Many people are now familiar with the concept of park run. Described on their website as ‘a free, fun, and friendly weekly 5k community event’ it is something you can not only run but also walk or jog. There are currently nearly two thousand park runs taking place worldwide each Saturday morning.

Despite being the very definition of the most average of average fun runners I have taken park run increasingly to my heart over the past decade. One of the best things about it for a person such as me are the various challenges that don’t solely rely on athletic ability. One of which is the so called alphabet challenge. Basically the completion of a park run at a place that begins with each letter of the alphabet.

Perhaps unsurprisingly the most challenging letter to get is Z (there are no X’s at all). Only 11 Z’s exist worldwide with none in the United Kingdom. This is how I found myself at the airport early on a Thursday morning with my son, daughter and long suffering good lady to fly to Krakow in Poland. Krakow being the closest place to the fabled (for alphabet chasers anyway) Zielony Jar park run.

Before the Saturday of the run we spent time in both Krakow and Warsaw. Poland is a beautiful country with some fantastic architecture, restaurants and bars. Wandering around we were also struck by how clean everywhere is. On the Sunday we went to Auschwitz which certainly helps bring perspective to every day concerns and is absolutely worth a visit.

In Krakow itself we stopped in an Airbnb on Starowislna Street that was impeccably hosted by Adam. Although it was ideal for everything we wanted to do in Krakow if you are heading out to Zielony Jar an Uber is the best option. Although the journey time is around 20 minutes the cost is only £6.

It can be a little bit disconcerting when you first step out of the taxi though. Or certainly it was where we were dropped. At first sight it just seemed to be a standard housing estate with not a park in sight. This is where the locals first came into their own. Folks out for their morning paper appeared to be use to bewildered Saturday park runners standing on the pavement and pointed us to a short path that led to the park.

The course itself is fairly difficult. As the run director pointed out it isn’t a place to run a personal best but by the same token it’s no Whinlatter Forest either. I’m not sure if our visit was typical but out of a field of seventy or so runners at least half were travelling to get the ‘Z’ including a big contingent from Oxford.

The run director and volunteers couldn’t have been more friendly and helpful although I think they were a little short on numbers so the amount of runners was a concern to them initially. The four of us each had vastly different goals for what we wanted from the experience (other than the Z obviously) but by the end everyone seemed happy with the outcome. For my son and I the lack of volunteers turned out to be a blessing because as well as running we were able to earn a volunteer credit by clearing up the signs and cones around the course at the end.

Then it was time to join the many other runners waiting for an Uber back into Krakow for some well earned breakfast. A wait that was made comfortable by the swing seats by the pick up point. With the ‘Z’ bagged it was time to turn my attention to edging towards another park run milestone this weekend. This will form the basis of my next blog.