Stewart parkrun
Middlesbrough, England
Middlesbrough has a couple of lovely parks, with longstanding parkruns, just a few miles from each other. While a friend jogged round the corner to Albert parkrun, I walked a couple of miles down the road (Marton Road, top left of the map above) to Stewart.
On the way I passed James Cook University hospital and signs to the nearby James Cook station, so if I wasn’t already aware that Captain James Cook is connectedto Marton, I had a couple of pretty big clues. The Captain Cook Birthplace Museum (£4.70/£3.65 Summer, 10-4, Tues-Sun) on the South side of the park makes sure the link isn’t secret.
There’s a large courtyard to meet in, and which could accomodate everyone finishing at once if it had to. We wandered out of there to the world map for the briefings.
The event starts just beyond the map, but you run/walk across it to finish the first lap so you get to cross the world in just a few steps.
The start is pretty wide, but it’s a busy area with a few hundred people and we were warned not to expect a rocket-like start because of a couple of tight turns. There’s plenty of room, though, and you’re soon out into open areas.
This was a lovely warm day, under scudding clouds with breaks for a little sun. A lot of the course is open to the elements, though there is cover under trees as you head into more wooded bits. There’s plenty of variety to keep you interested, including almost a complete loop of the Stewart Park Lake at the NW corner of the route.
The course is undulating, but in a kind way. The first half or more of the lap is flat, then turns distinctly uphill after that switchback. I remembered it as two ups and downs, but there are actually several, it’s just that the first up is longer than the others and stuck in my memory. For all that, it’s downhill to the finish, and while the ups are attackable, the downs are noticeable but general enough to enable a gallop if you want one.
The finish ran, as ever, like clockwork, and I wandered back up in sunshine to hear about Albert parkrun. If you’re in the area and trying to pick between the two, I’d flip a coin - you can’t go wrong with either.
Results from Stewart parkrun #547, 22/6/24; 309 finishers
