Uditore parkrun, Palermo, Sicily
4 laps round a small park in NW Palermo
Parco Uditore is to the NorthWest of Palermo, within walking distance of much of the city - it was about 3km for me, staying near the catacombs. It’s right next to a main road, but the roundabout you can see on the map has pedestrian crossings. If you’re not used to Sicilian traffic by the time you get here, know that you wait for a safeish moment then walk out. Most traffic won’t stop for you when you’re on the side of the road, but they will when you’re walking. Keep moving (and keep your eye on them, in case).
Entrance to the park is from the SE side (w3w starring.notion.routines). The park is small enough that I could see the meeting point pretty quickly, and wave ‘ciao’ at a couple of runners who were warming up and had clocked a possible parkrunner straight away. It’s in the middle, near the playground (w3w suspend.insects.outpost), and that’s also where the finish is. The start line is only setup once you’ve had the briefing etc., so no need to wait there (w3w cobbles.fragments.lift - roughly, the start board was put down, we lined up, and then the ED moved it back to about here, so ymmv).
The route is four laps, heading clockwise. The start takes you SW before a sharp turn (>90 degrees) to head back towards the meeting/finish area, through the children’s playground and back out to the edge of the park. It’s simple enough, and well marked. The only turn I might have missed if left to myself was the sharp right, but there were plenty of people ahead of me at that point.
There is a left turn onto grass to watch for, but nothing too tricky and the route is very flat - there’s a slight uphill section at one corner. Enough that I noticed it, not enough to make for more than 4m elevation according to my watch.
The atmosphere was very festive, with me and the other English tourist, ‘Conk’ being greeted by name, as was the olympian Rachid Berradi (a link there for everyone other than my dad, who has probably already clocked his name in the results and within seconds compared it to his 10k best, noting that he ran 5k only a couple of minutes quicker) who was happy to promote a 10k he would be at on the Sunday. He was even kinder to jog round, with nothing to prove any more, and allow some of us to finish ahead of him.
The run director on the day (also the parkrun country manager for Italy) speaks very good English and gave the briefing in English and then Italian seamlessly - especially kind given there were only 3 English tourists among the healthy field of 49. Lots of people walked sociably, which makes this an extremely inclusive event. Conk was there to complete his parkrun alphabet (events starting with every available letter - there is no X), and his wife was comfortable enough to walk round, which she doesn’t always do.
I enjoyed my run, quicker than I had been for several weeks for some reason, and it was a lovely event under a warm sun - warm enough to stand in the shade afterwards, though it was only 17degrees or so. Afterwards my fellow English tourists had planned to visit the catacombs so I wandered back that way with them. I was also finally inspired to visit myself. I’d been staying in an apartment 300m away all week, and hadn’t bothered, but by now 3 different people I’d met had either visited or said they wanted to, so I took them in; it’s only 3euros. Luckily for you, I can spare you photos, as you are not supposed to take pictures of the mummified inhabitants. It’s a thing, for sure.
I also finally got to the Palazzo den Normanni, which has a lot of beautiful things to see but is also something you can cover in not much more than an hour - though if you relax in the gardens, it could take significantly longer. The full ticket, just over €17, includes ‘meta’, which is interesting but skippable. They are 3d scanning and 3d reproducing statues, objects, anything - you’ll see lots of multi-coloured examples in the bookshop - which is fascinating but you may not need a €3 3d video recreation of yourself. You also may need a phone to register - I had one, so don’t know what would have happened had I not.
Uditore parkrun is a little gem. The laps help make it very communal, it’s welcoming to all and you’ll have time afterwards to sight-see.
Results from Uditore parkrun #319, 18/3/23; 49 finishers