Orangefield parkrun

Orangefield parkrun route. 3+ laps - start on the left, finish, fourth time round, near top right.

Orangefield park is in the South East of Belfast. It's near several other parkruns, so were you to go and suffer a cancellation, you'd have a fair shout of making it to Ormeau or Stormont. The park merges into Greenfield park, which might cause consternation if you were to, say, glance up, sure you were in the right place, and see the name of a different park. There's a toilet (20p) at the entrance, though it was out of order this morning.

Start near this bin, just to the right of the park entrance (which is at the top of the picture).

Belfast is a very easy city to drive through - big enough to have everything, but not so big as to be full of traffic - so although I was staying 20 miles away on the other side, my journey took just half an hour. I parked just over the road, by Dixon playing fields, which at the moment seems to have enough space for those who travel to the run as well as those who use the fields later. Plenty of people jogged off into surrounding streets afterwards, suggesting local participation is strong.

A wide path, an easy right turn.

I was there before 9, which is too early (9:30 start in NI. I hadn't forgotten.) No one was around, and I had just a moment of wondering whether I was, in fact, in the wrong park. But no, it just doesn't take that much setting up, and they weren't so worried that they needed to be there before 9. The course is 3 and a bit laps, under a mile for each lap and about 6-700m still to go once you finish the third lap.

Round the corner, left turn over the bridge - four times.

For a short course, there are plenty of ups and downs, twists in the route and even a short section through wood, with mud underfoot. They've done a great job in making a straightforward course interesting. I was sufficiently discombobulated to wander off from the finish down a road that took me as far from the start as I had been all morning. I retraced my steps, rather than explore the main roads I found. That delay is why none of my pictures have runners in. By the time I had got back to the car, got my camera out and got back over the road, the tail walkers were way ahead of me, and had cleared the arrows from the course.

Kingfisher bridge. Not crossed on the route: straight on past it for 3 laps, turn right on the last.

The junction beside Kingfisher bridge. The wood may not be there when you go, but you're heading straight on for laps 1-3, right to the finish on lap 4.

As last week, I enjoyed the run and being in a group doing the run, but not quite as much as I enjoyed finishing. But given that rain had been forecast, as it had all week, and had held off, likewise, it was mostly a pleasure to run in the warm air.

The finish, actual line already taken down. I expected the sign to be something motivational, so "DUMP WOOD!" didn't quite hit the mark.

The first-timers' briefing was fairly well attended, and my guess that some were tourists from GB was borne out in the results, as a couple of fellow well-travelled runners were in the group, one of whom was finishing her 250th different event after a long, long wait. It's a good spot to choose; there are some more central, or more obviously scenic runs in the capital, so the numbers here aren't too high, and it's a good, testing run without any horrendous hills.

A few people picknicked in the grass by the cars after the event, which was probably just an impromptu use of a brief sunny period, but it was a decent substitute for a larger cafe gathering. Come to Belfast. Pick a parkrun!

Results from Orangefield parkrun no. 86, 3rd July 2021.