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Rickmansworth parkrun

The area

Rickmansworth is a small town near Watford, inside the M25. The town was built on the point three of waterways merging to form a major tributary for the River Thames further south.

Rickmansworth Aquadrome, the host of today's parkrun, is a former quarry site which has been filled with water and stocked with fish, while the surroundings have been managed as a nature reserve. The stone excavated from the quarry was used in the construction of the former Wembley stadium.

Batchworth Lake at Rickmansworth Aquadrome

The course

The course is lollipop shaped, starting with two laps of the woodland path, followed by a straight adjacent to the lake. The route is all on tarmac paths, and is flat throughout, though there are some areas where tree roots make the path slightly less smooth.

There is free parking on site, while toilets and a cafe are available at the visitor centre, though the cafe can get very busy!

The run

The weather forecast predicted today to be another sunny day, similar to the weather at Coldham's Common parkrun yesterday, and so I was rather suprised by the storm-like downpour pre-run today, leaving puddles all over the course. Fortunately, a bit of rain isn't enough to impact the day's events too much, though I suspect there would have been even more participants without the rain!

I definitely think my plan of sticking to flat courses this week was a good idea to help rest my foot, as my foot wasn't aching at all after the two events, which is the first time it hasn't ached after a parkrun for a while! Hopefully my road to recovery is starting to reach its destination, but I will stay careful not to push myself too quickly over the coming weeks, as I definitely miss running in general, as well as at parkrun events!

Thank you to all of the volunteers for a great event, and happy new year!

After the run

After today's event, I took some time to explore the park more closely. The park is made up of two lakes, and a woodland, all of which form part of the parkrun course. The first lake, immediately behind the visitor centre is Bury Lake, which is used for sailing and canoeing.

Bury Lake

The parkrun route then enters the woodland to the north of the park, which is a deliberate mixture of wetlands, woodland, and deadwood to stimulate nature in the area.

Woodland at Rickmansworth Aquadrome

The woodland path heading east follows the path of the River Colne, which has a number of weirs along its path.

Weir along the River Colne

The river eventually merges with the Grand Union Canal, making this one of the few parkruns where canal boat is a possible means of travel to the event ( Milton Keynes parkrun is another, also served by the Grand Union Canal).

Opposite the river is Batchworth Lake, another one of the former quarries, and used for water-skiing.

Batchworth Lake

Although technically not part of the same park, the wider Colne Valley Regional Park continues westward with Stocker's Lake.

Stocker's Lake

Links: Results | Strava

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Location: Rickmansworth Aquadrome, Frogmoor Ln, Rickmansworth WD3 1NB, UK

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