Eastbourne parkrun

Last parkrunday, I came back to East Sussex to visit Eastbourne parkrun for the first time. It looks like I came on the first week that used the winter course, but looking at maps it does not seem the routes are different enough to drastically change the experience.

While I still have several events in my planner to progress on various challenges or fill gaps in my map, this week was completely empty. And next week is too. So I came back to the old ritual of checking the parkrun apps on parkrun Eve and looking for potential targets. And I could not find anything progressing me on any of the long term challenges nearby. So I thought this could be a good week to get an E. The elusive E that would get me get me to 100% on the Namely challenge and tick the latter in one more potential future alphabet.

There were two Es left within easy(ish) reach from WImbledon and they were both on the East Sussex coast. So down we drive again, picking Eastbourne because it seemed to be the one with the more interesting course.

This visit also progresses my coverage of East Sussex, getting me to 7 locations out of 12. More than half done, even though one was before I started this project, so it will need to be visited again.

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

Trip to Eastbourne parkrun and parking

If you think Eastbourne parkrun is a coastal one, well, time to re-set your expectations. This event takes place in Shinewater Park, still in Eastbourne, but inland. The park offers some children play area, set up exercise area and sport facilities dotted around the substantial footprint, but to the core it gave me the feeling it prioritises its conservation as a green, natural area. I’ve even read grass snakes are part of the local wildlife but, fortunately, I have not meet any crawling overgrown worm.

According to the official event site, the closest station is Hampden Park. The station is managed by Eastern and it is on the East Coastway line, connecting Brighton to Hastings and Ashford. This means that if you are coming from the North, you will likely have to change around Brighton. Once you reach the station, you will be 1.2 miles away from Eastbourne parkrun meeting point, so about 25 minutes walk. The team suggests local bus options but, at least according to google maps, that won’t save you time if you are arriving at Hampden Park station.

I drove to the venue and it took me about 1 hour 20 minutes early on parkrun morning. However, just out of curiosity, I have checked how long it would have taken me by public transport from Wimbledon. According to Citymapper, that would have required leaving home at 5am, a train from Clapham to Ore, then another one from Ore to Hampden Park and finally a 25 minutes walk. The whole affair would have taken 2 hours 40 minutes. Feasible, but quite painful.

If you drive, getting to the outskirts of Eastbourne is not difficult, with major motorways getting you pretty close. Once you get there, you will not have to drive into town: Eastbourne parkrun is on the Northern outskirts. There isn’t a dedicated car park on site, but the official event site says that parkrunners are allowed to park at the Busy Bees nursery. It is at the beginning of Larkspur Drive, about 5-10 minutes walk from the meeting point. At 8:35 in the morning, I tried my luck and drove a bit further and there are some parking islands along the road. I found a spot there, about half way between the recommended location and the meeting point.

Eastbourne parkrun: start and briefings

Whatever the point of Larkspure Drive where you have left your car, walk further towards its centre and then turn into Shinewater Park at its gates. Walk towards the cafe and toilets building and around them. You will immediately reach a green grass clearing where the meeting point will be.

It’s a fairly self contained area, but the grass fields are quite big, so it does not feel crammed even if trees surround them on all sides other then the cafe building one. The two briefings took place in the middle of the fields, with the First Timers one making sure we all understood that the only section of slippery, wet grass would be at the start, for less than 100 metres. It nearly seemed apologetic: we are an all weather course, don’t worry about the wet grass we are standing on now.

Just before 9am, everybody gets together close to the start line. This is identified by a yellow sign, because there are no other obvious landmarks. It’s a wide start on open grass. And from there, people turned towards the cafe, where the RD stood to deliver the Main Briefing. Nice touch for tourists: they had a board where you could write your home event and they went through all of them as a welcome.

Once the briefings are done, there is no need to go anywhere else. Just turn 90-degrees right and you will be ready to go.

Here it was. 3, 2, 1.

Time to go!

