Ifield Mill Pond parkrun

Crawley, West Sussex, England

Feb 10, 2024

Ifield Mill Pond parkrun. Much easier to do than describe. But - start at bottom right, run the whole ‘straight’. Back again, to near (but not at) the finish, turn and head back, turning left to go to the loop. Finish the loop, turn left to do the long straight and then go back again to the turn nearish the finish. That’s two (different) laps. Repeat the second one, then continue to the finish.

I headed to the West of Crawley, near Gossops Green, for Ifield Mill Pond parkrun. It’s a pretty run, though it’s worth knowing that this isn’t a rural run. The run neatly threads its way through a pocket of prettiness while houses and civilisation are very obvious.

Runners on a narrow path — Enough room, but play nicely

I parked at Gossops Green Community Centre, but was the only one. It’s a good spot, though, as there are toilets (open from 8:30) behind the shops on Gossops Parade. It’s just a short walk down the hill to where the run starts, next to Broadfield Brook.

Path bordered by trees and plants — Running the narrower bit

The course has a few out-and-back sections, and in places is pretty narrow. There’s enough space so long as we stick to the left. In several places, as you can see from the photos, there’s room to go onto the grass, but on this very wet day, trying that would probably have led to some comical slips and falls. I stuck to the path, and where that meant staying behind someone, I stayed behind.

Paths cross, runners heading in several directions — The crossroads. Straight over, first time. Second time, turn left to the loop.

Runners on a wet path, bordered by saturated grass — Heading towards the turn near(ish) the finish

There are a couple of 180° turns. One at the far end you do three times, and one near(ish) the finish twice. It’s enough to slow you a little bit, but then there are smiley marshals there to take your mind off it, so it’s definitely part of the fun.

People on either side of a path — Space here to pass down the middle, with a bit of care

At the pond there were some muddy areas next to the path on which geese waited, honking occasionally at the parkrunners. The picture below shows some of them on both sides of the path, biding their time to cross and join up again.

Path going past grass on one side and a pond on the other, with geese watching on from the side — Geese reunification area

The crossroads, with a marshal directing people — That crossroads again. You see it plenty of times (by my count you go through one way or another 8 times).

Tight right turn with a marshal — A tight turn on the loop - you’re aiming for the path nearest the camera on the right, not the far one.

A cone in the middle of the path with a marshal marks the turnaround point — The far turnaround point, which you see three times

To my mind, this isn’t a course that’s a good choice for a social outing. Not on the course, anyway - both before and after people were chatting happily. With better conditions, one of you could be on the grass while running and walking, but otherwise the path is 3-4 people wide, so 2 people next to each other is a bit limiting. But on this day everyone got along and moved in and out when needed.

Grey skies over a wet path and soggy grass — Running back to the main crossroads. Straight on to the finish.

For full info, including exciting free local-bus info with a parkrun barcode, see the Ifield Mill Pond course page.

Results from Ifield Mill Pond parkrun, event #152, 10/2/24; 101 finishers

parkrun touring

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