Mile End parkrun (#120)

I am continuing my slaw crawl towards LonDone and my latest stop was at Mile End parkrun, number 3 in my Nendy list. Tower Hamlets is close to my running heart this year, given the long stretches of the London Marathon and of The Big Half that go through this borough.

I had no parkrun challenges chasing ulterior motives today. Mile End has been one of the top options for a while now and not only because it is relatively convenient to get to. The course intrigued me, it seemed to be fairly different from most other events and it did not disappoint.

My car has been grounded for 2 parkrundays in a row, so I had logistical impediments stopping me from longer trips to the countryside. I took the opportunity to venture North of the river, with Hampstead Heath last week and Mile End this week. I briefly thought about Ally Pally, but that one is kind of a pain to get to from Wimbledon. One day…

But let’s dive into some more info about Mile End parkrun: one of the events closest to central London and a fairly popular one. And for good reasons, it is a lovely course with a fantastic bunch of people running it or volunteering at it.

Trip to Mile End parkrun and parking

I guess it depends on where you put the geographical centre of London, but according to most metrics Mile End parkrun is one of the events closer to central London. As such, if you are visiting London for a few days and want to catch a parkrun, this is one of the obvious options you should be looking into.

This is also confirmed by the fact that the location is very easy to reach by public transport, with several underground lines going through stations very close to the park.

According to the official course page, the closest stations are Mile End (tube) and Limehouse (DLR). Stepney Green is also within walking distance.

From where I live (Wimbledon), it took me roughy 50 minutes to get there by tube, using the district line and alighting at Mile End.

Once you get to Mile End tube station and get out, just turn left and you immediately see an unusual local landmark, the Green Bridge, also known as the Banana Bridge due to its yellow lower side. There is an interesting story behind this bridge built in the 90s at the beginning of the regeneration process of this part of the East End. You can enter a google research spiral if you are interested in its story, but in a nutshell this new(ish) bridge was built to connect different parts of Mile End park over a major road. Nice idea.

Once you see the bridge, just walk towards it, cross Mile End road and enter the park, turning left towards the stadium. If you walk at a leisurely pace, you will be at the start location in less than 10 minutes, getting a feeling for what the course is going to be. This approach is from the East. Limehouse will be from the South and Stepney Green will be from the West. Literally plenty of convenient public transport options.

I usually drive to parkrun, but there really is no reason to do that in Central London. It is convenient and it is good for the environment. Two reasons that led me to driving in the past are really nonsense if I think about it. One, I did not like the idea to travel wearing running clothes… you know what, nobody cares in London. Really!

Second, I was afraid to leave the little stuff I would carry with me at the baggage drop spot. Yes, there will always be some risk, but I’m pretty comfortable it is minor.

For completeness, if you really want to drive and pay your Congestion Charge dues, according to the official course page, there is parking available at Mile End Stadium. For a fee. I have not used it or checked it out, so I cannot comment on it.

Mile End parkrun: start and briefings

The walk to the start area from Mile End tube station start roughly half way through the route, so you can get a good view of the park while you get to start. This walk and the approach the start area gave me a very distinct feeling of ‘uniqueness’ for this event compared to other London ones. The looks of the park, the set up of the start area, the views from it all made me feel like this event is much more of an urban/inner city venue that most other parkrun sites in London. Including venues like Peckham, Burgess or Catford, that could be wrongly expected to have a similar feel.

And I say this as a compliment. I truly enjoyed the venue and its vibe. It is very urban, it embraces it and it shows how parkrun can be successful and keep its unique features anywhere. It does not need the bucolic surroundings of Bushy or Richmond parks to be what it is great at being.

Philosophical musings over, the start area is by the gym building on the Western side of Mile End Stadium. At the very Southern edge of the park. As you walk south from the centre of the park, you approach a picnic area with tables and then suddenly turn left and see the assembly zone. It is rather small and it will get very busy, part of the unique charm of the event.

The New Runners briefing happens by the gym building, next to a map of the course which identifies the main sections including one ‘hill’. This is a lie 🙂 but more on that later. There were quite a lot of first time visitors when I was there, so the New Runners briefing lasted more than usual and it was very thorough in explaining the course and making visitors feel welcome.

