We headed to Blaise Castle parkrun because Bristol is where we met and married, and this weekend’s parkrun fell on our anniversary.
Blaise Castle Estate, Kings Weston Rd, Bristol, BS10 7QS
Facilities at Blaise Castle parkrun
There is then toilets, play areas and a choice of two cafés when we went
Near the start there is also as a sheet on the ground under a tree for a bag drop. Note the finish is a little walk away from the start. The second was a pop up one for Moments – mental health fundraising project in memory of Carole Moorlen, following her death by suicide.
Car park
The car park is right next to the start of Blaise Castle parkrun. You can pay in cash or by RingGo on your mobile phone. Parking is free for Blue Badge holders, and both push and motor bikes. For cars it costs £1 for up to an hour, £2 up to 2 hours and £3.00 up to 5 hours.
The car park said it was locked at 9:15pm – I see that this changes.
Access by Public Transport
Blaise Castle is also accessible by bus (numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 76, 623, MC5) or train (take the number 1 bus from Temple Meads).
Attractions
The museum is free to enter and open 11am-4pm on Saturdays.
The Castle is also free but is not open on any more Saturdays this year.
Volunteers
Thank you so much to the 21 volunteers today who were even prepared for the rain! As people dodged the rain under trees one volunteer was even protecting the speaker from getting too wet!
Run Director Roxy was more than prepared for the weather though – as on its inaugural event back in May 2023 it rained the whole time!
Blaise Castle parkrun Course
A 2 lap course, starting adjacent to the car park, running a gradual incline up along the grass, anti-clockwise around the field and into the woods (with a nice downhill), returning out and onto the path (a bit of a short more obvious uphill with a view of the museum).
After the two laps you keep going beyond the finish and U-turn back around some trees to then enter the sprint finish. The latter of which is nice and flat! You can see people coming back as you go, so can judge how much further it is to go.
Hazards
The run director was really through with her imparting of information – including a full description of any course hazards. These included low hanging branches, mole hills, rabbit holes, muddy parts, and roots. But also where you could find her if you needed her and/or the defib.
Suitability
The course is primarily trail with some tarmac. The course is suitable for buggies however it is field based, so please be wary in poor weather. Dogs are also allowed (on a short hand-held lead as per parkrun rules).
It is well sign posted and marshalled.
Jeffing and Overtaking at Blaise Castle parkrun
The course is mostly wide enough for overtaking. Narrow parts are mainly when entering the woods and in the woods when dodging hazards. Personally I had no problem Jeffing (a run/walk technique) a 2 minute run, 30 seconds walk, finishing in 30:30.
On your final lap keep left, otherwise stay to the right. When walking back to the car/start area also keep right for people still on the course.
My Experience at Blaise Castle parkrun
Never have I experienced a more thorough explanation of a parkrun. Not only did the run director cover absolutely everything clearly, she also made time for me and my wittering’s on – thank you.
The course felt busy enough to motivate me to keep moving, but also able to allow any necessary overtaking.
It may have been raining before the start but during the actual parkrun it was quite hot. Even though I was Jeffing I found myself quite sweating. Really appreciated the bit in the woods where it was cooler.
Finishing
This week I had not gone all out. Jeffing meant that I was able to run when I was supposed to run – even if that was up the hill. It meant that mentally I felt a lot better about the run. Although near the end I was struggling a bit.
Some young men appeared to help be helping to motivate a young lady. It was her top I was following to know where to go for the finish. They told her she could get a sub30. My watch said otherwise but still I encouraged her – telling her how I needed her.
Once we had turned around back towards the finish the young men all sprinted to the finish. Here I cheered for her. My Strava at this point says I got down to a 2:30km pace but still the young lads were gone!!! It felt much further than I would normally sprint and in the end I could not pass the last runner in front of me before I got to the funnel. However, I didn’t stop and walk and did get to the end.
Blaise Castle parkrun Event 96 Stats
Event 96 saw a further 18 people being introduced to parkrun for their very first time at Blaise Castle. With a further 80 tourists.
304 participants – 141 males, 144 females and 19 unknown.
Times ranged from 16:28-62:01. Given that this isn’t a totally flat course I feel that is really good indeed! First female finisher was 16th place with a time of 21:31.
173 sub 30. The course average finish time at that point was 30:34 – so I beat that with 30:30. I was gender position 69 and 9th in my age category.
There were 40 PBs – that’s over 21% of participants that could have got one!
Other nearby parkruns we have attended:
Three Brooks parkrun (4.4m), Pomphrey Hill parkrun (6.9m), Severn Bridge parkrun (7.9m), Somerdale Pavilion parkrun (8.1m), Rogiet parkrun (8.3m), and Clevedon Salthouse Fields parkrun (11.2m)
Congratulations on your wedding anniversary! That sounds like a parkrun worth visiting in summer or after periods of dry weather – and not too far from home!
Am in awe that one of the participants had done over 800 parkruns!