Jimmy O

That's a good point Joe! I've edited my post about it but it still appears in the quote in jemson's post...

Yep, I'm doing the Dronny 10k although it's not a race I enjoy when I'm doing it!

I think Concord is the only local one that has never been cancelled due to weather.

Looks like Hillsborough have changed their NYD run to 10:30am.

Christmas Day 9:00am Concord New Years Day 8:30am Dewsbury 9:00am Clumber Park 9:00am Barnsley 10:00am Hillsborough 10:00am Graves 10:30am Rother Valley It's a shame Graves, Hillsborough and RV don't work together to allow a Sheffield double on NYD (i.e. one start at 9am and one of the others 10:30am). They could take it turns to have the early start so it would only happen once every three years for each parkrun.

I did Hatfield Forest near Stansted airport - a lovely one-lap course, mainly on grass around a National Trust property. Well worth a visit if you are ever down that way.

Watergrove is tough but I still think Lyme is slightly harder - both are certainly challenging but after 3.5km at Watergrove it's all downhill or flat whereas Lyme Park has a tougher uphill last km. Joe, I've done a few abroad now (USA, SA, Poland and Singapore) and the general spirit and atmosphere is similar everywhere. The size of the field varies though - from 14 when I did Livonia (USA) to over 800 at Delta Park in Johannesburg!

I'd say Lyme Park is the toughest out of the 118 I've done Joe.

Cheadle Hulme is multiple laps on grass around the edge of cricket and rugby pitches - I enjoy all the parkruns I've done but it's not one that I'd hurry back to. Halifax and Dewsbury are quite similar to each other actually - both about 3.5 laps on decent paths but with significant hills. Probably similar in toughness to Sheffield Castle I reckon Joe. By the way, if you want to tough one-lapper with great views then head down to Gedling parkrun near Nottingham. A couple of the hills there are steeper than any others I've done in a parkrun.

I've only done Peterborough out of the three you mention - it's a potential PB course as nice and flat on good paths. Quite scenic too as you run around a lake.

650 runners at Hallam parkrun this morning - wow!

Although parkrun is not a race remember that it was set up as a free 5km 'time trial' (it was initially called the Bushy Park Time Trial). A time trial in my mind is a test against the clock to see how fast you can do the distance. Therefore, choosing to go all out in parkrun is perfectly in line with the original ethos, and all the stats to monitor your progress are justified and helpful too. The beauty of parkrun is that you can use it in any way that you choose and all approaches are equally valid

Yep, I'm doing the Dronfield 10k as it's where I grew up. I'm not in shape to get anywhere near my best time there though, so I'll be taking it fairly steady.

I've just completed my 100th different parkrun in Singapore A very fast out and back course but even though it starts at 7am, the heat and humidity slows it down somewhat!

Good old Concord - never been cancelled!