Reigate Priory parkrun (#110)

How did I end up at Reigate Priory parkrun instead of continuing my road to LondDone? This week I originally planned to go to Queen Elisabeth to get my first Q, but then the potential weather cancellations led me to what I thought would be a pleasant and relatively easy Surrey stroll.

It’s the second parkrunday in a row that I missed a planned trip to catch one of the few alphabet events I am missing, but I guess it is not the end of the world. They won’ run away.

Reigate Priory parkrun had been on my shot term target list for a while, since it is not far from where I live, it looked like a very nice location and it fit some of my map completion targets.

I had read it was supposed to be fairly ondulating, but from pictures and videos I would have never guessed how hilly it is. I mean, do you really expect to find a proper whole freaking hill enclosed inside a park? Apparently, you should. I don’t know if it is as challenging as Sunny Hill, but it definitely is somewhere up there. And like Sunny Hill, the setting is truly gorgeous, with sprawling open views and intriguing wooded paths all in one park. There is even a tiny lake.

Trip to Reigate Priory parkrun and parking

If you are coming from a location with easy connection, public transport seems to be a good option to visit this location. According to the official course page, Reigate train station is just half a mile from the venue and there are also busses connecting the two if you prefer.

For me, coming from Wimbledon, a fast drive out in Surrey was again the most convenient option. Especially now with the mess brought by the tennis, heading south and avoiding it was a very compelling plan.

If you have driven from SW London to Gatwick, this is essentially the same route you followed to go down there except the small M25/M23 segments. It is all fairly wide and clear suburban roads and you will get to Reigate faster than expected. Once you approach town, it is not long before you reach Priory Park and the well signposted Bell Street parking.

The parking is large and a short walk from Reigate Priory parkrun start. I arrived around 8:30am and it was still fairly empty. When I left, there wasn’t a single spot left, so I would recommend not to cut it to close to 9am, just to be on the safe side. Parkin is chargeable and it accepts payment via the RingGo app. In July 23, it was £2.70 for 2 hours.

Reigate Priory parkrun: start and briefings

The parking is inside Priory Park, so there is very little walking to do before seeing the beautiful area where Reigate Priory parkrun takes place.

When you get out of the parking and turn right into the park, you immediately meet an interesting feature. A pet cemetery from the beginning of last century (picture below). It is not big, nor particularly flashy but it is nice to think about a place where people would lay their best friends to rest so long ago. Or zombie dogs, depending on your inclination.

Once you get through that corner safely without being attacked by an undead poodle, you turn right and keep going for a few seconds under a lush tree copse until you reach Priory House on your right and a beautifully landscaped garden on your left. The garden includes a fountain and from here you have a wide view over the fields and a forest going up a high hill at the ‘horizon’. It is a beautiful view and that hill will be your frenemy very soon. It looks far away and steep… because it is 🙂

You can already see where the meeting point is from here, a couple 100m further by the Pavillon cafe building. Take all the pictures you feel like taking and walk down the path to meet the friendly team that is already setting everything up for you and many other parkrunners.

The first timers and main briefing were great, with a nice personal touch as usual and a team of volunteers that were clearly having fun hosting us in their lovely park. Especially the first timers briefing was very quirky, congrats and thanks to the guy who held it.

Once all the prep is done, it is just a few seconds walk down the field to the start line. Maybe a minute tops, you just need to get past the Pavillon. And the fun begins… until you get to the hill 🙂

Reigate Priory parkrun course review – star ratings

Reigate Priory parkrun course review – route highlights

If you get there early, the event seems to be deceptively small, but during the last 10 minutes before everything starts, quite a few people will be flocking in. I think you can usually expect between 200 and 400 people around here, which would make it qualify as medium-high attendance. This does not mean that there will be a lot of congestion along the course, though. The start is on a wide field and you keep going this way on grass for 3/400 metres before you have the first choke point: a 180-degrees turn left. This is probably the only genuinely congested point of the whole course.

The course is a mix of grass (not much) and trail. The trail part goes from very hilly with tree roots and puddles along the hill section to perfectly even and hard on the way back to the start. In general, I don’t think the path quality means you must wear trail shoes, unless it gets wet and muddy. When I was there, there had been some rain, but it is July so I definitely did not experience it at its muddiest. For me, road shoes were totally fine

In terms of elevation profile, this is not ondulating, it is properly hilly, with at least 3 steep short climbs and a whole half of each lap being on a hill section that keeps giving you nice surprises every time you think you got through the worst of it. Fun, in a masochistic kind of way.

