Colin Glen parkrun, NI

Colin Glen parkrun route. Start/finish at bottom right. Twice round the lake on the left.

I headed to Colin Glen because of the description on their site: "This is a hilly parkrun and will be a great challenge." It sure is, albeit not especially slow because you get so much downhill in a row. The run director wandered over to find newbies and was happy to tell me it was uphill for 2k, downhill after you've run round the lake - so you work from the start, but are rewarded at the end. It would be hard not to run a positive split, and even a royal flush (each mile quicker than the last) just due to the nature of the course, and I certainly did both.

A rough idea of the elevation. There's a bit of down in the long uphill, and this makes it look like you end higher than you start, which you don't. But it certainly shows the looong climb. c. 65m of elevation in total.

Setting off at the start, surrounded by trees.

The other part of the course description is slightly misleading - it refers to two laps, but in fact there's a long run uphill/flat to the lake, then twice round it (and it is quite small), then a long flat/downhill run back to the finish.

The car park. Those empty spaces are in front of the entrance - presumably it's a new entrance.

The park is in between Belfast and Lisburn, and far enough from the centre of either to attract lower numbers than other runs. They've had over 200, which must have been quite a crowd up and down the paths, but for now attendance is between 50 and 100. There's an ample car park for those numbers near the start, right next to the church. The start is marked as being a few hundred metres into the park, but everyone meets in the car park. If you can park on the left as you drive in, you'll find getting out a little easier, with spaces on the right a bit tighter for space.

Entrance to the park/trail.

The course is straightforward, navigationally, and there are permanent yellow arrows on the ground should you want to follow it on your own. Right at the first fork, over two bridges then left over the last one, uphill just a bit more and then onto a flat section leading to the lake.

Tree-lined paths, heading uphill.

Arrows on the ground at every junction (because you run it in both directions, there are arrows in both directions at that first fork - just follow the ones leading right on your way down the hill).

Flat! On the way to the lake.

Entrance to the lake. I included this just to reassure you that you do *not* have to run up the hill on the right. Maybe come back and do it afterwards? (I did not.) Left after the bridge, to run round the lake.

The lake. Round twice.

On this damp day, the surface felt a little slippery. I didn't slip, and it didn't feel dangerous, even on the sharper downhill sections, so perhaps just a bit of tree sap making the surface feel a bit odd. It's mostly tarmac, with a few shingly bits and the occasional sheen of mud over the top.

The finish line. Back past the start and on a few hundred metres to the car park entrance.

Scanning and chat happens in front of the cafe, which was open, if not the centrepiece of post-parkrun socialising right now. They also had a higher than average number of young marshals, which was nice - they'd justify having a few child-sized hi-viz vests, though they look pretty cute when they work almost as overcoats.

Another pretty and welcoming Northern Irish parkrun.

Results from Colin Glen parkrun, event 212, 31/7/21.

Sign by the cafe