Brighton: Preston Park Parkrun celebrates ten years in the city

When I heard Preston Park would be celebrating a Parkrun milestone, I was excited to give it a go. 

I run two to three times a week and have done Parkruns elsewhere, but I had not yet got round to trying my new local one.

There were at least 300 runners when I ran the tenth birthday run on Saturday, April 15. 

Apart from the breeze, running conditions were pretty perfect at about 10C with sunny spells. 

The route is great for anyone looking to get a personal best.

The Chalet Cafe were the run starts and finishes (Image: The Argus)

It's two and a half laps of the park, from the Chalet Cafe in the centre, towards the southern tip of the park. 

But, most importantly, it's pretty flat, which can't be said for a lot of routes in hilly Brighton and Hove. 

The Mayor of the city, Councillor Lizzie Dean, counted us down three, two, one and we were off.

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Like with any race, there's a bit of bottle-necking at the start.

I hung back to avoid this and find my pace, hovering near the 28-minute pace maker. 

I typically run on more hilly routes, so I had to make sure I didn't over-exert myself in the first couple of kilometres, being lulled into a false sense of security by the relative ease of running. 

Apart from the breeze, the weather was perfect for running (Image: The Argus)

There are several points along the way where you run directly beside others in the opposite direction - either people ahead of you or behind you in the route. 

While at times this means you have to run more carefully, I also found it motivating to see who I was ahead or behind. 

It's not a race... but having someone on your tail or just ahead of you does help you keep a steady pace. 

Onlookers and marshalls egg you on to sprint to the finish and I completed the run in just under 28 minutes, by no means a personal best, but I felt great afterwards. 

Ellie completed the parkrun in just under 28 minutes (Image: The Argus)

At the end of the run, you are given a barcode to scan alongside your personal barcode to get a recorded time. 

Runners were filtered into a queue to get barcodes scanned in a very orderly manner - you can tell this isn't the volunteers' first rodeo. 

For those unfamiliar with Parkrun, it's a nationwide 5 kilometre run that takes place at 9am every Saturday morning. 

It is completely free and run by volunteers who mark out the routes and marshall the courses.

For larger Parkruns, like Preston Park's which boasts an average of 380 runners per week - and often many more - it requires a dedicated team of volunteers willing to give up their Saturday mornings.

Afterwards, runners are invited to stay at the Chalet Cafe, where this week the run's co-director Adam Penwarden had cake as part of the tenth birthday celebrations. 

There was also a band of Parkrunners playing tunes to motivate runners as they passed the cafe each lap. 

It's cliched, but you really do feel a sense of community there. 

People ran with prams, dogs and some walked the course. And, because, of the tarmacked route, it is accessible for anyone.

Long may it continue.