On Saturday we headed off for a bit of Parkrun tourism, the chosen destination was Dungannon Park. On the way up the road it was a typical Northern Irish day with grey clouds and misley wet rain, we weren’t over enthused about getting out of the car and going for a run. 

On arriving at the event, we found plenty of parking and excellent toilet facilities. We followed the marshals up the steep path to the start and thankfully the rain stopped and turned into good running weather with no wind and just a slight chill in the air.

The start of the run is at the top of the hill with lots of room for warming up and practising social distancing. The race director led a minute’s silence to Ashling Murphy which was well respected and then there were a number of shout outs to runners celebrating their 50th or 100th Parkruns. With the formalities concluded, we lined up on the start line and we were off down the track running alongside the fence of an industrial estate. It was a very fast start with everyone taking advantage of the downhill section, but what goes down must come up and we all knew there would be a reckoning later on in the course. At the bottom of the track we swung left and into the park, where we ran past the finish line which was still 2 laps away. We followed the lead runners into the park on a slight downhill and down to the lake. Once at the lake, we followed the path round the lake and across a couple of bridges, which was very picturesque. On crossing the final bridge, we started the uphill sections back to the start, the first part being a short sharp climb onto a path, then a 300m flat section before a hairpin turn and a 300m climb back to the start. A second lap of the course and then a lovely downhill run to the finish. It’s definitely nice to start and finish with a downhill section. 

Overall we thought the course was very enjoyable and goes without saying the Marshals were really helpful shouting encouragement and taking pictures of the runners.

After the finish the car park was very busy as there were other sporting events starting. Unfortunately the Cafe wasn’t open, which might have been a result of Covid, but would have really been the icing on the cake to get a coffee at the end of the event. We will definitely be back.

Stats

Event number 105. 15th January 2022

102 people joined in observing a minute’s silence in memory of Ashling Murphy before they ran, jogged or walked the course. 

24 were first timers at Dungannon including tourists from far and wide, and a group from Killyman Boxing Club – we hope you all enjoyed the event and will see you again soon!

14 individuals recorded new Personal Bests, well done

16 different clubs took part and 17 volunteers made the event possible.

The full results and a complete event history can be found on the Dungannon Park parkrun Results Page – www.parkrun.org.uk/dungannonpark/results/latestresults/