. The new start location works well and the first 50 metres are pretty comfortable and unobstructed. When you get to the high grass section it gets pretty wobbly, so most people tend to slow down, which is not necessarily a problem since the upcoming right turn is one of the three choke points I mentioned before.

The first right turn is tight and sharp and it comes when most of the field is still packed together: slow down and pay attention and don’t be annoyed if you need to walk for 2/3 seconds. It quickly opens up on the main three-lined avenue and here you will be able to start running at pace again, even if at least during the first lap it remains pretty congested and overtaking is not always simple.

2/3 of the way up this Avenue, there is a squiggly bit around an old cabin where you turn sharp right and the soft left where you will have to slow down again to avoid running on top of other parkrunners. However, it did not get all the way to walking pace for me today.

After the squiggle, you o a little bit further North before taking a wide, gentle turn to the right and run across the whole North side of the Common. This part is quite fun because there are two or, at times, three narrower paths that proceed in parallel but not exactly, converging or diverging from each other. Runners naturally split and join along the way, creating a fun visual effect. Check out the video below from my YouTube Channel, it’s interesting and unusual.

At the end of the long North straight there is another very tight right turn with a wall/fence/railing on the side which makes it even tighter. It’s not concerning, but you will slow down a bit again, before jumping back on a paved path now and enjoying open views of the Common.

Now you will run by a little lake, before going back up quickly and running past the beautiful bandstand and, hopefully, get the right exit from the Clapham bandstand square that has many spokes leading to and away from it. Not really a concern, it is well marshalled and signposted: once you get back on a path, it is only a few hundred metres before you are at the start location and ready for the last lap.

The finish funnel is marshalled with martial discipline and it actually works: triple serpentine up and down, but one single funnel, no double. Guess it’s easier to manage and less prone to human error. Well done to the massive 50-strong volunteer team!

Facilities at Clapham Common parkrun

Toilets and cafe are both at the cafe by the bandstand, so about 4/500 metres walk from the start location. The main course page says toilets are open before 9am, but I’ve never checked it out first hand.

The cafe is lovely, with a large shaded outside sitting area and extremely well stocked. Plenty of sweet and savoury options to choose from: I always go for sweet, but I’ve seen some cooked breakfast dishes that made my mouth water. It is super busy, but the staff inside works very efficiently and, unless you want a coffee, you will not have to wait too long.

As a competitor to the McDonald’s index, I am continuing to collect data for the parkbreakfast index: how much is breakfast at each location? At Clapham Common parkrun I ordered a slice of almond cake, a Diet Coke and a single espresso and this cost me £9.4, the most expensive entry so far, I think. But certainly delicious.

Clapham Common parkrun: Video Highlights

As usual, I’ve taken a few video snippets during the run to give an idea of the course. If you like it, please subscribe, it’s a fun past time for me 🙂

The other parkrun videos on my YouTube channel are all linked on the course review and video highlights summary page.

• Instagram
• Twitter
• YouTube

---

Achievements and performance

Conclusions

A relatively young event for London that has not taken its place firmly on the national map. It is a nice location with a vibrant crowd, so it is always a great experience and it will remain one of my ‘quasi-locals’.

I hope it does not swell to a point where things might get tricky with the council, this location and its brilliant team deserve a long and successful future!

Thank you Clapham Common parkrun for your hospitality! Again