team kerr

Bangor parkrun is primarily run through Ward Park, which is a small and fascinating park close to the town.  It has a play park, bowling greens, putting green, tennis courts, plenty of ducks, geese and other more exotic wild fowl, and it also has some quirkier objects including an old air-raid shelter and a huge gun from a WW1 German U-boat! Add to this nearly 300 runners and an impressive volunteer team and you can understand why Ben had lots to see as we ran around the three lap course. The start is challenging because although it starts in a good wide space on smooth path, the numbers involved, including plenty of buggy/joggers, families, runners with dogs etc., take time to filter out along the path.  There was plenty of banter and chat among the runners throughout the course and it was a very welcoming and friendly parkrun. The large team of volunteers were well positioned around the course to keep everyone right and I was certainly grateful for this as there are a fair number of turns and twists.  A few sections are narrow and there are a couple of small climbs, including a slight push up to the finish line, but nothing too challenging and most of the course is on decent paths which were comfortable for pushing.

Parking could be an issue - we got parked on the street close to the pavilion but there didn’t seem to be a lot of space (though we aren’t familiar with the area so maybe there is a carpark nearby).  The toilets are in a brick building beside the bowling green pavilion (warden on duty with key for disabled toilets).  The run brief is held on the covered area at the end of the pavilion, which is also where scanning is done afterwards, and there were plenty of lovely refreshments available inside. 

bangor