With the Scandinavian countries all having decided on their extra day for a bonus parkrun, several new for this year and in close date proximity, the parkruns currently come thick and fast. On Bank Holiday Monday I was at Maxima, one of 11 (/16) Dutch parkruns to hold an extra event.
The weather at all was warmish if windy, showing the surroundings (here rhododendrons, grass, trees and water) off to best effect as made our way there and round the course. Beforehand there had been a lot of chat about transport, with people realising that though The Netherlands is highly interconnected, on a bank holiday public transport starts later and some is unavailable. Trains were great for me to later head to The Hague, but trams in Utrecht weren’t running, for instance. I couldn’t help a feeling of “how do I travel about this cycling utopia? (oops, tripped over a bike) I’ve got about 7kms to cover, how shall I (excuse me, just have to pause while 35 bikes go past) manage it?” but presumably not everyone had easy access to cycle hire. I was about 12kms away from Maximapark, which is out to the West of town (6km or so from the central station) so rented a bike as soon as I arrived and had a ride around Utrecht the day before. Cycling is a huge pleasure here, especially on a sunny day.
Gradually people arrived and the line of bikes by the finish grew into a tidy queue. It made for a very Dutch-looking photo, albeit one I didn’t take. There is free parking for drivers, too (from the course page: Utrechtseweg 4A, 3451 GG Utrecht).
On the way to the start I bumped into friends I’d made in Oslo and we chatted before the start, comparing notes on upcoming plans. A couple of larger tourist groups arrived along with plenty of locals, swelling the attendance to 103 finishers, as compared with 49 from the Saturday. Of those 103, 48 had finished a previous event here. This was their second-highest attendance, after the inaugural in 2020 got 206.
The course is flat, very flat. I’ve said that before about Dutch parkruns (other than Sonsbeek). As with those other courses, this is like flat courses in the UK only somehow flatter. The only bumps come at the little wooden bridges the course crosses regularly.
With two loops to complete you get a chance to revisit out the view and see if you missed anything. My favourite sight was looking right, over the water back to the finish area through a gap in the hedge, framed by rhododendron bushes.
The pictures show how well-maintained the park is, with a mixture of trimmed grass and areas where it’s longer, allowed to expand naturally. It’s a scenic location, and well-used by dog-walkers and other people exercising who haven't yet discovered the joys of a free 5k on a Saturday (or the occasional Monday) morning.
This is an extremely easy course to navigate, a good surface throughout on wide paths and with the turns well marked by signs. The run director joked beforehand that he hoped those signs weren’t being spun round by the wind, but the directions were always clear. It probably helped that the first two runners had both been here before, but you needn’t worry if you’re on your own at some point on the route.
The course is generally fairly exposed to whatever the sky is throwing at you, which was great today, with sun and a stiff breeze, but means you’ll feel whatever wind, rain or sun there might be. A chance to feel connected to nature, perhaps. There are a few options for cafes afterwards, and people wandered off to their chosen spot, discussing those bridge crossings, or turning a corner into the wind, with parkrun again a great start to a day.
Results from Maxima parkrun #95, 29/5/23; 103 finishers.