It’s another easy one for me to get to as there’s a tram stop called Lloyd Park just outside the gates!
It was a gorgeous morning and there was a good turnout of people- it’s always interesting to see the varying numbers at different parkruns, but everyone’s always friendly and I love seeing all the kids and families running together.
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| The finishing chute |
The course was two laps of the park, which was hilly, muddy, and hard work, but so beautiful and so much fun!
I tested out my new Adidas Kanadia Trail shoes, a sale purchase from Sweatshop- they were perfect for the terrain and I honestly just forgot I was wearing them- they had great grip on the muddy sections and were really comfy.
I definitely need to do some hill work as the undulating course was a real challenge! But I love running trails and there were an equal number of fun downhill sections where I could let my legs “free-wheel” and pick up the pace too.
I wore a new top for the 5k from
Iffley Road running wear – their
half-zip tee in black. I really like their style of simple designs, classic colours and just a few basic pieces done well.
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| The Women’s Half-Zip Running Tee from Iffley Road |
The name comes from the Iffley Road track in Oxford where Roger Bannister ran the first sub four-minute mile in 1954. The packaging reflects this history with each box containing a race number- I don’t know if they’re all the same, but mine was 41, the number that Roger wore when breaking that record- and an old postcard, nice touches.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t really a fan of this particular top, mostly because of the sizing. I was sent a Large, which according to the website fits a size 14- and it was tight on me, especially the sleeves. And that’s the largest size they do. Iffley Road state this is because the measurements listed on their website are the garment measurements and you should therefore size up accordingly, but this basically means their clothing isn’t suitable for anyone above a size 10/12.
The collar doesn’t lie flat when the zip is down, so it rubbed my neck- again also probably because it was a little snug. And it’s worth mentioning that the top was not completely opaque- you can notice this a little in the first photo, but it’s less obvious with some of the other colours. This may be a deliberate style feature, but something not everyone will appreciate.
I did however like that there was a hidden pocket in the seam, which was very useful for my parkrun barcode! And that the logo is a subtle embossed badge rather than a garish emblem. The colour range is also lovely, inspired by the British Elements, with a July Sky light blue, Night Sky navy and Heather purple among them. The design of the kit is technical with a retro feel, a little bit “grown up PE-kit”.
It’s a shame I didn’t get on with this top as I do like the idea of Iffley Road’s running clothing, but considering the price (£70 for this top) I felt I had to be completely honest.
Lloyd Parkrun on the other hand was a complete success and I will definitely be back!
They even had a table set out with cups and bottles of water for thirsty runners and the barcode scanning was dealt with quickly and efficiently.
I loved the course so much that I actually went around again, walking this time, to take the photos for this post 🙂
I’m not getting any faster from doing my sporadic parkruns but they are great fun- where shall I go next week?! At the moment I’m eyeing up Crystal Palace or Fulham Palace- anyone fancy joining me?
Beki x
