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Great Denham parkrun

Having run the first of my New Year's double events today at Bedford parkrun, Great Denham was to complete my running day.

Despite planning to take it easy at Bedford parkrun earlier in the day, I had actually run a PB, so I really was planning to not push during this event. It was also the first time I had tried running twice in a day, so I had no expectations other than to enjoy the run.

The area

Great Denham is a relatively new "golf village", built in the 1990s, and located towards the west of Bedford.

The area to the south of the village is mainly flat former-farmland and floodplains linked to the River Great Ouse, and is being transformed into a country park alongside the development of new housing.

The course

The course follows two laps of the perimeter of the park on a mixture of gravel and tarmac. Being a floodplain, there is almost zero elevation, and the few corners means this is a course you should definitely consider if you're hunting a new PB!

Free parking is available near to the start, and cafe and toilets are normally available near the start too, but as this was New Year's day, both were closed at the time of this event.

The run

This was a record attendance for Great Denham, and I recognised a large number of the runners from the Bedford event earlier in the day. It felt very strange starting a second lining up for the second start of the day, already quite tired, but seeing the number of people also doubling up was very reassuring.

A crowd gathered at the start area

An extra special thank you to all of this week's volunteers, the runners who encouraged me today, and the crowd at the finish funnel for cheering me and my competition to the finish, and happy new year to you all!

Links: Results | Strava

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Location: Great Denham, Bedford, UK

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