ARU Writtle parkrun

Last parkrunday, I visited event 12 of the newest Essex event, ARU Writtle parkrun for the first time. A pretty long trip for me from Wimbledon, all around the M25. It is funny to realise that even if it is much closer as the crow flies, it took more longer to get here than it took me last week to drive all the way to Portsmouth for Meon Valley Trail parkrun.

It also seems I am on an out and back streak after Meon Valley. 1 lap there, 2 laps here at ARU Writttle. Interestingly, I learnt during the briefings that this is only the winter course for ARU Writtle parkrun. In a few weeks, the course will change to a probably more interesting lap around the lake. Pity… but I had very clear reasons to come here on this specific weekend. As said above, this was event 12 for the event, and ticking off event 12, brought my Wilson Index (and Golden Wilson Index) up to 13. Priorities! 🙂

Due to distance, I have not visited many Essex events so far. But both events I did visit were great, Brentwood parkrun and Roding Valley parkrun. Closer to London though, this was my first trip deeper into the county.

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

Trip to ARU Writtle parkrun and parking

ARU Writtle parkrun takes place inside the Writtle, Chelmsford campus of Anglia Ruskin University. The campus offers beautiful green open spaces, being focused on veterinary and agricultural courses and it sits just minutes away from Writtle’s main village green.

Writtle is part of Chelmsford, not for from the M25, North East of London. It is not difficult to reach from the capital or most corners of the South East, but it might require a long drive around the capital to avoid crossing through the traffic monster. And, if coming from SW like me, also a trip under and above the Thames through the Dartford Crossing. Don’t forget to pay for it if you do: happened to me before and it’s annoying. The do forgive you if it only happens once, tho. Kind of them.

According to the official event site, if you want to come by public transport, the closest train station is Chelmsford, which is 2.3 miles away from ARU Writtle parkrun meeting point. The station is managed by Greater Anglia, with regular services to Ipswich and Norwich, among others. Out of curiosity, I tried to use Citymapper to check how how could get there using public transport from Wimbledon. Apparently, it would take me 3 hours, including 2 tubes, then a train to Stansted from Tottenham Hale and finally two buses from Harlow. Feasible, I guess, but I am lazy and definitely not a morning person.

The drive was all on motorways, expect the last 10 minutes navigating small country lanes. As you reach Writtle, the campus will be easy to find using the postcode provided. When you reach it, turn into it heading for the main visitors centre. As you turn into the campus, you will see familiar yellow parkrun parking signs in the distance. Keep driving straight until you reach the main car park and a couple of marshals will help heading to the opposite side and find a convenient spot. It’s a substantial car park and it is free for parkrunners during and around event times.

The team mentioned pretty clearly that ARU does not want to have parkrunners roaming around campus too long after the event, so keep that in mind and leave in good time afterwards.

ARU Writtle parkrun: start and briefings

If you arrived early enough and managed to park towards the opposite corner of the main car park from its access, you will be close to the entrance of the green area hosting ARU Writtle parkrun. If you need toilets, they are in the ‘Amenity Building’, well signed, next to the car park exit lane or in front of a cluster of greenhouses.

Otherwise, go back to the far corner of the car park where you have likely been sent by a volunteer to park and cross the access road into the fields. You will see the meeting point after a second set of wide gates about 100m in front of you. As you get there, you will see this meeting point is where volunteers congregate and where the bag drop and finish funnel are. However, briefings will be about 100m further into the field, next to the pop up sign. Head there to take the mandatory selfie and you will be where you need to be in a few minutes.

I arrived early, but the First Timers Briefing was already happening. I was however there on time to hear the volunteer repeating several times how narrow the course was and hamming home we needed to be good boys and girls and stand on the left all times. I will eventually find out that was needed, but probably not as dramatic as I expected it to be after hearing the briefing.

After a few minutes, the Main Briefing happens in the same place. Afterwards, everyone walks a few metres across a tree line to position themselves on the path ready to go. It is a seeded start, with signs helping you position yourself in the right place. And given the configuration of this event, seeding yourself roughly in the right place is important.

After a short countdown, the time came. Parkrun!

