Two new experiences for me this week at Highbury Fields that is the largest open space in the Borough of Islington, it was both my first 5 lap parkrun and using London transport to get this venue!

Today the beauty of this challenge I have set myself is the variety of parkrun courses that London keeps offering me! Highbury was a 5 lap course that tested your pacing skills with long uphill and downhill sections on this sloping park!

A interesting observation was a high quality field of runners today with 23 breaking the 20 minute barrier alone, that was very impressive!

Course

The course is a very simple tarmac 5 and a bit anticlockwise laps of Highbury Fields. You start on Highbury Place near the bottom of slope section and after completing all the required laps run up Highbury Place one last time, but before you get to the top turn left onto the grass and the finishing funnel.

Personal Stats

Time today was 30:51 that was OK but I felt that I was running to conservative at the beginning and could have broken 30 minutes again!

Important Info

Coming by car is not encouraged at this event. I found it easy to get there starting by parking at Walthamstow Central train station, then catching the Victoria line tube to Highbury & Islington station that is only a stones throw away from the park.

Post run coffee is the White Swan, Wetherspoon’s that you can refill your energy with a hearty good English breakfast!

Final Verdict

I would like to thank John, Martin and the team of volunteers for making me feel very welcomed at the event and the post run coffee afterward! Thanks guys but I think we will have to work on our synchronised post event jumping group photo though 🙂

If you judge your pacing this correctly Highbury could be seen at a fast PB style course if you are prepared to make up lost time on the downslope at the Highbury Crescent section of each Loop!

Definitely recommend this event for the challenge of trying to run 5 even paced laps against the clock!

Best

Mark aka Silent Runner

Run on 26-11-2016