Greenwich Peninsula parkrun

This week I had the privilege to attend the inaugural event of Greenwich Peninsula parkrun. It is my first, and likely last inaugural and I was really happy to get this opportunity, at least once. I will not dwell on the never ending debate about this, but I do understand how collecting them would be selfish.

Greenwich Peninsula parkrun is the 66th event in the capital, increasing the list of parkruns to visit to achieve LonDone and LonDone+ status by one. With this visit, I was able to keep my LonDone accolade, but this is definitely not a time sensitive achievement. There is plenty of time to pick it up.

One of the reasons why I was so keen to get at least one event number 1, besides experience the novelty and enthusiasm, was to finally get the only low number I was missing for my Wilson Index. It has now shot from 0 to 10 and I can play around with it a bit more, rather than relying on the floating version. It also counts for the Fibonacci achievement, if anyone is still chasing it among their target parkrun challenges.

After visiting the bucolic settings of Nonsuch parkrun, surroundings could not be more different this week. The newest London parkrun take place along the riverside of the new(ish) development area completed around the O2 Arena. All on paved paths with very little green in sight, the vibe here is all modern banks of the Thames, with skyscrapers on both sides. It is different, but great! A Thames Path parkrun on steroids, but without the (official) curly wurly at the end. Or a fairly similar vibe to the neighbour just across the cable car, Victoria Dock parkrun.

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

Trip to Greenwich Peninsula parkrun and parking

Greenwich Peninsula parkrun takes place on the riverside section of Greenwich Peninsula, at the end of The Tide and very close to the Greenwich Riverboat Pier.

According to the official event site, if you want to come by public transport, you will have plenty of options given the very central and well connected location. The closest tube station is North Greenwich, served by the Jubilee Line with frequent connection to Central London and Stratford. I came by Tube and once I arrived, I turned 180 degrees at the top of the last escalators to exit and left the station onto the square in front of the O2. From there, go straight aiming for a Wagamama restaurant opposite the O2 main entrance. Keep going straight aiming for the Thames and you will soon reach end of The Tide walkway. Parkrunners will be meeting here in a little square.

If you need to come in by train, you can either aim for one of the many stations close to Jubilee line tube stations or go to Maze Hill, Westcombe Park or Charlton stations. All are served by Southeastern and, according to the event page, less than 2 miles from Greenwich Peninsula parkrun meeting point.

Since the event is by the O2 Arena, you will also have a lot of parking options if you decide to drive here. But they will be pricey and traffic around the area will be awful late morning. You can find parking options here.

Greenwich Peninsula parkrun: start and briefings

I left North Greenwich tube station around 8:20 and as I was leaving it, I started seeing a few parkrunner heading towards the meeting point. It’s an easy walk and it gets you past a couple of cafes and the entrance of the O2, in case you need toilets.

Once I reached the Thames, the final fears the event might not be on disappeared, seeing a lot of volunteers getting ready under The Tide walkway. The meeting point is in a cute little square and the walkway also provides cover from rain. And there was a bit of a drizzle on the morning of my first visit. On the morning of the inaugura, volunteers were also joined by some staff from the landlord ready to give directions and staff from a local gym.

The local gym staff lead a fun warm up before the event. Nothing extreme and they did not have music, but it was a nice addition to pre-parkrun prep.

As time got closer to 9am, the First Timer briefing was called. I’ve often seen new events merging the two briefings, but here the team decided to still have a pre-briefing dedicated to genuinely new parkrunners. Not many of those visiting this event, it seemed.

Finally, the RD started the main briefing: a celebration of what the core team and their local supporters achieved to launch this great new event in London. The briefing ran smoothly and it was soon time to start the short walk to the start, just in front of the Uber Boats pier.

Greenwich Peninsula parkrun course review – star ratings

Greenwich Peninsula parkrun course review – route highlights

925 finishers and 62 volunteers joined the inaugural event of Greenwich Peninsula parkrun. I did not get the feeling there were that many people at the start, credit to how well it was organised and a great location for this new event. It was clearly a busy event, but it flew smoothly nearly the whole time and the team were definitely ready for a big turn out. I have no idea what numbers the event will settle on, but I suspect they will be pretty high given its scenic location and easy commute. The core team seems to be concerned about sourcing volunteers for future events, so if anyone can help, please do and contact them at the email listed here.

