Alphabetical Excellence
Some parkruns are known for their scenery, some for their hills, and some — like Abbey Park in Leicester — for the simple fact that they sit proudly near the top of the alphabet. In fact, it’s the “second‑best parkrun in the world alphabetically” according to the Run Director. That’s absolutely the sort of metric I’m willing to celebrate at 9am on a Saturday. It is, in fact, alphabetically first-est in the UK. On the worldwide stage it is betean only by Aachener Weiher, in the suburbs of Cologne.
Dan volunteered to drive. He swung by to pick me up at about 7:30, and we set off through a foggy Measham. By Coalville the fog had given up entirely, revealing a full day of sunshine ahead. Sunshine makes me run faster, I reckon, so maybe I’d be up for a quick one.
Onsite
We arrived early enough to locate the event crew, have a wander, and make the traditional pre‑run pilgrimage to the toilets. All very civilised.
Abbey Park itself is Leicester’s premier public park, opened in 1882 and spread across 89 acres of landscaped loveliness, complete with formal gardens, a boating lake, an impressive collection of ornamental trees and the ruins of St Mary’s Abbey, all wrapped around the River Soar. It’s even Grade II* listed, which means it’s officially fancy, probably. When we arrived it was kind of quiet. The view was dominated by a fun fair (closed) sitting in the middle.
The Shape of the Park
The Abbey Park course is officially described as a single lap. Unofficially, it’s a single lap with… embellishments. You don’t repeat whole laps, but you do revisit a few stretches, including one that had been freshly re‑tarmacked during the week. A rare treat: **new tarmac**. Practically a performance‑enhancing substance.
The whole thing is, in fact, on tarmac, and much of it is pleasingly wide, meaning the crowds thinned out quickly and there was very little elbow‑based diplomacy required. The route starts on one side of the River Soar, crosses into the Abbey Grounds — the bit added in 1932 when the park expanded to include the old abbey site — and then loops back over the river to finish where you began.
It’s a lovely setting: water, bridges, trees, history, and not a hill in sight. Leicester really knows how to do a park.
The Running Bit
I set off at what felt like a sensible pace and, for once, it turned out to actually be a sensible pace. I crossed the line in a well‑fast 30:35, which is the quickest I’ve been in a while. That earned me 10th in my age category and — more importantly — a return to the promised land of 50%+ age grading.
I’d been expecting Abbey Park to be a quick course, but I’m choosing to believe this was at least partly down to physical improvement rather than just smooth tarmac and sunshine.
That’s venue #64 ticked off, and a very respectable one at that.
Breakfast and Basking
On the way home, we stopped at a random Premier Inn pub for a well‑earned full breakfast. Nothing fancy, nothing artisan, just solid, dependable fry‑up energy.
After that, the afternoon was dedicated to sitting around and absorbing as much sunshine as possible — a highly underrated athletic discipline.
All Wrapped Up
A bright morning, a historic park, a fast run, and a breakfast that hit most of the right notes. Abbey Park parkrun might not have the drama of mountains or lakes, but it’s flat, friendly, and alphabetically elite. And on a sunny Saturday in March, that’s more than enough.
Parkrun #64 — and another excellent tick for the collection.
