Loving parkrun in Parys

This weekend I had a couple of friends come through to Parys for a visit and to enjoy the Parys parkrun and monthly Hartelus Saturday market. We also went to a lovely restaurant out of town (far West of Vanderbijlpark) on the Vaal River; a participating restaurant in the annual Vaal Wine Meander. I don't drink wine but the delicious food and good company made up for my lack of wine consumption.

It was frightfully chilly in the morning (the coldest Parys parkrun this season!) but this does help to log good times. Optimal marathon record-setting temperature is between 10-16 degrees. It was colder than this but not too terrible. After just my three-minute jog from the house to the parkrun start I was nicely warmed up and had to peel off one layer. (Read this - BBC: Why so many marathon records are broken in Berlin)

View of the Vaal River from the start

I started off running with Ian but started gaining ground after the first kilometre. I upped my pace and ran smoothly and comfortably and felt the chill on my hands and face less after 2.5km.

I didn't look at my watch until I'd crossed the finish. 24:04 - exactly the same time as my previous PB on this course (in April this year), but run this Saturday with less effort. That sub-24 is knocking!

Rob, Ian, me and Mark at the finish.

Rob and my mom arrived about 20 mins late (they were going to microlight to Parys but were unable to due to a technical issue on the craft). Mom walked back on the course to find her friend and Rob put in a fast time to slice through the field and come in to the finish before most of them.

Staci put in a good run and Mark ran his fastest yet.

Rob in his black '100 parkrun' tee and Staci in her red '50 parkrun' tee

The monthly Parys market is a treat (first Saturday of the month). The parkrun course runs straight through the bottom of it. We hit the market after  parkrun and enjoyed looking at the delightful products before heading to the restaurant for lunch.

Parys parkrun is my favourite. It's the fastest course I've run and it is beautifully scenic. The route is run along the river and the terrain is friendly. Participation numbers are small - less than 100, which is very pleasant. Whenever I'm in town on a Saturday morning I go parkrunning. A very enjoyable start to the weekend.

Photos from Parys parkrun FB album.