The Magic in Merseyside - Southport parkrun #443 - 28/03/26
- aqasanu
- 13 minutes ago
- 3 min read
As my friend drove me along Coastal Road, with sand dunes on either side, I marvelled at the places my parkrun tourism takes me to.
Another work trip to Liverpool provided an opportunity to continue more of what I’ve coined the ‘Miracles of Mersey challenge’, which is to complete all the parkruns in Merseyside.
Southport is a seaside town in Merseyside, north of Liverpool. Previously called South Hawes, Southport takes its name from a hotel built by William Sutton at the south end of Lord Street in 1798. Lord Street is the first Boulevard in the world, with a range of cast-iron and glass colonnades along the shop fronts, lined with trees and gardens. It was the inspiration for the then Prince Louie Napoleon to build the Paris Boulevards following his stay here in 1838.
At the end of North Street is Hesketh Park, which is home to Southport parkrun, which started here in June 2016. The park was created under the Southport Improvement Act 1865, through a gift from Rev. Charles Hesketh. The oval-shaped park has two Park Lodges, each at a different entrance. Once inside, there is a lake at its centre, which the course takes you around twice.
As 0900 approached, runners and walkers emerged, like a sea of colour and the coming of spring.
The new runners welcome was conducted by Simon, aided by two other volunteers who were holding a fantastic, colourful map for me and the 37 first-timers. Simon is a GP partner at Norwood Surgery Southport. The practice was first to become a parkrun practice in partnership with the Royal College of General Practitioners. It was good to know we were in safe hands.
Today we had pacers, mostly from Southport Waterloo AC. For this event, pacers work well, as in parts, the paths can become quite narrow and twisty. Pacers can help participants avoid congestion and frustration, allowing them to bask in the park's beauty. There is a magnificent aviary, a rose garden, a rock garden, an observatory, and many other delights to take in along this undulating course; it is a beautiful park.
The park is ringed with trees buffering the wind. However, the bite in the air made me keen to get going and perhaps also contributed to the 72 Personal Bests recorded today.
Elisia Mbwale was the first woman to complete the course, and Thomas Iddon was the first male. The 35 volunteers ensured a smooth operation, three Visual Impairment (VI) guides made the event extra inclusive, the marshals were very encouraging and Linda in the VM70-74 category gave everyone inspiration.
With my 5k done and the volunteer team thanked, we headed to Penelope's for brunch. I was wearing my parkrun club shirt, so I didn’t feel underdressed 🙂
I am already looking forward to returning to Merseyside to complete the remaining events: Croxteth Hall parkrun, Ormskirk parkrun, Knowsley parkrun and perhaps another Dragon passion smoothie.
Happy running, walking, or volunteering.
You can read about how parkrun was created by the founder, Paul Sinton-Hewitt, a care leaver, in his book ‘One Small Step’, The Definitive Account of how a run became a Global Movement by clicking here.
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