Nottinghamshire has welcomed a new parkrun venue with the launch of Holme Pierrepont parkrun, which got underway at the weekend (17 January) at Holme Pierrepont Country Park, home of the National Water Sports Centre in Nottingham.

The new event takes place entirely on permanent paths and follows a single clockwise lap of the Regatta Lake. The route is flat and fast, using the wide lake perimeter road before a short, gentle slope leads runners to the finish. The start and finish are just 200 metres apart, with the finish conveniently located close to the toilets, café and car park, making it an accessible and appealing venue for participants of all abilities.

Holme Pierrepont Country Park offers much more than the parkrun course alone, with a children’s play area located between the car park and finish area and a wide range of activities taking place across the site throughout the week. Many participants have already made the TEN66 Country Park Coffee Shop their post parkrun meeting point, adding to the social appeal of the new event.

The inaugural parkrun attracted huge interest, with 1,265 finishers supported by 49 volunteers. The first runner home was Milan Campion, who completed the course in an impressive 15:22, while Sofia Chesterfield was the first female finisher in 19:05. In total, 1,279 runners, joggers and walkers took part on the opening morning, creating a lively and memorable debut.

The organising team extended their thanks to the volunteer crew, who kept smiling throughout an exceptionally busy first event. Commenting on the launch, Geoff Bloom praised the efforts of the team, saying: "The whole team were fantastic! A huge well done to Helen Jekiel and all the hi-vis heroes for doing such a great job on an exceptionally busy inaugural event!"

If you'd like to know more, visit the Holme Pierrepont parkrun website.

Image: Holme Pierrepont parkrun Facebook