Eastbourne parkrun course review – star ratings

Eastbourne parkrun course review – route highlights

There were 291 parkrunners on the day of my visit to Eastbourne parkrun. While this is a very healthy field and the event obviously always felt healthy and very lively, it’s a big downward jump from usual attendance levels. A whole 100 people down from last week and long term attendance levels seem to be consistently between high 300s and high 400s, some weeks above 500. Not sure what lead to the significantly lower numbers, might just be the slightly gloomy weather on the day the first named storm of the year hit the UK? I expected rain and wind, but neither disrupted parkrun, the skies opened only after 10. At 300, the field never felt busy, and we were on the out and back course. People were running quite close to each other until the first turn, but then it opened up rather well.

The course has a few bottlenecks along the course, especially if you happen to go through them with people coming from the opposite direction. A couple of small bridges, one underpass and one segment under a motorway bridge that was currently half lost to construction scaffolding. Nonetheless, none is terribly narrow and you can always have at least 3 people next to each other. Finally, as an out and back course, at the end you have a 180-degrees turnaround point around a human cone. That slows you down, but not too much.

Surface was pretty good throughout. You start with a short segment on grass, but then the rest is all paved. At the beginning and end of the paved segment, you will be dealing with broken tarmac with a lot of potholes and imperfection, but then after the first bridge, and until the last bridge, surface will become smoother and more regular. I think puddles could become a problem where tarmac is a bit messed up, but at least you are looking at a course that will not be riddled with mud in winter. I ran in road shoes and I am sure they will be ok throughout the year.

Elevation-wise, at 15m elevation gain over one out and back lap, this is a flat course. There is a little ramp to get onto the first bridge and then the segment between bridges is a bit of a long hill with its top at the mid point of the segment, but it is barely noticeable. If at all. Could this be a PB course in perfect conditions? Yes, it probably could, especially if you don’t lose too much time at the turnaround point.

In terms of scenic value, Eastbourne parkrun is ok, but not one you will tell your friends about. Most of the run is on a path with trees or fields on both sides, a bit like nearby Downs Link parkrun. Views are funnelled to the path, rather than expanding around it. It is also a bit of a shame that a route that runs around a lake only shows a short glimpse of the lake at the end.

I think I experience the winter course. It is quite simple: one long segment out and then turnaround to run the same relatively regular route back.

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

You start on the back of the cafe in a grass clearing. With the cafe and children playground on your left, the start line is in the middle of the field, identified only by a black parkrun sign. You get going on grass on a wide start: grass can be slippery and, I guess, muddy in winter, but it was firm on the day of my visit even if it had been raining non stop for the whole night. You go for less than 100 metres and then you converge on a path. It is quickly paved, but not particularly well maintained at the beginning.

As you get on the path, you go past a gap in the trees and then take a wide right turn leading to another more pronounced 90-degrees right turn. You are now going back in the opposite direction to the one you started on. You start with a long straight in the open, with occasional trees on your left and a recessed tree line on your right. Paving is still a bit messed up, but not terrible. Eventually, you reach an underpass. Get under it and soon after you are out you get to the first bridge. Take a 90-degrees right turn, climb up to the bridge and cross it. Then climb down it enjoying a short downhill and you are back on the main path. From here, and up to the final bridge, paving conditions will be much better.

After that bridge, there is the longest segment. Mostly straight and flat, towards the end there is a wide S-curve bit where you run under a motorway bridge and, once you alight on the other side, you will soon turn left again. After turning left again, you will reach the spot where you can finally see the lake on your right. It passes fast and immediately afterwards you are onto the final bridge. Cross it and it’s time for the final straight of the out and back. Terrain is again less smooth, but decent. At the end of it, a human cone shows you where the turnaround point is.

Run around the marshal living cone and run the whole thing again in the opposite direction. After the last turn, time for the final sprint, again on grass. Don’t slip!

Congratulations on completing Eastbourne parkrun!

Facilities at Eastbourne parkrun

A small building made up of a mix of containers and actual construction materials act as a hub for facilities at Eastbourne parkrun. The toilets are very well visible when arriving: 3 stalls on the way to the meeting point.

Eastbourne 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

Eastbourne parkrun provides a dependable East Sussex venue for winter times. You know it will be manageable and it does not overtax with its hills, it might even be a chance for a PB!. The environment is pleasant, the cafe is functional and the team very welcoming.

Not necessarily a destination event, but a fun and enjoyable one that has secured a large local community.

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