Skip to main content

Colney Lane parkrun

This week I decided it was finally time to complete the last of the current Norwich parkruns, having ran at Norwich parkrun, Catton parkrun, and Sloughbottom parkrun already.

The area

Located in the west of Norwich, the Colney Lane area forms part of the the University of East Anglia, as well as the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital. The sports fields form part of the main campus with university buildings located on all sides.

The main campus is situated on the former Earlham Estate, which now survives in the form of Earlham Park, as well as the original Earlham Hall building now houing the Business School for the university. The vast estate extends to border Eaton Park; home of Norwich parkrun, making this some of the closest events to each other in England (the start lines are approximately 2km from each other).

Colney Lane Recreation Fields

The course

Starting near the pavilion, the route largely follows two laps of the playing fields and woodlands, with a short section connecting the start/finish to the loops. The course is run on gravel and trail, and one relatively small hill per lap.

Free parking is available in the triangle car park a short distance from the start, which also has a path which leads to the start, while toilets and refreshments are available in Colney Lane sports pavilion.

The run

A heatwave had taken hold of the UK in the week leading up this this week's event, with parkrunday predicted to be the warmest day, tipping 34°C. Owing to the warm weather, I decided to run at a much more leisurely pace than usual.

The start of the route is largely in open recreation grounds, and so there was little respite from the sun to be found, even at 9am, however, I was thankful to reach the woodland, which was much cooler. The course does include a hill, and it wasn't to be underestimated in the heat, although I expect it would be less of a talking point in other weeks!

Gravel path through the woodland

After the run, the event team had provided free drinks and snacks in the pavillion, which was very popular (especially the water) given the heat!

Thanks to all of the volunteers - this was a really enjoyable event! I couldn't help but compare this nice two lapped route to the hecticness of Norwich parkrun's three laps route; it's interesting that such different events are available within such a short distance from each other!

After the run

Having explored some of the area as part of previous Norwich-based parkruns, I decided to explore the woodlands further, but limiting the distance of my run as temperatures rose.

Links: Results | Strava

Labels:
Location: Unnamed Road, Norwich NR4 7GJ, UK

Popular posts from this blog

Coldham's Common parkrun

As my recovery from injury is still underway, I decided that I would attend a flat course this week to avoid any potential for reaggrevation. Unfortunately this means I will need to pause my completion of the Essex events, as the remaining courses are all somewhat lumpy. Having visited all of the other Cambridge parkruns, including Storeys Field parkrun, Fulbourn Hospital parkrun, and Cambridge parkrun knowing that they are all relatively flat, I decided that this week I would complete the Cambridge set. The area Coldham's Common has a long history, serving as both a hospital during the 17th century smallpox outbreak, and a quarry during the 19th century, as well as a rifle range also during the 19th century. The course The route follows two laps of the perimeter of the common through an hour-glass shape, connecting two fields through a five-bar-gate. The course is all on grass, and is all flat. Limited parking is available nearby, while toilets are available in...
Read more

Delamere parkrun

Being the festive season, I decided to pause my exploration of the East of England in favour of visiting events closer to family in Liverpool. While there are a number of events closer to Liverpool, I decided to visit Delamere parkrun, being somewhere I hadn't explored when living in the area previously. The area Delamere forest is all that remains of a much larger forest in the area. The forest spent some time as a Royal hunting forest, before being handed to Forestry England. The course The course follows a single lap of a lollipop route, through forests, and around the Blakemere Moss lake, starting and finishing near the visitor centre. The visitor centre includes paid parking, toilets, and a cafe, while free parking is also available in some of the other forest car parks, though they are further from the start line providing a great opportunity for a warm up! The route is all on a mixture of gravel and trail, and is mostly flat except for one short but steep incl...
Read more

Aldenham parkrun

Icey conditions in days leading up to parkrun day meant many events were cancelled this week. While I would have ideally been able to visit another event in Essex, I decided that I valued having options more in the event of cancellation this week, and so I instead headed to the cluster of events surrounding the Watford area. The area Aldenham Country Park is located near Watford, and centres on Aldenham reservoir, with grassland and woodland surrounding the reservoir itself. The reservoir was excavated by French prisoners of war during 1795 as part of the wider management of the Grand Union Canal's water levels, and now serves as a reserve water supply. In addition to the reservoir, the country park also supports the breeding of a number of rare species of farm animals, including cattle, goats, pigs, and sheep. The course The course follows two laps of the reservoir, with the second lap skipping the inner peninsular. The course is flat, and is run mainly on trail pat...
Read more