Arnos Vale Community Run - 7th May

I met up with the team at Arnos Vale Cemetery last week to find out a bit more about the Arnos Vale Community Run being held on the 7th May Bank Holiday Monday. The organisers have mapped out two runs - a 2k and a 5k and are inviting runners of all abilities to come along and have a go. If you haven't been to Arnos Vale before it really is an amazing place to visit. So even if you don't do the run, try to come along and give your support for a great local community event.

I'm planning to do the 2k run with my nine year old daughter Jess. (She doesn't know that yet). The course will be quite challenging for her as it is quite hilly, but there are lots of narrow little paths to explore so it should be lots of fun. A good warm-up before we do the Race for Life together in Bristol in June.

Why would you want to run around a cemetery you may ask? Well, its different, unique, challenging and yes very atmospheric and if you are bored of running on roads this could be just the ticket. Its also a safe haven to bring your kids and an opportunity to do a bit of fund raising. There's also a cafe. So if you feel like watching some crazy runners or taking part maybe see you there.

Thanks Arnos Vale for a great idea.

Back to Arnos Cemetery for a run

As some of you know I like to run around Arnos Vale Cemetery with my running pals. I hadn't done this run for a while but last week I managed to drag out a mate to run around Arnos Court Park before venturing into the Cemetery. I'd had a particularly stressful week so the run was just what was needed. It was a beautiful sunny evening and as we ran further into the grounds of the Cemetery, leaving the noise of the city traffic behind, all my worries seemed to disappear.

Running & Volunteers

I was out running in my local park the other day and couldn’t help thinking about the importance of volunteers and the difference they make to running. For someone that prefers to run off-road through local parks and open spaces, it doesn’t seem like that many years ago that I didn’t feel comfortable running on my own around the local parks and always made a point of teaming up with someone. A number of the local parks had suffered from anti-social behaviour, the playgrounds were vandalised and falling apart and people generally were not using the parks that much.

Thankfully this has all changed due to local volunteers setting up park groups and getting things sorted especially in Victory Park, Nightingale Valley, Eastwood Farm, Arnos Court Park and Arnos Vale Cemetery.

Check out the rest of my post on Bristol Running Resource.

The Big Thaw

It's the day after  Boxing Day and I've finally got out for a proper run without the fear of falling over. There's still a bit of snow around but most of the ice has gone. It was good to get out running my usual morning 7.5km route. This involves running through Victory Park, up through the top fields to Broomhill, across to Eastwood Farm Nature Reserve, along by the River Avon and then down through to Nightingale Valley before returning home. I struggled on the hills - I blame the lack of running over the last couple of weeks due to the three i's - illness, ice and indulgence. Too many  chocolates  and mince pies. However knowing I had eaten too much made me try harder particularly up those steep hills.

The ponds in Eastwood Farm were still frozen - a solitary heron carefully walked across the surface of the ice. But the River Avon - half frozen on Christmas Day had thawed. The pavements were pretty much OK for most of the run and where it did look slippery I diverted to the roads.

The shady Nightingale Valley was still covered in a blanket of snow but if the thaw continues, it will no doubt disappear  soon.

I've ordered some running crampons in preparation for the next cold spell. Not being able to run due to the ice is sooo frustrating. Still despite the ice I did manage a short run on Christmas Day around Arnos Court Park and Arnos Vale Cemetery while Dave and the girls went sledging. It was a beautiful day, with clear blue skies and warm sunshine. Check out my blog post on www.bristolrunningresource.org.uk. What else could you ask for on Christmas Day in Bristol?

Off-Road Exploration

When running around the streets of Bristol gets a bit boring, it's time to get muddy and do some off-road exploration. And believe me South Bristol is full of great places to run off-road and it's pretty varied too. Plenty of mud, hills, narrow paths, mud, cemeteries, and of course the odd bit of excavation all thrown in. Oh and did I mention mud. Lets face it running around the streets is boring. Once you start exploring running off road you won't want to run on the streets again. So where are all these hidden gems? Check out BS4.

First there's the parks for circuits. These include Arnos Court Park, Victory Park, Victoria Park and St Annes Park. Then there are the nature reserves including Nightingale Valley, Eastwood Farm and Callington Road. Then there's the Avon River Path. Join it at Netham Lock and either run into town or run out past Crews Hole to Hanham. Beeses Tea Gardens in the summer months and the Old Lock & Weir pub are great watering holes. Another great place to run is Arnos Cemetery during opening hours. There's a gate from Arnos Court Park. Link the park and the cemetery together and you have another great (if somewhat hilly) circuit. Then there are loads of public footpaths linking all these green spaces together. Get hold of an OS map or better still sign up to Mapometer. It's a mapping website perfect for finding new routes in your area. Everytime I discover a new footpath I consult Mapometer to see where the path goes. A lot of these footpaths go through fields or follow the edge of golf courses. From Brislington you can be running in open countryside within five minutes. It's just finding the routes.

So get out there. Get the map and get exploring.