NOTE: This is the last review I have done from over a year ago, so the ones in the coming weeks and months will all be from runs I have done in the past year.
COURSE INFO AND REVIEW
Stretford Parkrun is located at Longford Park and part of the course uses the Trafford Athletics Club Track. There is a reasonably large parking area, however, it can get very busy on the morning of the parkrun and the nearby roads can fill up quite quickly too. This is also due to the popularity of the event as this one usually gets big numbers.
Unless there is an event on, or the weather is particularly bad, the course starts and finishes on the Athletics Track. After running 500m+ of the track, you then go outside in to the park and do 2 laps before finishing back on the track and running the opposite direction that you started, over to where the 200m line is.
I'd say this is one of the easier park run routes around because it is completely flat, and psychologically it helps finishing on the track because it puts you in the mindset to sprint the last 100-250m or so.
MY RUN ON THE DAY
For years I had been stubborn over buying the Nike Vaporflys as I knew of the significant boost to runners times when wearing them and was wanting to get an "authentic" sub 18 minute Park Run first before wearing them. But after a couple of years of being in the low 18's and not making any progress on that front, I succumbed and bought a pair.
I had been away on holiday in Croatia the week before and didn't feel that in the mood for the run but I decided to wear the Vaporflys for the first time in an event situation. Even walking in them felt weird (very bouncy) and i'd done a few slower paced runs to wear them in.
Picture taken from the Stretford Park Run Facebook Page. I am in blue, wearing the Orange Vaporflys.
I started off quicker than i've ever done on a flat parkrun, but the thing I noticed the most was that I didn't significantly slow down too much on the 3rd and 4th km which I often do. It felt like not only had the Vaporflys given me an advantage physically, but also mentally throughout the run.
With this being my home course and me training on the track frequently with my club, I knew I could put in a strong finish to get a sub 18 min time. I ended up finishing with a 17:40, which was the best i'd done by around 30 seconds, and I was delighted. Even though I knew the Vaporflys had helped massively on this run, and i'd hoped to get this sort of time without them, I didn't care on the day and was over the moon to finally get this time!
FURTHER INFO
Date - 30/07/2022
Time - 17:40
Position - 13th out of 408
Distance - 4.94km
SPLITS
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