Vicar Water Country park parkrun,

[@stuartwalker6786]

Cracking time considering you were on a new course (bumpy, muddy, dead turns), starting in the bulk of the pack, dodging, ducking and diving in 1st mile and from HR could tell was well controlled bodes well for my 2025 vid fix 😃👊

[@MattClarry]

Thanks Stuart! I think the heart rate in the first mile was a little constrained by the density of the pack I was working through, will have to make sure I start a bit closer to the front next time ! Hope the rest of the 2025 lives up to the expectation !

[@keithbowden4248]

Great running Matt. You lost 30 seconds at the start I'd guess but that looked like a tough continuous incline with very little relief... Looks a good and scenic course for the summer months. Should stand you well as part of your Marathon training all the same...

[@MattClarry]

Thank you Keith! Yeah, lost a fair amount of time at the start, can I claim 2 minutes for an adjusted sub 20? Ay, that climb is tough but you do get some good views from the top, not sure it shows fully on the video though. But should do the legs some good, at least!

[@garthcox4307]

How does it compare to gedling? These old coal mine ones do seem pretty hilly, presumably landscaped spoil heaps. Bestwood and vicars are both on my list for this year. I'll give vicars a few weeks to get over the initial rush.

[@MattClarry]

There is about 100ft more elevation gain at Vicar Water and it is all in one climb. Whereas at Gedling, it is split over 2 more gradual climbs. And if I remember right, the paths are harder to run on at Gedling especially up round the solar farm.

[@garthcox4307]

@MattClarry thank you. I enjoyed gedling as you get the downhills to recover on, this one sounds tougher!

[@MattClarry]

I think the gradient is probably similar, but it just feels like it goes on forever!