parkrun Café
2 lurkers |
131 watchers
Feb 2022
8:05am, 11 Feb 2022
5,692 posts
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westmoors
My bookends are Poole (49) and Whinlatter Forest (704). My most frequented is Bournemouth (274) and my parkrun PB was set at Blandford (77), although that was on its original course not the current one.
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Feb 2022
8:17am, 11 Feb 2022
2,665 posts
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CumbriAndy
Morecambe Prom (33) and Whinlatter (704) here Definitely a few apparent oddities in there when I look at the list of events I have run at (Rothay Park allegedly 'harder' than Keswick, Ganavan Sands harder than Tollcross and Crosby harder than almost anything else?). Noting that the webpage only gives relative average times, I've concluded that the rankings are affected, to a degree we can only guess at, by the demographics at any given event - smaller events with a higher proportion of relatively slow runners will tend to show up slower overall than we may predict based on our own personal experiences. I suggest we need to be a little bit careful in equating relative average pace with difficulty based on results alone. |
Feb 2022
8:26am, 11 Feb 2022
901 posts
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The Mussile
My problem with this measure is it doesn't measure how 'hard' a course is just how fast it is on average. Its NOT the same thing although a harder course will normally be slower. I wouldn't argue that the courses at the extreme are not the hardest just that the language is inaccurate As an example, Somerdale Pavilion is completely flat but is on grass and massively twisty so is difficult to maintain speed. Under no sensible measure would it be considered a hard course. Pomphrey Hill measures as easier because the course flows and has harder standing despite having to go up the hill 3 times. Ask anyone familiar with the two and they will say almost unanimously that Pomphrey is harder yet only measures a 2.8 compared to Somerdale's 3.0 |
Feb 2022
8:34am, 11 Feb 2022
722 posts
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KPM
CumbriAndy I think you maybe be partially right, but the formula is said to be calculated at least with the intention of comparing runners to their own usual times (and not just in parkruns but all races they were recorded participating in). If they were slower on a course than they normally are, it suggests for whatever reason, that the course is harder, or was at least on that day. I used to look at my rankings religiously (https://www.runbritainrankings.com/runners/profile.aspx?athleteid=482) and if you have a look atbthe list of results at the bottom, you can see the SSS score, which this is based on. When a day was really windy, or icy or maybe a grassy run was muddy, you'd see the SSS score for the same course rise and if you visited a billiard-table flat course with no wind, you'd see the SSS plummet, it works like that and then I'm guessing uses and average for everybodies rises and falls of SSS compared to their other parkrun SSSs. In the examples in the link, the diamond League races are low because everyone is so fast in them, but because they performed faster than their other events probably due to he perfect conditions for running as well as the reason to compete a bit harder
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Feb 2022
8:36am, 11 Feb 2022
3,384 posts
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No.12
True, equally there will be congested courses that are artificially shown as harder than those with low numbers and wider paths. Not perfect but a good enough guide
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Feb 2022
8:36am, 11 Feb 2022
3,385 posts
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No.12
(I was responding to The Mussile)
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Feb 2022
8:38am, 11 Feb 2022
723 posts
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KPM
The Mussile yeah I think it is "for whatever reason, how hard it is to run in a faster time than you do elsewhere, on average", be it open to wind, bad underfoot, elevation, or loads of cute little llamas at the side that everyone can't resist stopping to pet each lap
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Feb 2022
8:38am, 11 Feb 2022
4,424 posts
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JustCommando!
Victoria dock; Lanhydrock. Eden project is my second easiest, according to this. Yep it was fast, you start above the site and run down, but I distinctly remember undulations after that! Maybe the down hill start is a good warm up... |
Feb 2022
9:24am, 11 Feb 2022
595 posts
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Gogsy!
Great list KPM/Groundhog. I've only ran on 10 separate parkrun courses but definitely found Lancaster and Camperdown tougher/slower than Ayr. (Ayr was pretty muddy, though!) |
Feb 2022
9:31am, 11 Feb 2022
1,558 posts
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BrianJ
I have Victoria Dock and Storeys Field, with QE Country park (675) at the other end. That was an absolute quagmire when I did it!
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