PARKRUN REVIEW: SALE WATER PARK, TRAFFORD, ENGLAND

Greg
Dec 19, 2024
3 min read

COURSE INFO & REVIEW

This Parkrun is located at Sale Water Park in Trafford. I parked in the car park outside Mersey Valley Visitor Centre off Rifle Road, which had plenty of spaces when I arrived at 8:45am. There is further parking at the Metrolink Station Car Park, and the course official page suggests that you display your barcode in your windscreen - allowing you to park there until 10:30am.

Group of Runners at Parkrun — The *picture above was taken before the start of the run near the Mersey Valley Visitor Centre and the start point was a short walk from here.*

Strava Map of Sale Water Parkrun — *Route map above taken from my run on Strava*

The course starts in a wooded area and you then run for a few hundred metres until you get to the River Mersey. At this point the ground underfoot is very uneven and rocky, meaning that you have to be careful that you don't roll over on your ankle. You will run with the Mersey on your right for a while.

When you get to the section where you head over towards the Lake (with it on your left hand side), the ground is more like a path again and it gets easier to run quicker here. At the Car Park of Trafford Watersports Centre you will then turn back on yourself by going up an incline so that you are running on a wide path above where you have just come from.

Man running on path next to Lake — Picture above *was approximately 2K in to the run, with the Lake on the left*

After a bit you will join back up on the path you were on before and you will head up a slope towards where the River Mersey is. You will then run all the way back to the start the same way you had come from originally (the Mersey will be on your left).

Man running on path alongisde River — Picture above *shows the route on the way back alongside the River Mersey*

Finish area at Sale Water Parkrun — Picture above *shows the finishing area in the woods.*

When you get back in the wooded area you can finish strongly as the ground underfoot is even, unlike the section alongside the Mersey.

I'd say this is a good parkrun to do if you just want to get one done and not worry about getting a PB as there are parts of the course that are nice to just run and take in the surroundings.

It wasn't up there with my favourite courses though, due to the rocky ground. I felt like I had to be very careful running over sections to make sure I didn't go over on my ankle.

The quickest male time was 17:55 and quickest female time was 24:18.

MY RUN ON THE DAY

Before doing this Parkrun I had been warned by a few other runners that I know that it was an "ankle breaker" so I knew I was going to have to be careful on part of the route.

Man and Woman at end of Parkrun — *Picture of me after Sale Water Parkrun with my Friend Mel who also runs at Trafford AC.*

I was even more focused on the ground underfoot than I would usually be, having sprained my ankle which had caused me to miss a few weeks back in October.

My target was to run under 21 mins at around 4:10 per km pace and I ended up running 20:16 so I was pretty happy with it.

This was my first Parkrun (and 5K) for 6 months and I am trying to work my way back to fitness after a challenging couple of months.

I actually found the run easier than i'd expected which is a sign my fitness is gradually improving as I don't think I would have found it as easy 2-3 weeks ago.

I'd rate the difficutly of the course as a 4/5 due to the rocky ground, but other than that, it doesn't have any other difficult sections that I can think of.