I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for Woodend. It’s definitely got a country town vibe and is surrounded by beautiful countryside but is close enough to civilisation that you don’t feel cut off from the rest of the world. So it was a welcome bit of news to find that a new parkrun was opening in Woodend – Campaspe parkrun.

With only a bit over an hour to travel, it was actually a relatively late start for us. As we headed into the hills, the temperature dropped, albeit subtly and had us feeling a little chilly on arrival. We easily found Woodend Children’s Park and parked up then checked out the toilets (clean and tidy) before joining everyone for briefing. Despite this only being event #5 for the team, briefing ran like a well oiled machine with all the required bits included and dealt with quickly. The run director even managed a shout out to some visitors who’d travelled to collect a ‘c’ for their pirate challenge. And then, in no time at all, we were walking over the bridge to the start line.

From the start, this was a tale of multiple surfaces. There’s some concrete, some gravel, some squishy bits and even some wooden bridges. It’s not a hard course to follow at all – an easy out and back with a short detour out and back section on your way home which (on a non-cloudy day) would give you great views of Mount Macedon. There are friendly marshals to help keep you on track and cheer you on and signs at all the important bits. It’s a flat-ish course with just a few little ups and downs to make it interesting. I quite liked the variety and scenery although one of the wooden bridges felt a bit more like a rollercoaster with all of us running over it. The finish line creeps up on you, appearing just as you crest the last little hill and was a welcome sight.

Post parkrun, we followed the recommendation and enjoyed coffee at The Milko – delicious coffee and possibly the fluffiest muffin I’ve ever had. Although from prior experience, you really can’t go wrong in Woodend – quite a few great breakfast spots which makes it seem entirely likely that we’ll be back to sample breakfast….I mean parkrun, again!