Walthamstow parkrun

This parkrunday I brought the number of events separating me from LonDone status down to one visiting Walthamstow parkrun. As a grassy course, I kept avoiding it during wet months, but this weekend I decided to bit the bullet. Was I overly concerned about mud before? Nope, the promise of a mud bath delivered. With interests.

It is also really far from where I live and not exactly the easiest to reach by public transport, so I kept procrastinating. Now it is done and only one separates me from the elusive, while temporary, legendary status. I did not think I would get there when I started, but then the tourist bug caught me.

There is a tiny elephant sitting on Walthamstow parkrun’s reputation. Often when people ask views about London parkrun, Walthamstow parkrun is identified as the most boring course. Did my visit confirm this verdict? I don’t think so, or at least it is not such a clear cut position. It is a 3-lapper on grass around playing fields, so there is a limit to how much variety the run can offer, objectively. But so is Old Deer Park parkrun. And some of the others are not significantly more scenic. And while variety is not the highlight of this course, a little hill and a detour around a smaller football field make this course more interesting than a standard ‘run around the fields 3 times’.

The event team is also extremely friendly and jokingly taking on their reputation. A small, well established event held on a decent while unremarkable course. Very much similar to Old Deer Park and closer to the original spirit of parkrun. And they definitely seem to have created a tight knit, sustainable local event here, since it has been going on for more than 10 years.

The other highlight is mud. Well, unintended I guess, but unavoidable in the UK. I don’t like mud and it definitely makes it a bit of a slog, but if you are into it, you will love it. It is not epic quicksands in certain places, like I had to endure when I visited Woking parkrun or often when going to my home event Wimbledon parkrun. At Walthamstow parkrun, mud is your friend from the beginning to the end. It is a dependable, consistent friend that never leaves you. It might try to swallow you and trip you up, but it is always there. When the weather is dry, I’m sure he goes on holiday, but on the day of my visit there wasn’t an inch without it.

Anyway, enough with my rumblings. It’s time to dive into some more info about Walthamstow parkrun!

Trip to Walthamstow parkrun and parking

Walthamstow parkrun takes place at the Peter May Sports Centre, a private local indoor and outdoor sports complex in Waltham Forest. The location is not within the immediate town centre, sitting just by the busy North Circular.

If you read the name of the event, you might think ‘yeah, it is far, but it must be relatively close to a tube station!’. After all, Walthamstow Central tube station is the last stop at the Northern end of the Victoria Line. At the same station you can also interchange with the overground, on the newly named Weaver branch. However, if you were to think that, you would be up for an interesting surprise. The station is 2 miles away from the meeting point or, according to google maps at least, roughly 40 minutes walk. While checking google maps I realised another option could be Wood Street station, only 1.3 miles away, or roughly 30 minutes walk. This is on the Weaver Line branch of the Overground system.

According to the official event site, the closest station is Highams Park, again on the Weaver branch of the Overground network. Or as the event site calls it, the London to Chingford line. This is still 1 miles away from the meeting point, or approximately 20 minutes walk or 10 minutes comfortable warm up jog.

If you decide to go by car, as I did, things are much easier, especially if you are on the right side of London. The event is literally on the side of the North Circular and it has a sizeable, free car park just a few steps from the meeting point. For me, it was a trek that took more than 1hr even early on parkrunday morning, but if you live East or North it will probably be one of the most convenient events to drive to.

Walthamstow parkrun: start and briefings

Once you enter the sports centre, you drive or walk along a short access road that runs by the fields and leads to the car park and main building. The centre is managed by Better, by the way. They seem to pop up at quite a lot around parkrun locations.

The initial meeting point is the corner of the fields by the car park and the main building, so unless you arrive ridiculously early you will see volunteers starting to congregate and preparing the event. I got there around 8:30 and most of the team was already there giving their time for us.

The First Timers briefing happens just by the meeting point. On the day I visited there were only a couple of real new parkrunners, while the few other ‘non locals’ were tourists. The volunteered who gave it was extremely friendly and played a bit with the reputation as the ‘most boring’ event in London. The team seems to have a good sense of humour, probably knowing that their welcoming attitudes more than compensates for the relatively dull course. But as I said above, not duller than others.

Afterwards, everyone walks 100m up the field to the start line, which is where you will have seen the event name pop-up all alone before. The Main Briefing will be by the start line. One funny thing: I think they have the best loudspeaker I have heard besides Bushy. Really excellent, event if it is one of the smallest fields in London.

Then, I heard the RD start the countdown. ‘3, 2, 1, go!’. The mud bath had begun.

Walthamstow parkrun course review – star ratings

Walthamstow parkrun course review – route highlights

There were 110 parkrunners on the day of my visit to Walthamstow parkrun. This doesn’t seem to be absurdly low based on historical attendance, but it is definitely on the low end of what they usually see. I suspect the fact the event came a day after a very rainy Friday sent some of the locals elsewhere, knowing what they would find. In general, attendance seems to be around 150-200, with some fairly meaningful swings, but not obvious seasonality. Maybe it really depends on how much it has been raining on the few days leading to parkrunday, who knows. There is only one minor bottleneck around the corse and most of it is on short grass, so the field can spread widely pretty much everywhere. Congestion is never an issue and the event potential might be capped more by the car park capacity then its course. And the car park is not small.