Once that’s done, you walk 20 metres South towards the end of the funnel and bunch up to hear the main briefing. It’s done with a megaphone, but numbers and the open area can make hearing it fairly difficult. It was a pretty standard and quick thing when I was there and then it is time to start. Or try to, given the large numbers trying to funnel through the initial bottleneck. Definitely not the worst bottleneck in London (that award goes to you, Fulham Palace), but pretty noticeable.

Mile End parkrun course review – star ratings

Mile End parkrun course review – route highlights

There were 445 parkrunners on the day I visited. The volunteer holding the New Runners briefing mentioned that it was a busy day for them, so I would assume overall attendance hovers around the 400 mark. It is a large event and the busy feeling is magnified by the relatively narrow paths and the out and back course. It will always feel moderately busy, but there are two clear bottleneck: the start and the canal section. The start is very very busy and it takes a few seconds before you can run, but it does get moving pretty quickly. Nothing comparable to the up to 1 minute wait you can experience in places like Fulham Palace. Here people bunch up and have a relatively wide open area soon, in Fulham you essentially line up for 200 metres and walk until you even reach the start line. All in all, the congestion is pretty well managed here.

The course is all paved and the paths are fairly good quality. I suppose if it is pouring rain a bit more grip would be welcome, especially on the descent to the canal section, but in general this is a course for road shoes. It’s smooth and you can go for speed, hills permitting.

Elevation-wise, this course is the definition of undulating. When describing the course, they say there is one hill when crossing the Green Bridge and that is definitely the main one, but the reality is that you are nearly never on the flat. There is one hill shortly after the start and one on the canal section before you get back to the bridge. Considering this is an out and back course run twice, you get to run around 10 ‘hills’. They are mostly gentle and longer on the descent than on the ascent, so all in all this is not a terribly hard course, but definitely not flat. I enjoyed it and it was not what I expected.

If you look at the elevation profile picture below, check the scale. It is never flat, but the elevation gains are minor: not as scary as it might look!

The design is that of an out-and-back course, but you also run it twice. One more unusual feature meaning you get through most of the course 4 times, with the exception of the North loop which has one side along the Regent’s Canal. Don’t worry about facing other runners though: all sections where runners go both ways are separated between two parallel paths. It’s actually pretty pleasant to see, because after the first 10 minutes you will start seeing a river of faster and slower parkrunners flowing to your right.

A quick Relive route plot is on my YouTube Channel, with longer video highlights embedded below.

As you can see in my Mile End parkrun video highlights embedded below, the start is, ehm… chaotic? People bunch up for the briefing roughly where they will need to be to start running, so if you know what’s gonna happen, you might tend to gravitate towards the front of the human blob. I ended up being relatively close to it. When the briefing stops, you get a quick countdown and timekeepers start their devices. The human blob then starts shifting slowly towards the path and after about 10/15 seconds you can actually start running, slowly. Another 10 metres and you are in a wider space (where the turnaround point will be), which quickly feeds into the paths. Instructions are to always take the left path, but for 2/300 metres the human blob splits into two streams, allowing everyone to run comfortably. After another couple of 100 metres there will be a left turn that seems to act as natural end of the dual carriageway system, with people on the right joining the ones on the left into the proper path. This is totally fine because it is highly unlikely there will be people already coming back needed the right path for themselves at this point.

Soon after this gentle left bend, you will pass by some fenced playing fields (tennis?) and then reach another bend this time leaning right. There is a volunteer here making sure you go the right way and, probably, wishing you lunch for your first encounter with the Mile End Green Bridge approach. This is probably 100 metres long in terms of ascent and it is fairly gentle, if long(ish). Nothing that cannot be run up. Once on top, there is a short level section on the bridge. Funnily enough, run up this section 4 times and never realised there was a busy road below. It really works as a suspended section of a park, well done to the architects!

