Milano Nord parkrun (#130)

A foreign parkrun adventure this week, leading me to Milano Nord parkrun, in Italy. This was my second time going to parkrun in Milan, after my first visit in 2019. After missing parkrun day last week, I could not do the same mistake again, especially since I will be in cursed parkrunless lands for two weeks across NYE. So, since I knew I would spend a few days across Christmas in Northern Italy, I had to get on a car and drive the 80 minutes to reach the closest event.

Small parenthesis: before the COVID break, a new location was in the final planning phase in Turin, much closer to where I was. I actually think they had a date set for their first event: unfortunately it was in Feb 2020 and 🦠 did not like that idea. It is a shame La Mandria parkrun never really managed to start after the COVID suspensions, I think it would have been a really beautiful course. I also have no doubt it would have become a regular stop for tourists on their way to a skiing break in the Western Alps. I hope a core team can be found to try again.

So, back it was to Milan. My first visit was in August and when numbers here were still very low. Really really hot, dusty and, in a way, an intimate affair. This time, I visited in December and was surprised by a well organised event catering for nearly 200 parkrunners. You got slick, Milano Nord parkrun, congratulations! 🙂 But even after maturing into a larger event, you kept your vibe: the feast you offered after the run was a very nice touch. Well done and thanks to all volunteers who contributed!

Experiencing an international venue was a nice change after a long streak of London event visits, with Finsbury and Fulham Palace run last. There is a common spirit to parkrun that I’ve felt in every country I have gone to, but you can definitely see individual and very specific quirks to the way different nations have made the core tenets theirs.

Let’s dive into some more info about Milano Nord parkrun, then!

Trip to Milano Nord parkrun and parking

I was not close to Milan, staying with relatives, so I was ‘lucky’ enough to have access to a car and to be somewhere well connected to Milan. The Italian highway system is pretty good and Parco Nord is relatively close to the Milan ring road, so if you come from anywhere other than South, you will probably only have to drive around 10 minutes in town before reaching the park. If you come from South, you might have to waste some time going around town, since as the name says, Parco Nord is North 🙂

When you reach the park, approach it from the address mentioned above, Viale Suzzani 283. This will be 2 minutes walk from Milano Nord parkrun’s meeting location. In theory, there is plenty of parking here and it is free on weekends. Or at least that’s what a couple of people walking around when we got there told us. In practice, it is a high density residential area, so finding a parking spot might take some time. And generate anxiety if you are pressed for time and have not been here before.

When you reach the Bignami-Parco Nord M5 metro station, alight and watch around. You will be at the side of a wide, high capacity urban road. Look for the big Scientology temple (yeah, I know…) and start walking towards it. No, Tom Cruise won’t jump out. Not on a Saturday morning, I guess. Walk by it towards the park leaving its parking lot and approach a small urban allotments area. Once you have walked past the allotments, turns right into a grand tree-lined path and in 100 metres you will be at the Milano Nord parkrun meeting point.

The meeting location will be next to a small mound with steps leading up to it. You can see a picture at the top of this post.

There is a small toilet at the meeting point. I don’t know if it is usable, or if it needs coins to open it. They often do in Italy, but at least it is there…

Milano Nord parkrun: start and briefings

Attendance has increased a lot since I was here last time, but the familiar vibe among locals and volunteers has not. You see people arriving and greeting each other by name, all showing genuine happiness to see each other again for their weekly dose of parkrunness. Yes, parkrunnes is a word and parkrunnes is a thing. Prove to me it is not.

Most people start arriving around 8:45 and start taking the usual selfies, greeting each other and/or warming up. It is an organised routine which goes on at efficient but relaxed pace. All happens in the shadow of that distinctive mound, where in the past I remember they used to take group pictures.

At the Viale Suzzani entrance to the park there are two cafes, where you can find refreshments and toilets if you need them. They are both probably 5 minutes walk from the start spot and they open early, well before 9am. Cafes in Italy are called ‘BAR”, so get in without fear of being forced to drink a Bloody Mary. They do serve alcohol, but most business tends to be coffees and pastries in the morning.

The First Timers briefing starts around 8:50 in front of the start-line-to-be. It is held in English as a courtesy to the many tourists that come here every week. The nice lady who held it on the day I visited said they usually see 15/20 foreign tourists per week; on this pre-Christmas Parkrunday there were 4 of us. 2 hailing from the UK, one from Australia and one from South Africa if I remember correctly.

A few minutes after 9am, people start lining along the start line in the Italian equivalent of a queue. Which is to be, a big lump that needs to be herded a few metres back to be on the actual start line. Announcements that can start, barely loud enough to cover chatter and enthusiasm and then it is time for the count down and real start. Funny bonus on the day, a volunteer Santa had to sprint from the start line to the first marshalling point, turning the start line stampede into a Santa Chase which would have made for a great video from the right angle!

Milano Nord parkrun course review – star ratings

Milano Nord parkrun course review – route highlights

There were 186 parkrunners on the day I visited. Looking at historical results, it looks like this was an average attendance day, with numbers flip flopping in a 150-200 range depending on the week. The volunteers mentioned a few times that they expected to see a lot of locals today, while the tourist contingent was significantly smaller than usual.