With such a large field, there was congestion, mostly at the the start and at the end. When things got going on the path by the pier, it took about a minute to slowly get going. Immediately after that, runners need to take a slight turn left to flow down onto the riverside path. This created another bottleneck that meant we had to walk for another 30/60 seconds. All things considered, starting was slow, but not as slow as it could have been given numbers. Again, testament to the team and course design. However, hopefully long term numbers will settle at around 4/500, which will make the event seamless. Besides the start, there are 3 180-degrees turnaround points along the course. They were never a problem for me as the field had thinned out, but I guess they could be if you are exactly where most people are.

Surface is excellent, all paved and smooth, with a few areas around the start with cobblestones. It was a slightly rainy day and I was running wearing new road shoes and at times it did feel a bit slippery. I am not saying you might need trail shoes on rainy days, but what could be a PB course will require a bit more attention when wet.

Elevation-wise, at 16m elevation gain over one out and back (and a bit) course, this is very flat. There a few little bumps along the way, mainly when changing paths. There are no real hills, just path adjustments along the way. Elevation will never be a concern at Greenwich Peninsula parkrun.

In terms of course layout, it is essentially an out and back course. As you start going East, you turn around after about 400m. Then you run back all around the O2, turn around again and go all the way down to a Yacht Club this time. When you turn around again, you will head straight for the the finish funnel this time.

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

When it is time to start, assuming you are joining a less congested event, you will get going by the pier and soon take a slight left turn to descent onto the riverside path. Now, it is time to run under the cable car and keep going for about 400m as the faster runners are already coming back on your right, separated by a small path divider. After 400m you reach a couple of marshals with a U-turn sign. It is time to turn around a pin and take the slightly higher path to go back towards the start line.

As you get there, thank the volunteers who are probably setting up the finish funnel and transition into the square where you had originally assembled. This is where you will encounter a few cobblestones, which make the path a bit more slippery if you are running in very slick road shoes. Get past the square, climb a short ramp and you are now on the riverside path that will go all around the O2 arena.

This is a fairly long segment that is made up of short straight segments with gentle left turns at the end that get you into another straight segment. It’s funny how I always expected to the see the turnaround point after each one of those corners, but it does take a while to reach the final turn. As you go, admire the few pieces of art on your right, including a strange one that looks like a middle finger but seems to be called ‘unity grip’, or something like that. Also, on the other side of the river, you will get to see the Olympic park at the beginning and then enjoy nice views of Canary Wharf towards the end of this segment.

Eventually, you will reach a 90-degrees turn left that gets you into a final short straight and the next 180-degrees turnaround point. Get past it and you will now go through the same route in the opposite direction. Keep going back to the meeting point square, pass it and head towards the first turnaround point. Here I was confused: I thought we would have to turn around at the same spot and that would only have given us around 4k in total. However, as you reach it, now volunteers clearly show you that it’s not a U-turn spot anymore: keep going further away from the funnel now!

The final stretch going East is mostly straight and flat, with a couple more nice art installations on the left and some cool housing and cafes on the right. You also get a nice view on the Thames Barrier towards the end. The last bit gets you close to a Yacht Club and it looks a bit more industrial and rough. Reach the end, turn around 180-degrees one last time and you are on to the home stretch.

As you approach the meeting point area, keep to the left and enter the long finish funnel that has been set up by the left wall of the light rump leading up to the square. The funnel might not be fast, but it is very well managed.

Congratulations on completing Greenwich Peninsula parkrun!

Facilities at Greenwich Peninsula parkrun

Greenwich Peninsula parkrun takes place just outside The O2 Arena. This is not only an event space, but a big hospitality and retail outlet, so you will be spoiled with available options, if you need something.

There don’t seem to be free, publicly accessible toilets in the immediate area around the meeting point, unless you want to buy a coffee to get access to those offered by local cafes. Otherwise, the O2 Arena opens early and it offers public facilities.

The post event cafe recommended by the team is Caspino, 1 minute walk from the meeting point and the finish funnel. It’s a beautiful cafe with friendly staff and a nice outdoor seating area, if weather allows.

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 Dartford parkrun, I ordered a single espresso, a Diet Coke and a matcha and raspberry slice.. This cost me £7.85, after a discount offered by the cafe to park runners.

Greenwich Peninsula 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

Joining Greenwich Peninsula’s inaugural parkrun event was a privilege and a wonderful experience. The team were fantastic and everything run smoothly, even with very high numbers. The route is enjoyable and scenic and very easy to get to from anywhere in London. A new landmark event were born, congrats to everyone involved in setting it up!

I am 100% sure I will be back, once things calm down a bit.

Finally, obviously, thank you, Greenwich Peninsula parkrun team for your hospitality!