As said above, bottlenecks are not really a thing here. With one notable exception. Roughly 2/3 in, you briefly leave the loop around the main fields for a shorter loop around a smaller football pitch (7-aside?) set away in a corner. Getting into this miniloop requires climbing a small ramp that is narrow(ish) and extremely muddy. Walk up or be careful here and you will have no other issues around this course.

Surface-wise, there are virtually no paths and literally no paved segments. It’s pretty much all run on short grass. I usually don’t really love running on grass, but here it is well maintained enough that I think it might be a pretty good experience during summer. As long as you don’t come during a heatwave, because there is absolutely no tree cover. That said, the main protagonist here is mud. As said above, it is not awful quicksands impossible to cross in a few locations similar to some other events. It is a consistent, mildly annoying slog with a few corners where you risk slipping if you are not careful. Any doubt regarding the recommended shoes for this event? Nope: if going to Walthamstow parkrun, wear trail shoes.

Elevation-wise, this is mildly undulating. As in, there is small hill on an otherwise flat course. At 29m elevation gain in total over 3 laps and a bit, you can probably agree with that. The one little hill starts soon after you start and continues briefly after the turn where you would expect to have reached the peak. After that, the course gifts you a shorter and, hence, slightly steeper, downhill. That’s really it, besides the couple of metres bump before entering the small detour around the smaller football pitch. At least elevation won’t be an additional factor joining mud in making Walthamstow parkrun challenging.

In terms of course layout, it is pretty simple. 3 laps around the perimeter of the fields. No real risk of making a wrong turn or getting lost here.

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

Once it is time to go, everyone has lined up by the side of fields just after the end of the main building. Everyone can spread widely to avoid being too far from the actual start line. There will also be more than enough ground to diagonally converge towards the best line if you have started wide before everyone has to turn. At first, everyone runs down towards the meeting point. There, you turn wide around a solitary big tree and then continue running along the access road you used to enter the sports centre. Half way through this segment, you will pass the finish funnel.

At the end of this segment, turn 90 degrees left and keep running by the side of the fields. Roughy one third through this segment, things turn from flat to mildly uphill. It goes up consistently until the corner where you turn left and hope you have reached the peak. Nope. After the turn, you keep climbing for another 50/100m before you reach the highest point of this course. A funny poster confirms it: ‘you made it’. From here, there is a short flat section before you start going down until the next corner.

This corner is again 90-degrees and around a solitary tree. This was one of the muddiest bits, by the way. You keep going behind the football goals and after the third you start turning left gently heading towards a marshal controlling a little bump up muddy roots. Climb that and start a short 3-sided circumnavigation of a smaller football pitch. When you leave this area you go past the car park and diagonally cut towards a fenced area. If mud is really bad, here you will have the opportunity to take advantage of the skirting of the fenced area for a little while.

Afterwards, it is time to turn right for another short segment in the open fields, passing a couple of trees roughly half way. Turn left at the end of it navigating around another potentially very muddy area and you are back on the straight where you started. Time to reach the meeting point turn and then do it all twice more.

After three laps, you will reach again the tree by the meeting point and, potentially, start your sprint finish leading to the funnel. If you are happy slipping face first into the mud, that is. I guess on dry weeks, this is a real short sprint option. Not when I went there.

Congratulations on completing Walthamstow parkrun!

Facilities at Walthamstow parkrun

Walthamstow parkrun is a small event hosted at a private sports centre. The fields are big and well set up, but the main building is fairly basic. However, toilets and changing rooms are available and open also before the events.

There is a ‘window in the wall’ refreshments spot, but I did not try it.

As far as parkbreakfast, the lady at the First Timers briefing suggested a local cafe just outside the centre. Walk the access road then turn left. Keep walking for about 100m and you will reach the Waltham Cafe. It looks pretty unassuming from outside AND inside. However, it offers everything you might need, including a decent menu of cooked options if that’s what you are after.

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 Walthamstow parkrun, I ordered a banana muffin, a diet coke and a single espresso. This cost me £6.2. In line with London average, but frankly more than I expected given what it was and since I got it to take away.

Walthamstow 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

Was I influenced by Walthamstow parkrun’s reputation as the most boring parkrun in London when I kept procrastinating this visit? Or am I being fully honest when I say to myself I was mostly scared about the mud? I think, mostly honest. It’s a three-lapper after all, so those tend to be penalised when picking a location.

That said, what is the verdict? Walthamstow parkrun should be seen as the most boring parkrun in London. Sure, the route is not scenic and it is pretty repetitive, but let’s be honest, there are several like that. It is a perfectly functional route, if you can deal with the mud. And the team and locals are truly welcoming, as it often is the case at smaller events.

Finally, obviously, thank you, Walthamstow parkrun team for your hospitality!