ARU Writtle parkrun course review – star ratings

ARU Writtle parkrun course review – route highlights

There were 152 parkrunners on the day of my visit to ARU Writtle parkrun. Since it was only event number 12, it is probably still early to identify average attendance levels, but this was the smallest fields since launch. After a 380 spike on event 2, field size stabilised around 250 people each parkrunday, with one event slightly below 200. I think 150-200 is a nice sweet spot for ARU Writtle parkrun, at least while they use the out and back winter course. It does not get too busy, but it does feel lively and you always see people around you going both ways. I am sure event 2 must have felt congested, with nearly 400 people.

As said above, I never thought the course was over-congested. The start line is mildly busy because the path is not very wide, but there was no walking involved and it thinned out fairly quickly. As you go, you can run 2/3 abreast for the first segment, because people will not be coming back in the opposite direction yet. Once a two-way path is established, it becomes more of a 1 in each direction thing, with cautions overtaking. But given numbers, it is fine. Finally, given course layout, you will have to turnaround 180-degrees around a pin 3 times. It does slow you down, otherwise this could be a pretty fast course.

Surface-wise, the path was all on good tarmac. Even and flat, properly drained, it makes for a pleasant running experience. As you turn right for the last straight leading to the finish funnel, you will be on grass for about 100m. We were warned it can beg slippery, but it was not a problem when I visited.

Elevation-wise, at 22m elevation gain over 2 laps, ARU Writtle parkrun is definitely flat. There are some mild inclines here and there and, as my mind seems to do, I was tricked into noticing the downhills and ignoring the uphills. Funny thing that keeps happening. That said, you barely notice any incline here.

In terms of course layout, it is very very simple. A roughly 1.2k straight run out and back twice before turning 90-degrees right towards the meeting point to reach the finish funnel.

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

This will be again a fairly easy course description. As you get going, you are off to a decently fast start that gets you past the volunteers and on to the path. It starts with a straight sided by mature trees on both sides, but it quickly opens up on the left. Open farmed fields on the left and a view on the lake on your right. You keep going straight for quite a while, passing a volunteer marshalling a crossing point roughly half way.

More or less 2/3 of the way in, you get on an S-curve section where you start learning slightly right, before turning hard left and soon turning hard right again. After a quick straight, it is time to turn hard left again. This is basically the only bit of variety on the course, interrupting the straight out and back feeling. Once you are back on a straight, you are off for a new 200m straight segment. This time, fields on your left and farmhouses on your right.

At the end of this segment, you will reach the turnaround point. Slow down and go around the pin to start your way back. Run the same route in the opposite direction meeting other runners facing you. You will then reach the start line, where another turnaround pin has now popped up. The first time you reach it, force yourself to turn around and repeat it all once more.

The second time you reach this point, turn 90-degrees right into the field where the meeting point was and head straight for about 100m to reach get into the finish funnel.

Congratulations on completing ARU Writtle parkrun!

Facilities at ARU Writtle parkrun

The event takes place in the middle of a university campus, so at least in theory, there are plenty of facilities available. However, parkrunners do not have access to them and the cafes seemed to be closed too. Toilets are available next to the car park. It was a limited number of very tiny stalls, so a queue formed. Go there on time, if you need to.

Since there is no cafe, I drove a couple of minutes back to the village green. There, on Saturdays you can park for free around the green, but there is a 1h limit. I found a nice, quirky cafe called Duckquiry, with a charming interior and the benches overlooking the beautiful village green just across the road.

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 ARU Writtle parkrun, I ordered a Diet Coke, a lemon slice and a single espresso. This cost me exactly £10. Kind of obscene pricing, to be honest. Especially since it was ordered to take away and sit outside.

ARU Writtle 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

ARU Writtle is a really nice event in a beautiful rural campus. And a visit to the village green afterwards is a perfect relaxing addition to your parkrunday morning. Writtle seems to be a charming little place.

I am quite curious to know how the summer course will look like. I might even come back to check it out, if I can endure the long trip here.

Finally, obviously, thank you, ARU Writtle parkrun team for your hospitality!