Broparken parkrun
Broparken parkrun is right in the middle of Umeå (“Oo-mai-oh”). It’s very convenient if you stay in the centre. I didn’t, staying in a much cheaper hotel near the port, in Holmsund, 18km or so South. As a result I rented a bike, and had a glorious bike ride down paths, closed roads, a little bit of main road and then quiet roads in Holmsund. It was even better on the way to parkrun, as I wasn’t carrying my bags, which had been an inconvenience. I recommend Cykel & Mopedhandlaren I Umeå, Häradshövdingegatan 11, though maybe book ahead. I figured I wouldn’t need to with it being out of season, but they were only able to fit me in by fixing a puncture on their last bike, which wasn’t planned.
The parkrun is easy to find. I arrived very early and cycled further along the river, following the course. There were signs out already, though some had just been left ready to be put in their proper place - one was pointing up the steps by the first bridge, which put me off. It’s a very flat run, the main incline to notice is on the bridge to the island.
Sweden is known for people not particularly talking to strangers. I’d heard the Covid-time joke, that Swedes had given up on the 2metre rule and returned to their normal 5metres, but hadn’t realised how much it fitted. The organisers at Broparken parkrun are making it a space where people do talk, and it was noticeable that those turning up made an effort to say hello. We also stood in a circle and briefly called out our names, with a wave it wanted, before a mutual warm-up.
Broparken parkrun started in April 2022 and has run throughout the year since. Attendance has varied a lot with the temperature, but is noticeably increasing this year as the weather warms - from 4 finishers at the end of March to 32 today. There’s a pretty steep temperature curve at this time of year, cold in the mornings and evenings, possible sunbathing weather in the middle of the day. I set off cycling in coat and gloves, but dumped them by 8am as it warmed nicely under blue skies. Winter here is very dark, which makes for an incredibly light Spring - the sun goes down before 10, but it’s light for some time afterwards, and there’s still a dark blue glow near midnight. All of which is by way of introduction to the fact that this was a glorious morning (before a cloudy afternoon) and I felt extremely lucky. A couple of people pointed that same fact out, as it had been cold the week before.
As for the event, the route is very simple (even easier if you’ve ridden it beforehand). Head along the riverside path for under 2km, turn left to go across the bridge. You then run across the island - which is just a few metres - before turning right to run a short loop round the West side, coming back under the bridge to run much further round the rest of the island. As you can see on the map, it has a pool in the middle on the East side, so you run with water on both sides round that part of the loop. There’s a volunteer here to make sure you don’t head off onto the second part of the island, and he had a music player loaded with applause, that he carefully cued for every participant passing. It made a surprising amount of noise! We chatted later and he invited me on a bike ride the following day, which is a mark of the welcome you’ll get here.
Once finished on the island, the right turn back to the bridge is signed, then back along the river path to the finish. Refreshments provided, and people are very happy to chat!
I had a fabulous time here. The bike ride, the welcome, friendliness from all, a rare one-loop course, warm weather to sit in afterwards. Plus I got to join in, as the barcode scanner’s phone was misbehaving and mine worked fine when we tried, so I took over scanning. It’s a great excuse to talk to everyone, and to get squeezed into a volunteers’ photo at the end.
Results from Broparken parkrun #56, 13/5/23; 32 finishers
I spent a few nights in a couple of places on my way North to Umeå, from the quiet town of Kilafors (‘sillafors’) and then to Sundsvall. The latter was a particular treat. The town centre was burnt down in 1888, the merchants discovered they were well insured and so rebuilt in stone. As a result there are ornate buildings all over the place. Even better, my hotel up the hill from the centre was a few hundred metres from Sidsjön lake - it was just over 4km from door to door, including a lap of the lake, though it would be easier to go further, exploring the forest or walking up the hill to see the ski area. I walked it every day, in 15-17° temperatures and could see the seasons change, as the snow almost disappeared from the track, the last ice on the lake disappeared and the ski area dissipated. It was still noticeably cooler at one end as the wind blew over the water, though.
