Determined to keep my parkrun tourism streak going and in search of a 5K PB – Bryn Bach Parkrun ticked all the boxes. A crisp but sunny morning welcomed us to the lovely Parc Bryn Bach lakeside – which was really easy to get to and there was plenty of parking. There were lots of warm welcomes from the parkrun volunteers, the visitor centre and the local wildlife.
The course here is two and a half laps of the lake. A gentle lap was the perfect warm up, whilst watching people swim and SUP on the lake. The volunteers were all really friendly, happy to have a chat and take our photo with the Bryn Bach parkrun photo frame. We were also treated to some music around the finish area, which was a welcome sound coming in towards the last stretch of the course.
Lee the Run Director gave a unique run briefing pre run, which had everyone smiling. Special shout out to Lee for his amazing efforts in London last week and best of luck for Newport tomorrow – what a legend! Then we were off, a really easy course to follow with a good give way system to avoid congestion. Lots of encouragement from the marshals out on the course, giving lots of words of wisdom and support – thank you.
Going for a PB the last lap was hard work, but this is a great course if you're after a fast time, flat, a good surface and relatively sheltered. I’m really pleased the course didn't disappoint and I managed it! I even had a marshal shouting out my time as I came across the line, what more can you ask for?
The finish area was very well organised, going straight through the finishing funnel to the barcode scanner. Again with lots of happy, smiling volunteers. There were also tokens for free post run toast if you bought a drink from the visitors centre. Breakfast too – happy days!
It was great to be able to use the facilities at the visitor centre and be able to get a drink after the run. The staff were really very welcoming too.
This is a very welcoming parkrun which happily catered for everyone, whether running, jogging or walking. The volunteers were really encouraging to all and the parkrun had a really relaxed atmosphere. I think it would also be a lovely place to spend the day with friends and family post run, as there seemed to be lots of things and activities going on – next time!
Thank you to all the volunteers who gave up their time this morning, parkrun wouldn't happen without you – you are all awesome!
If you don't already do so, please consider volunteering from time to time, it really is good fun and gives other people the opportunity to run, there are also volunteer roles which still allow you to run, so extra bonus!
Thank you Bryn Bach for a lovely morning, I will be back!
Sophie Williams
