Crossing borders

One advantage of living where I do is the close location of the neighbouring boroughs. Run a few miles eastwards and you end up in Purfleet; head half a mile west and you cross into Barking and Dagenham. It's even possible (just) to reach north into Brentwood. Each district has its own collection of parks and green spaces, and it's fun to find and explore these for the first time. To discover the public sports pitches, the playgrounds, the wild meadows, the lakes, ponds and the woodlands. It adds an exciting element of the unknown to a run.

Today I Googled a park which seemed reachable, and headed out to find it, via the familiar inter-connected pathways of Bretons, Eastbrookend and Dagenham's Central parks. These three parks are neatly joined to form a singe off-road route which soon adds up the miles and is almost traffic-free (bar the odd road crossing). For entertainment I listened to one of the Nike Run Club app's audio guides - this time featuring Team GB Olympic sprint star Dina Asher-Smith. And when this had ended I switched to another podcast which kept me entertained until I finished my journey.

Shortly after passing the four mile mark I found Valence Park and proceeded to head past the car park and play area. As this was new territory for me I relied heavily on my phone's map to see where I was and point me in the right direction to return home smoothly. There seems to be more to the park than I was able to absorb on this fleeting visit, so will have to head back at some point for a better look at the pond. Several minutes later I'd found an exit and was soon on my way back along the streets to familiar territory.

Heading home I crossed The Chase where I ran into a rather over-friendly dog and found myself ankle-deep in marsh water as I tried to find a way through the maze of trees and bushes to the pedestrian access path. It was another high mileage morning and I was glad to get home and relax afterwards. Tomorrow will definitely be a rest day, but then where to?