- parkrunday 25th September 2021
- parkrun #123 – Marple
- Different event #70
- Time: 37:54
This morning was my first time parkrun touring with someone else since I went to Wilmslow parkrun on Christmas Day 2019 with Jo. This morning I was back with Jo for a trip to Marple, and it was good to be back.
Marple is a town east of Stockport, Greater Manchester, and is one of the four remaining Greater Manchester parkruns left for me to complete (the others being Hyde, Watergrove, and the new event at Peel, Salford).
Marple parkrun takes place in Brabyns Park and has a really enjoyable two lap course. It starts off on grass on the main park before following the River Goyt along a riverside path through woodland. It passes the confluence where the River Etherow joins it. Along the way there’s an old, iron bridge, a weir, a pony exercise area (NO GALLOPING! NO RACING!), and an old stone dated 1896. I’ve got no idea what the stone was for. Even local historians are at a loss. http://www.marple-uk.com/stone.htm
On the first lap we reached a point where there were two paths ahead of us but no sign to say which way to go. Normally on a parkrun unless you’re running a route for the first time and you’re right at the front it’s not a problem, you simply follow the people in front of you. Unfortunately there was nobody in sight ahead of us when we reached this spot and it wasn’t until one of the regulars came up behind us that we knew to keep left. I pointed this out to the Run Director afterwards and he’s going to replace the missing sign.
It was nice to chat with some of the volunteers – Tailwalker Geoff and Scanner Chris. Jo and I also had a natter with parkrun Ambassador James Kemp who helped set up lots of parkruns including Croxteth Hall and Birkenhead.
Afterwards we went into the town and had breakfast at Libby’s.
