h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Southsea was me 7th ParkRun venue (a friend was celebrating his birthday in Portsmouth, so I decided to do a ParkRun while I was in the Pompey area).

To get to Southsea from Portsmouth Harbour (for Isle of Wight FastCat and Gosport ferries, railway station and coaches) I simply cycled East along National Cycle Route 2 and 10 minutes later I arrived at the Pyramids swimming pool (the nearest swimming pool to the Isle of Wight with multiple waterslides) where they allowed me to use their locker and shower facilities for £1. The area is a short walk from Southsea hovercraft terminal if you are hovering from the Isle of Wight.

The route starts the other side of the water gardens from the pool and follows the Esplanade east for 2.5k before you go round a traffic cone and head west for 2.5k. The area is very busy so I wouldn't leave any valuables behind. The run is flat but there is no shelter - it was swelteringly hot as the sun burnt down on us as we ran in a straight line. You do get to pass the pier, boating lake, model village and turn round just past the Royal Marines Museum before passing the Royal Marines Museum, model village, boating lake and pier on the way back.
And, being Southsea, the way back is against the wind. The same wind that the Great South Run's final 2.5k is notorious for.

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The trains? Pretty good. The trams? Very good. The run? Very rarely not on

https://dancingatlunacy.wordpress.com/2015/07/12/parkruns-bushy-park-london/

The Daddy of them all! A wonderful experience, lovely course, dead flat and very picture-skew.

Finally got to order my 50 Tshirt!

Yay!

I also treated myself to a wristband barcode. The keyfob ones get worn down very quickly, making them impossible to scan.

I just laminated a paper one, and it sits in my phone case

I laminated about 12 paper ones, and even keep one in my wallet. At Eastleigh there's a box of barcodes for regulars to keep a spare one in, so if you do forget to bring it you can get your spare out the box. Not forgotten it yet, but it is good to know it is there if I did.

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A box of spares is a bloody good idea!

Going to suggest that to my local run.

Bushy Park would need a shipping container...

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*Spell checker kept changing 'Bushy' to 'busy'

Well, Heaton Park regular has well over 500 runners

We (Wallace) used have the alpha-dexed box of spares, but it can cause another queue while people retrieve theirs.

I do usually carry a paper back-up copy, but I usually forget that it's in a zippy pocket of my running shorts or my wrist band, and it goes all soggy. I keep one in the car too.

I'm on the hunt for a fake tattoo of a barcode - want to put it on my arm for my 100th run

Awesome Merchandise do those, but they're not cheap.

Pastey, can you give me some Manchester thoughts, please? My daughter is performing at the Royal Northern College of Music on 24th October, so I though I could come over on the Friday, stay somewhere near a parkrun, and also easy to get to the venue on Saturday. Suggestions for where to stay and which parkrun to try?

The Heaton Park run is my local one, and there's a Premier Inn right next to it.

The hotel's also just a short walk to Bowker Vale tram stop, so easy access to get into the city centre.

It's where my in-laws stay when they come down to visit, and they keep going back there.

Would definitely recommend the Heaton Park run, the people are great, the course is good, slightly challenging with a hill but (almost) all on decent(ish) tarmac and nice wide paths. Which it has to have with 500 people doing it regularly!

Thanks, I shall check prices of the Premier. I've made a provisional (and cancellable) booking at the Park Crescent Hotel, which seems to be near the Platt Park one....

Never done the Platt Park run, big student area (unsurprisingly) and not that nice
Besides, Heaton Park is less than 5 minutes walk from my house

Platt Park is easily walkable into the city centre though.

http://dancingatlunacy.wordpress.com/2015/08/01/ni-parkruns-waterworks/

NI's first, it'll be celebrating its 250th next week. Very efficiently organised, lovely park with swans and geese, and great views of Cavehill. Tarmac path all the way, one short sharp hill that you only have to conquer twice.

http://dancingatlunacy.wordpress.com/2015/08/16/ni-parkruns-mid-ulster-sports-arena-musa/

Not my favourite course, but that's it ticked off my list.

Sounds like a very well organised one!

We're off to Peterborough next week, so hoping to get that one ticked off!