Scandi parkrun triple
9th June 2023
A year ago, I had an idea, to run three parkruns in two countries in four days. An idea made possible by the scheduling of Denmark and Sweden additional parkrun days. I pitched the idea of a two-country Scandinavian mini break to my non parkrunning wife and it was a resounding Yes. This is how we came to arrive in Copenhagen last Friday lunchtime with some non parkrunning friends of ours.
The first parkrun was on Saturday morning at Amager Faelled parkrun in the South of Copenhagen. This was the first parkrun to start outside of the UK and Saturday was its 684th event. I met the Run Director in the car park and helped him to carry the equipment to the start line in the middle of the park. As we approached the clearing for the start and finish, he commented that he could tell it was a special weekend as there are already 50-60 people at the start line at 8:30; locals don’t normally turn up until 8:55. It turns out I wasn’t the only one to have the idea of running three parkruns in four days. In the end there were 193 runners (second highest attendance ever) although this was smashed by the 402 who turned up on Monday. We had several speeches before the start congratulating Henrik on becoming the first person, outside of the UK, to reach 500 volunteer credits.
At about 9:15 we were ready to go and set off on a two-lap course around the park. The paths are compacted gravel and flat. It was hot and sunny and that added to the enjoyment. At the end there was cake and water to celebrate with Henrik. I chatted to several runners both before and after the run and found out that they had come from far and wide.
I spent the rest of Saturday and Sunday walking around Copenhagen seeing most of the attractions that the city has to offer.
Parkrun 2
Monday was Denmark’s Constitution Day and their additional parkrun day. This time I headed north to Faelledparken parkrun. The park is situated opposite the Parken Stadium, home of FC Copenhagen. Sunday saw the final game of the Danish football league and FC Copenhagen had already been crowned as champions, so the park was used for a fans’ celebration Zone before the match. I think the festivities went on long into the night. As the runners began to congregate for the parkrun, we were met by the aftermath of the celebrations; bottles, cans and debris spread far and wide and truckloads of people trying to clean the park. The volunteers for the parkrun had already been round the course and cleared the path of debris, so the parkrun could go ahead. In total, 189 runners gathered and again this was the second highest attendance in their 538 events. For those that listen to the With Me Now podcast, I managed to have a selfie and a few words with Nicola from the podcast.
The run is a three-lap course on gravel paths around the park. It is fast and flat. Again, it was hot and this had an impact on a number of runners’ performances but I don’t think many people minded as we were doing a parkrun on a Monday. Another wonderful parkrun with great volunteers and a lovely venue.
After a quick shower, changed and packed, we set of on the short bus ride to Malmo in Sweden. This meant a trip over the spectacular Oresund Bridge, made famous by the Scandi Noir Cop drama ‘The Bridge’. It is eight kilometres long with four being above the water on the bridge and four underwater in the tunnel.
Parkrun 3
The National Day of Sweden was the highlight of my trip. Parkrun number three in Växjö (pronounced Vah-Ho). It became clear early in the planning, once Malmo had decided not to stage a parkrun on National day, that Växjö was the parkrun of choice for the majority on Sweden’s National day. I couldn’t change my hotel, so this meant an early start to catch the train to Alvesta and then jumping in a taxi to get us to Vaxjo. So that is how four complete strangers had arranged to meet on Malmo station at 7am to share the train journey and then the taxi to a parkrun in the middle of Sweden. A guy from Bournemouth, one from Liverpool, a lady from High Wycombe and me.
When we left the taxi, it soon became clear that we were going to be part of something very special in parkrun, an event that will be talked about for years to come. The weather was glorious again and all you could see was parkrunners making their way to the lake and to the start line. Normally Växjö parkrun has about 15 – 20 finishers with a record attendance of 56. Tuesday saw 727 runners descend on this small town in central Sweden. Tourists had travelled from England, Scotland, Wales, France, Germany, Poland, Netherlands, Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Latvia and Ukraine, and there were also some people from Sweden.
The biggest round of applause was saved for those tourists from South Africa, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The parkrun could easily have been swamped with the numbers, but Johan and his team responded magnificently. A finish funnel was constructed, a PA system was in place and tokens were borrowed from the other parkruns. There were even some gazebos for the baggage. The announcements started early with the singing of the Swedish national anthem, a lesson in how to pronounce Växjö, singing happy birthday to Johan, a led warm up session to Mamma Mia before, spot on 9:30, we were on our way.
Parkrun, here I go again, my, my, how can I resist you?
For those that have run Rother Valley, the course is similar – once around the lake. It is another fast and flat course on gravel paths, tarmac, trails and a boardwalk.
When I first arrived at the start area, one of the first people I met was Gregan, so here is the compulsory selfie.
Having had a look at the results, other notable parkrun royalty that were there included Cass Castleton (only person to complete the parkrun alphabet six times) and Paul Freyne (holder of the highest number of different events (625) and he has not repeated a parkrun for the last 622 runs). The run was one of the nicest parkruns I have done although, as this was my third in four days and we were averaging 25 to 30k of steps a day, I was struggling. However, the atmosphere and camaraderie of everyone running got me around. Overall, the parkrun coped brilliantly, and everything went smoothly.
Would I recommend Copenhagen as a mini break destination – YES. Would I recommend going there for the Danish and Swedish extra parkrun days – absolutely YES. My suggestion would be to plan it for 2025 when you can run three parkruns in three days on the 5th 6th & 7th June.