On a surprisingly sunny Saturday morning we headed off to Ballymena for some parkrun tourism, the chosen destination today was Ecos parkrun, Ballymena, Co Antrim. On arriving at the event, we found plenty of parking and friendly volunteers and parkrunners who pointed us in the direction of the loos (slightly tucked away in a field by the entrance). The parkrun takes place at the Ecos hub conference centre and nature park near Ballymena town centre. The location looked especially picturesque in the Spring sunshine and the numbers gathering at the start were swelling rapidly. 

Peggy, our ‘timid’ border collie, turns into a completely different dog at parkrun, and sure enough, for the 5 minutes ahead of the start, she took to barking like fury, rearing to go (sorry everyone – it’s impossible to calm her, such is her love of a good parkrun). 

The start of the run is in the carpark in front of the Eco Hub, the course does narrow quite quickly as the runners join the path that runs round the side of the lake with views across to the EcoHub building. The course is a figure of 8 loop. The first loop is the slightly longer of the two, skirting the edge of the lake and crossing little waterways as it winds its way through the pretty park. The birdsong was so entrancing it didn’t even matter I’d forgotten my headphones.

The narrowness of the paths did mean it is often tricky to overtake people, and the regular tight turns and switchbacks make this a slightly slower parkrun than many, meaning it might not be PB territory, but it’s hard to mind when its this scenic. After the finish the cafe in the Eco Hub was busy with runners soaking up the sun and enjoying coffee and a scone. Dogs are welcome, so Peggy had a chance to bask in the some rays as she recovered from her exertions.

Overall we loved Ecos parkun, with a flatish course and very scenic views across the lake, birdsong filling the air, very friendly volunteer team. 

Stats

Event number 520. 20th April 2024

232 runners took part in the parkrun today 

16 were first timers at Ecos 

40 individuals recorded new Personal Bests, well done

17 different clubs took part and 16 volunteers made the event possible.

The full results and a complete event history can be found on the Ecos Park parkrun Results Page – https://www.parkrun.org.uk/ecos/results/latestresults/