As I write this in August 2024, there are currently 1,282 park run events held each week across the UK. The courses vary from place to place. Some are held exclusively on tarmac and are a mecca for those chasing quick times. Others like my local Panshanger course only follow trails, which can become a proper mud-fest in winter. One thing they mostly have in common is that they are held in easy to reach places, with some flat sections and gentle undulations thrown in for good measure. Then there are a select few that are exceptions to this rule. Proper brutes. Watergrove Park Run is such a course.
Seeing as I was visiting a friend who lived only a couple of miles from the start line, it almost seemed rude not to get up early on the Saturday to give it a bash. I am glad I did. What a course it is! Let’s now look at what makes the Watergrove Park Run so tough, but still worth the visit.
1) It Is A Proper Test
Let’s get the most obvious one out of the way first. It might only be 5 kilometres in length but Watergrove Park Run manages to squeeze in around 350 feet of elevation gain. Your climbing legs will certainly be tested on this one and you’ll definitely benefit if you possess a good power to weight ratio.
The first 500 metres or so are fairly flat, but you then turn right and hit the first climb of the course. It’s on a cobbled surface too, which just makes things tougher still. I may have been wearing trail shoes, but I struggled for traction on much of this section. You must remember that you are in the hills to the north of Manchester, so there is a high likelihood of the cobbles being wet and slippery too.
Eventually it levels out, but there are still three more climbs to tackle. One of them is so steep that many consider it almost a fell run. I powered up the toughest part and was then longing for the climb to be over. There aren’t climbs like that on any Hertfordshire route that’s for sure!
The nature of the course and the climbs along it make it more of an interval session, especially if you’re chasing a quick time. You’ve got to go hard on the climbs and hope you can recover somewhat on the downhill sections. It is certainly quite tough to pace evenly.
Speaking of downhill, there is also a very steep descent, which is rough an technical underfoot. I am not used to fell running and was dropped by several more experienced runners on this section. Thankfully my strong climbing ability allowed me to catch them up later on. If you are handy downhill, then you’ve got some free speed there.
To watch a great video about this course and the other brutes in the UK, feel free to click here.
2) The Scenery
You may be on the outskirts of Rochdale, but you soon feel like you are in the middle of nowhere when starting the run. It feels fairly civilized at the start, but pass through the tree line on the cobbled section and the landscape then feels very wild indeed. It also isn’t very often you share a park run route with hardy sheep.
As a runner, you often need to enter fell races to experience group events with this sort of scenery. Experiencing it on a park run is a real treat indeed.
3) The Extensive Views South
You could argue that this is linked to the point above, but I thought I’d include it separately just because they can be so good. I say can be because inclement weather could well hide these from you on the day you run.
The weather wasn’t great when I completed the Watergrove Park Run.. Even with this being the case, I enjoyed looking down towards Rochdale and the distant skyscrapers of Manchester. Beyond these the hills of The peak District could be seen and even some of the northern most mountains of Snowdonia.
4) The Ability To Support Others
I have found that most park run courses complete one or more laps of a given circuit. The only time you are likely to see others along the way is if you are passing others or they are passing you.
The layout of Watergrove Park Run means that there are three out and back sections. Two of them on the higher ground are very likely to provide you with the chance to see other runners heading in the other direction to you. This is a great feature of the course.
I was running the event with my mate Jack. Despite our very different paces during the run, it was great to see him out on course. Unfortunately for Jack, I was heading downhill while he was heading up. We still shouted some words of encouragement to each other though, as I saw many others doing too.
I also received some words of encouragement from the couple of runners ahead of me too out on course. The folk around these parts certainly are a friendly bunch.
5) The People & Atmosphere
Park runs are friendly events wherever you go and it is no different at Watergrove Park Run. The friendliness of the marshals and even other competitors was very enjoyable and I particularly enjoyed chatting to other runners at the end when waiting for my mate Jack to finish.
Another nice touch was the tea, coffee and cake available close to the finish line. This isn’t something you see at every event. I guess the extra effort you make to get up the hills means that these treats have been well earned!
A Note About My Run
I really had no idea what to expect of this course and pacing it was tricky. This was mostly down to a fear of pushing too hard too early and then dying a million deaths on the climbs.
I was actually really surprised to come 3rd on the day with a time of 21 minutes and 25 seconds. That is two minutes slower than my quickest time, but I expected the gap to be larger with such an undulating course. This result has shown me where my strengths are. It appears that I run up hills very well, but lack the leg speed to be competitive on flatter terrain. I know where to put my focus now over the coming off season. I reckon a few fell races might be entered.
My mate Jack set a pb too with a time just under 32 minutes. At over two metres in height and the best part of 100kg in weight, he isn’t exactly built for running uphill, so to get around in that time is something he was very proud of. He is certainly a lucky man having Watergrove Park Run on his doorstep.
