At 0400 I woke up hearing the weather beating out a fearsome rhythm. It was the kind of weather that causes parkruns to cancel. At 0800 as we ventured to Crosby parkrun I wasn’t optimistic the event would be on.
I need not have worried though, the Crosby core team are a hardy, resourceful and cheery bunch. They have an A course, B course and C course. I was told that when other parkruns cancel Crosby keeps going much to the appreciation of the 166 hardcore parkrunners who had ventured out.
Ian, today’s Event Director did the mandatory addresses with shouts out to a group from the National Blood Service who were doing a fundraiser for Papyrus the Prevention of Youth Suicide charity. They deserve to have any contributions doubled for being out in this!
We were doing course B which starts with a clockwise lap of the grassy meadow area behind the sand-dunes. Colourful cones helped us avoid the potholes. After one lap we branched out to the promenade which is next to the beach, running headlong into the driving rain. At the top we turned right leaving the promenade and coming back through the field to the now finish area.
The promenade is part of the Merseyside coastline north of Liverpool and the beginning of the 22 mile Sefton Coastal Path. The tide was coming in, rain thrashing down, wind howling and water spray coming off the sea. On the beach staring out to the storm, were these iron life-size figures spread out along the foreshore stretching almost 1k out into the sea, many partly submerged, like a zombie army marching towards the Wirral and the North Wales hills. This is actually the installation of Antony Gormley called Another Place which features 100 cast iron life-size figures made from 17 moulds of the sculpture's own body. These ‘iron men’ arrived in 2005 as part of the Liverpool Biennial and have made Crosby Beach their home. A powerful piece of public artwork set in a stunning location amplified by this unseasonal July storm. This is a parkrun where the results page can't tell the tale. It was hard and I was soaked from head to toe. I was shaking from being so cold but exhilarated from experiencing the artwork in these conditions, it was breath-taking, and one of the best of my 462 to date.
We went for brunch at The Azul Monkey in Crosby and the sun came out.
We then went to the wonderful free to enter Museum of Liverpool, posed with the Beatles and the Superlambananas before eating ice-creams at the Royal Albert Docks.
Liverpool is a confident, vibrant city with a rich history and lots to see and do, it may or may not be the centre of consciousness of the human universe but on a stormy day it definitely boasts having one of best parkruns.
Happy Running
Great write up! I was there for the stormy Crosby parkrun, you must come back for a beach start!
Loved this write up. Your commitment is so impressive Aqasa. Loved the Gormley tie in for your weekend. An artastic weekend!
A wonderful account of dreadful weather and amazing sculpture. Liverpool is a great city and Antony Gormley a great sculptor.
JULY!! Who knew it could be so wet and windy! Brilliant effort and commitment to come out to run - just courses A & C to master maybe you’ll meet bing the star volunteer!