Something that I’m going to be doing a lot as part of my parkrunning in 2020 is hopping in the car on a Saturday morning and driving to my current NENDY (nearest event not done yet). This will hopefully enable me to explore all the parkruns in the north-east of England by the end of next year! I made a start on this project a few weeks ago when I drove over the Tyne Bridge to Gateshead parkrun, which is one of the closest neighbouring parkruns to Newcastle but one that I hadn’t done until then.
Gateshead parkrun is a three-and-a-half-lap course through a very pretty park with a lake and a bowling green and all sorts. It’s a slightly confusing course for a newcomer, so for me it really was a case of ‘just follow everyone else’! It was a nice sunny day when I visited, so I was able to appreciate the park properly.
The course is slightly undulating, with a fairly steep climb about two-thirds of the way through the lap and then another shorter climb on the finishing straight. I’d say it’s probably middling in terms of parkrun difficulty.
Geth was Keyforging so he didn’t attend with me on this occasion, but he now seems interested in checking out Gateshead parkrun at some point so I’m sure I’ll be back!