The start area is fairly wide, with options to go either side of a thin line of mid-path greenery on the initial straight. The bunched up approach to the holding pen works, with people quickly getting into their run and no walking time needed. After the first turn, you get into paths that will remain of a similar size, comfortable for 3 people running abreast. There are no bottlenecks or chokepoints with a field of this size, but it could get congested if numbers grow another 50% or so.

Surface is all gravel, with a little bit of tarmac and a very short section on grass.. It is generally decently maintained and a pleasure to run on and on a a good weather day you could also sport your carbon plated shoes, if you are into that. Not sure if it has been raining recently, but there wasn’t a single patch of mud, which is refreshing coming from the UK. Road shoes are totally fine here.

Elevation-wise, this course is very flat, with only 7m elevation gain over 2 laps. What they call ‘hill’ is a short overpass under a bridge with a 5 metre long ascent, followed by a longer gentle descent. If you are in good shape and the weather is good, this can be a PB course.

In terms of course design, it is pretty simple: 2 laps along the perimeter of the South section of Parco Nord. This section is all enclosed by busy roads, so I don’t think there are many opportunities for getting lost or taking a dramatic wrong turn. As the volunteers said, Milan can be very foggy in winter, so if the field is particularly small, you might get confused. Especially because there are no Marshalls along the course, but there are flags indicating the way where there are turns. With the numbers they have now, though, you will never be alone, so just follow the flock.

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

As said, the start line is at the end of the wide tree-line avenue that starts at the park entrance. With that wide avenue on your back, you face North with the cute little mound to your left and take your spot in the human blob of parkrunners waiting to be released. Tre, due, uno: go! It’s time to run and the first 100m is on a stretch that allows people to split both sides of a central patch of grass with some small trees. After that, everyone will have to turn right to enter the park perimeter path and settle on narrower paths.

After the first right turn, there is a short straight for 1/200m with a nice field on your left and trees on your right, until you reach a little tree covered bridge. Once you have passed the wooden bridge, it’s time to turn left and start a long, gentle curve leaning left that will get everyone to the road enclosing this section of the park from the North. Once you get there, there is the famous, scary hill of Milano Nord parkrun. Brace yourselves for the climb, because it is 10m long and there will be nearly 2m of elevation gain. Try not to die. Joking, obviously, it’s quick and fast.

On top, you will have to pass under an overpass and keep going on a negative gradient now that will lead to a nice shaded straight with trees on both sides and great surface to let the pace go a bit. Thinks keep going relatively straight for a while, alternating open paths with cut through small vegetation areas. This continues until you reach the only left turn getting you through a small meadow cutting across to reach the path again. It won’t be more than 50 metres and it is will trodden and not slippery.

Once on the other side, there is a nice open section with wide reaching views and the morning sun straight in your face, making for some interesting colours. This until you reach the velodrome area, where you will be running alongside people giving it their all on bikes. Here the path is fenced to your left, until you reach the turning point where you have to turn hard left and start the return to the meeting area alongside the South side of the park.

There is more shade on this side and more mature trees. It’s a pleasant run on paths that turn gently left and right, with the exception of one harder turn right where you could get confused and go straight instead. But there is a clear parkrun turn marker flat planted there. Turn right and keep snaking around a bit long until you suddenly come out at the back of the original start area. Volunteers will be warmly encouraging and keeping you going.

One interesting point the volunteer who held the First Timers briefing mentioned that I never thought about even if I am fairly fluent in Italian. Volunteers will cheer parkrunners here shouting something that sounds like ‘Die, die, die’. Yeah, they are not sadistic monsters hoping to scoop your remains off the floor. This is actually written ‘Dai, dai, dai’ and it means ‘Go! Go! Go!’. It is actually an encouragement and not an invitation to self immolation by tempo run.

Anyway, it’s now time to parade through the start/finish area and run the loop once again, the sweets and booze are waiting!

Once you are back and survived the second lap, it is time to head straight into the funnel and collect your barcode. Things are efficient and you will soon be off to the refreshment table.

Congratulations on completing Milano Nord parkrun!

Facilities at Milano Nord parkrun

With the exception of standalone toilet booth, there are no facilities in Parco Nord, at least none next to the start area.

However, as said above, the Viale Suzzani entrance to the park is a very short walk away and over there there are at least 2 cafes that can offer toilets to paying customers and pre/post run refreshments.

The team had also organised a great spread for runners after the event, including spumante, focaccias, salame and mince pies. I guess this was particularly impressive because of the festive period, but I heard some refreshments are a consistent staple of Milano Nord parkrun. Nice touch and big thanks to the team.

If you want to top things up with a warm parkbreakfast, Bar Enigma, picture below, is the first one you meet on your right when leaving Parco Nord from the Viale Suzzani entrance. It is a well stocked cafe with a nice outside seating area if the weather is good. And when I visited, on 23 December, it was an absurd 18 degrees warm, so I was very happy to enjoy those outdoor tables.

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 Milano Nord parkrun, I ordered a single espresso, a zero coke and a Nutella pastry. This cost €4.4, which is incredibly affordable for London standard and, frankly, also for usual prices in Northern Italy.

Milano Nord 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 enjoyed my second visit to Milano Nord parkrun..

The course is not breathtakingly beautiful, but it crosses areas that are different enough to keep things interesting and it is a pleasure to run on. I have relatives not too far from Milan, so I am pretty sure I will be back eventually, maybe next time I will try not to let 3 years pass between visits.

And obviously, thank you, Milano Nord parkrun team for your hospitality once again!