I live a more-or-less equal distance between Hampstead Heath, Finsbury Park, Highbury Fields and Ally Pally. So Ally Pally is one of my local runs.
Last time I was at Ally Pally, I met someone who was with a touring theatre company and doing lots of different parkruns as he travelled around the country. Which I think was what gave me the idea of the 52 parkrun challenge in the first place.
I should put in a disclaimer straight away that Ally Pally is not a fast course. There are some steep sections and a lot of it is on very narrow paths, which makes it difficult to overtake.
I didn’t listen to the run briefing or read the website properly I was tricked into thinking it was a two lap course the first time I came. So my top advice is that there’s another half a lap worth of running still to go when you come across the finish funnel for the second time.
I like the way that the course is split out into different levels on the hill, and that each has a different feel. There’s a section round the bottom of the main field (where people were playing cricket when we ran past), a section that winds up through woodland, a short but steep hill scramble, and a long section along the top of the park.
I finished the course in 28.21 – see results
As ever, many thanks to the fantastic volunteer team who make the event possible 🙂
I’m raising money for Alzheimer’s Research UK over the course of the 52 parkruns. Please head over to my JustGiving page if you’d like to help out.
52 parkruns, 52 weeks, 52 places 