After you can enjoy a fast descent to the other side of the park: let gravity be your friend and recover the time you have lost on the way up, but be careful not to go too fast! Soon after you reach the bottom, you will turn left again towards the canal and the slip section into the canal path shows a sudden drop that could be dangerous if you catch it the wrong way. There is a volunteer here and, as they said during the briefing, they have emergency equipment to fish you out of the canal if you were to go the wrong way and were not eaten by rats before they reach you. Apparently, no parkrunners ever went for a polluted swim so far. 🙂

The canal section is beautiful, but it is fairly short and it is also quite narrow, so overtaking is not always obvious. After a short run along water, boat houses and nice residential buildings, you reach another volunteer that shows you a right turn to loop back towards the out-and-back dual direction paths. Immediately after you turn, you need to navigate some (well signposted) bollards that seem to be positioned to make sure you hit one after you avoid the first row… that was… a surprise. 🙂 But nothing bad happened, obviously. After surviving the bollards trap, there is a long gentle climb to a small hill whose climb and descent are both enclosed in the top loop of the course. Nice views of Canary Wharf to your right as you climb this hill and then descend to pass by the volunteer that you have previously met when entering the canal section.

From here, you start being on the other side of the path and seeing some fellow parkrunners reaching the area for the first time. It won’t be long before you reach the bridge climb again, shorter and slightly steeper from this side. On top now you have the best view of Canary Wharf if you want to snap a picture before running fast down the bridge on the other side.

Weird thing I noticed: the council garbage truck was driving slowly on the other side of the park… I am sure it did not interfere with the run, but it seems surprising they would pick parkrun time to do that when there are more than 400 people running on narrow paths. Oh well, it did not bother me and I doubt it bothered other parkrunners, just weird timing.

Turn left at the bend after your descent, run a couple 100m on the flat, then turn right for another mild hill you might have overlooked the first time you run it the other way. After this ‘mini-hill’ you will see the stadium and rest areas and approach the start area where a tight U-turn will get you started on your second lap.

Run it all once again and it will not be boring because this is a fun course. It’s a lot of little distinct sections that keep interest very much alive and avoid boredom from repetition. Which is pretty unexpected for a double out and back… guess it says something about the hidden qualities of this beautiful, fun route.

Once you reach the end, keep slightly left and go towards the finish funnel where you went straight towards the U-turn before. The funnel is on grass, but it is short and not a nuisance that stopped me from a fast sprint finish. Kudos to the lady who realised I was coming up behind her and managed to react with 3/4 metres to go to hold on to her finish place! 🙂 It was a fun end to the run!

Funnel and scanning activities were fast and efficient and then people could enjoy a bonus perk on the week I visited! A fellow parkrunner was enjoying his 500th event and had brought drinks and cakes for everyone to share, very nice touch! Congratulations on your achievement, kind stranger!

For everyone else, congratulations on completing Mile End parkrun!

Facilities at Mile End parkrun

The toilet is by the start as written above and it is open early. Just enter the building which hosts a gym and has plenty of facilities available, including showers and lockers. I’m sure there must be a way to use those as well, if you need to, but I did not try. I also did not see reception staff there, but I guess they must be somewhere.

I’ve seen signs to a cafe in the park, towards its North section, but I did not find one. And the official course page does not seem to point to a specific cafe, so I assume if there is one in the park it must not be terribly convenient given the start/finish location.

Since I was going to depart from Mile End station, I found the Comrades Cafe by Burdett Road, just one block before the Green Bridge. It is a nice cafe, with good offer, nice staff and also outdoor seating both by the entrance and in an enclosed private space at the back.

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 Mile End parkrun, I ordered a single espresso, a cold red orange soda and a pain au chocolat. Very good quality. This cost £6.5, which is relatively cheap for central London standards.

Mile End 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

I truly enjoyed my visit to Mile End parkrun! I am sure the unseasonably warm weather for the end of September contributed to the good mood and feelings, but I am sure this would be an enjoyable event in all seasons. There is a special energy at this event, brought certainly by the great team of local volunteers and runners, but also I think by the fun course.

I will come back, I want to run here again, it was fun.

See you next time, Mile End parkrun.

And obviously, thank you, Mile End parkrun team for your hospitality!