E is for… East Park Excellence!
Another letter to tick off the parkrun alphabet. A quiet little chapter in the ongoing book of Saturday mornings. On 26 July 2025 I made my way to East Park, Wolverhampton, ready to test the legs and see if the summer’s training was doing anything useful.
The venue? An urban park framed by trees, with a tarmac loop that promised a flat ride from start to finish. Three laps, no drama. The weather? A textbook British summer morning — grey skies, damp air, and drizzle that couldn’t decide whether to commit.
Setting Off
The day started with an hour’s drive from Measham. It was steady, uneventful, and just long enough to get the legs mildly grumpy before running. I’d been unsure beforehand about the parking situation. Guidance mentions having to go on an estate road around the outside of the park. But as it turned out, you can drive straight into the park itself and leave the car along a no-through road right in the middle. Very civilised. It was about as close to the start line as you could wish for. The only downside was that because the road crosses the parkrun course, the exit is closed off until about 9:45. That wasn’t likely to cause me an issue, though.
parkrun O’Clock
It was a low-key affair. About 100 runners gathered in the drizzle, meaning no crowd-surfing through the first bend. The park felt quiet enough that you could hear your own breathing, and everyone else’s. I had no lofty ambitions other than “run well, don’t blow up.”
Lap one was all about finding the groove. The second was about holding it. Lap three… well, I tailed off a bit. The weather kept things refreshing. The only uphill bit was a short section near the ned of the lap, and then an upslope to the actual finish. I walked a bit on that hill on lap 3.
As I was coming up the straight, I realised the watch was hinting at something nice. I pushed the finish just enough to cross the line in 29:48 — a new fastest time for 2025. Not bad for me. Well, my first time under 30 minutes since 2021. I continue to make progress. Just think how fast I might go if lose a bit of weight and train a bit more!
Aftermath
Being parkrun, there’s no medals, no bunting, and in this case no coffee van or cafe either. That was a bit disappointing but it didn’t really matter, because I had something else to do in the afternoon. But on the way out, I stopped at a garage to buy a coffee to keep me going.
Milky, Milky!
But the day wasn’t over. In the afternoon I swapped running shoes for walking ones and joined about twenty of the South Derbyshire Road Runners for a jaunt from Hartshorne to the Milking Parlour — the brewery tap for Tollgate Brewery, tucked near Calke Abbey. The route was sociable and scenic. About 3.5 miles over agricultural land. The promise of a pint was a fairly strong motivator to keep moving. A gentle stroll, plenty of chat, and then that satisfying moment when the Milking Parlour appeared, like an oasis for thirsty runners (but without the Gallagher brothers). Bad pun. OK, just roll with it will you.
The Milking Parlour also serves nice burgers and pizzas – ideal fare to go with a beer on a sunny afternoon. I thoroughly recommend visiting it.
Enough
East Park delivered exactly what it promised: flat, friendly, and fuss-free. Add in a sunny walk to a brewery and you’ve got a pretty good Saturday. One more venue in the bag, one more year-best in the logbook, and one perfectly poured reward at the end.
