Gem Gem - Preston parkrun #552 - 24/05/25

Completing my 97th parkrun with aunty Gem Gem.

On Thursday, whilst in my local park, I bumped into Daniela, a parkrun adventurer extraordinaire. With our local parkrun being cancelled due to the annual Fun Fair being in town, I was thinking of a coastal parkrun, but yet to choose a final destination. Danialla gave me some advice and options with the challenge of doing all the parkruns in Brighton, which captured my imagination.  

We decided to go to Preston Park parkrun, fittingly with our friend Gemma. Gemma is a great parkrun tourist, recently back in the UK from an International tourist streak which included completing parkruns in Italy, Japan and Singapore! Gemma had run in Preston Park before completing the Brighton Marathon in 2016, which starts in the park. She had finished in an impressive sub-4hrs, not without its challenges. However, catching up with Nisha was enough to break through her Preston Park marathon trauma.

Aunty Gem Gem and Nisha at our trip to Finland for Accession Day in 2024

Under this 63-acre park is the Lost River of Brighton, which means it remains evergreen even in the hottest summer months when the park hosts the Brighton Festival and Pride parade. The park has a velodrome, bowling greens and tennis courts. Parkrun started in April 2013 with 276 participants and has steadily grown. 

Participants start to gather at the Charlet Cafe where the run commences.

The course, entirely on tarmac paths, starts outside the Chalet Cafe, going north but then curving down to the southern part of the park. You reach a hairpin to bring you back to where you started (now going in the opposite direction), completing two additional clockwise laps. 

There were 521 participants, with good representation from the Brighton Phoenix and Sanctuary Runners running clubs. The 37 volunteers, including numerous young people completing their Duke of Edinburgh Awards, looked after us well. 

My Strava tells me there were 23m of elevation. My finish time showed evidence of my recent interval training. However I made time to admire the wonderful planting, lawns and trees and the fantastic Clock Tower. The park is a gem. 

Preston Park terracotta Clock Tower, designed by Francis May, paid for by Edward White, and unveiled in 1892. Photo taken in September 2017. https://www.brightontoymuseum.co.uk/index/Category:Preston_Park_Clock_Tower

With our runs completed, marshals thanked and hot drinks bought we headed to Cafe Rust on the Preston Road for a well-earned brunch, post-run analysis, catch-up and parkrun planning. This was my 97th parkrun with Gemma, which includes trips to Thurruck, Tonbridge, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and completing the Alphabet challenge at Zamek w Malborku parkrun in Poland. You can read about it by clicking here. It’s amazing the friendships and memories that this parkrun journey makes. 

We went to Cafe Rust for brunch; I had a full vegan.

Thank you, Daniela, for introducing me to the BrightDone challenge. I’ll definitely be returning to Brighton to complete the remaining events, including the Brighton and Hove parkrun, which started in 2007 and is one of the first 10 events.

Stay safe, happy running or walking and happy volunteering.

www.nuhorizons.uk

Sanctuary Runners

‘Sanctuary Runners was founded in 2018 to bring people together through running, jogging and walking with a special emphasis on the inclusion of those who are new to Ireland – and especially international protection applicants and refugees’. You can read more about them by clicking here.