If you look at the route plot, it might seem complicated, but is really not. The two laps feel very natural in their directions and there are good signs and marshals at all spots where there might be some confusion. There is also a mini funnel 2/3 of the lap in where runners meet in two directions and someone deep in their podcast or audiobook might be confused.

You start on open fields, so people can spread out pretty wide and progressively come together to avoid congestion. It works well and you also avoid having too much distance between the middle of the pack and the actual start line, getting your real time closer to the ‘official’ time.

You then keep going in straight line for a few 100 metres until you reach the sharp 180 degrees turn that you can see at the top of the course plot. During the first lap, you will still have a pretty packed field, so this turn will be busy and most people have to slow down a bit. Don’t worry though, it is helpful, because straight after the turn you have a nice surprise: a steep climb that surprises you coming out of nowhere since you are essentially still in the middle of a field.

Well, I guess fields can have inclines too and this is steep, but very short, so not too much of an issue if you know it is there. Once on top, you get through a short wooded section and then you go down again on a gentle descent in the middle of a meadow again. Because why would you bank that climb and stick to that elevation when you can go down again and climb it soon once more! Don’t rob yourself of the fun a slog up a climb gives you! 🙂

Once you reach the bottom again, you cross a little paved path and a tiny bridge and then start coasting a nice little lake for a little while, entering the wood area at the bottom of the hill. Since lakes tend to be on a level elevation, as long as you see the lake through the trees on your right, you are still flat(ish), but soon you will see a turning point in front of you and a smiley marshal will point you towards your left.

And then you see it: a real, proper, sadistic climb through the woods and the start of your fun stroll through that hill you could see in the distance from the start. The first climb is brutal and longer than the previous one, but when you get on top, it actually become pretty fun. It is a 1km long wooded trail rollercoaster of long gentle climbs, sharp elevations and fun descents. Mind your step on the latter ones, since it is a forest path and roots are in your way often. I hated it and enjoyed it at the same time, which is kind of what you would expect from a trail run: nice. In a way, it reminded me Huddinge parkrun, even though that one was probably slightly harder because the 3 loops where fully like this.

Once you get to the end of the hill section, another friendly volunteer shows you the next sharp left turn: there won’t be congestion here, after getting through the monster :). Even during the first lap.

Immediately after the turn, there is cut through the forest that looks straight at the Priory House. It looks tiny and far away: a nice view showing you how far and up you got. And since what comes up needs to go down, it is downhill along the side of the forest from here, with nice views to your right and a good path underfoot. It is steep(ish) for a short while and then it gets very gentle. Fun.

Eventually, the straight descent has to finish, but you still need to go down a bit further after you turn right. You will get down to the area where you cross faster runners and turn right through a short intermediate funnel and get on a flat straight with a tree-covered avenue on your left. At the of this straight, you turn left and start the second lap of gruelling fun. When you reach this point a second time, you will turn right instead, to get to the finish funnel and some well deserved rest.

The finish funnel is short and efficient, with plenty of scanners to welcome you and crack a joke to help you becoming a human being again after this fun but hard run.

Facilities at Reigate Priory parkrun

Priory Park Pavillion is right by the start/finish area, so services and facilities are not far. However, when I visited Reigate Priory parkrun, it was out of commission, undergoing a refurbishment it seems. I will have to come back to see how it looks when open, but for now this does not mean that facilities are not available.

There are temporary toilets to the side of the pavillion that can be used before and after the run.

The cafe is now hosted by a temporary wooden structure and it still offers several picnic tables outdoor to enjoy your refreshments in the open air. It is a nice location and I assume it would be pretty enjoyable if not under the rain or beaten by crazy winds. I had rain and wind. The cafe offers good selection and quality for the hungry parkrunner in dire needs of hydration and post-parkrun calories. There also was barely no wait for me, but that might be because of the weather.

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 Reigate Priory parkrun I ordered a lemon muffin, a Diet Coke and a single espresso and this cost me £7.6, on the high side and in line with the upper end of the central band of what you would need to pay in London.

Reigate Priory 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.

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Achievements and performance

Conclusions

It is a fun run in a stunning location with a very welcoming and friendly team. Definitely a great one and worth a visit even if you are not strictly local. I am 100% sure I will be back at least once more, but probably more often than that. I want a better time here and I want to see the Pavillion open 🙂

Thank you Reigate Priory parkrun for your hospitality! See you soon