My Saturday morning routine usually includes Mrs Dan waving me out of the front door and asking which made up place I am visiting. She’s accepted that Gunnersbury Park, Norhala Fields, and Busy Park are all real places – she’s been there and seen them all. Hilly Fields, Raphael Park, and Cassiobury Park? They’re all made up places in her mind. This week our conversation went like this:
Mrs Dan: Which made up place are you going this week?
Me: Nonsuch Park
Mrs Dan: Very funny. Where are you really going?
Me: Nonsuch Park
Mrs Dan: A joke’s a joke – where are you going?
Me: NONSUCH PARK!
Mrs Dan: MADE UP PLACE!
We drove to Nonsuch Park and grabbed one of the few remaining car parking spaces before following spectral figures making their way to the start area through the heavy mist. Visibility was poor and we couldn’t see the start/finish area but people looked like runners so we followed their footsteps. We mingled in with the waiting crowd and noticed the parkrun organised mass warm-up going on nearby. The first time we’ve seen a parkrun event warm-up outside of the junior parkrun events.
We visited when the winter course was in action, which meant laps of the park. Not that I have any idea what the summer route is. Other Dan joined me for a pootle around the course with the intention to make sure that his friend didn’t lap us. Mission just about completed as the first couple of finishers sped past before the finish funnel and his friend just after we passed the funnel.
Unfortunately we didn’t have time to hang around afterwards, we both had to be home and we know traffic across London is always poor after parkrun, so we didn’t get to sample what looked like a nice café.
