After visiting Stockholm, Berlin and Zalew Żyrardowski Parkruns I needed 1 more country to add alongside my UK Parkruns to complete the Jetsetter challenge.
We have a huge love for Italy and had not visited Milan before, so decided to explore the city of Milan and tick off a Italy Parkrun as well.
There is currently 15 Parkruns in Italy and Milan is normally has the biggest attendance.
MILANO NORD PARKRUN REVIEW
FINDING MILANO NORD
We were staying in the North of Milan just outside the city, so this was a short Uber ride for us of around 15 to 20 minutes.
Milano Nord Parkrun is listed on Google, so it is really easy to find in maps and in Uber. Once you have been dropped off outside the park, it is a short 5 minute walk to the meeting pointing for the start and finish area.
Uber cost around 25 Euros each way.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT
The train station is a short walk from the park. You need to go on the purple line (MM5) to Bignami-Parco Nord terminal.
MEETING POINT FOR RACE BRIEFING
As with all Parkruns you know your in the right place when you start seeing the pop up banners and flags. Your also see the start and finish A frame board as well.
If you use the 3 words app you can use cuff.fizzle.loosens to guide you to the meeting point.
The race briefing was done in both English and Italian.
COURSE
The course is a really simple 2 lap course with a mixture of asphalt, hard gravel paths and a small section of grass.
It does have a really small incline around half way round the lap but apart from that it is a flat course that is really simple to follow.
If like me you visit in the winter or spring expect the course to wet with a bit of mud, which makes the course quite tough going.
START
The start was quite busy, but this is not normally the case. There was a lot of tourists as it was the weekend of the Milan half marathon.
FINISH
The finish is in the same place as the start and is roped off to create a funnel. Your know when your need the end of each lap as the run director is using a megaphone to cheer you on in Italian.
You can see my Strava activity HERE to see elevations and the course in detail.
COFFEE
I am not sure if they have a post Parkrun coffee meeting point as we needed to get going for other tours that we were booked on to.
But this is possibly the BEST post run Parkrun spread you will ever find!
There was a table full of different breads to try and a lovely cold Peach drink. If this is what you get at all Italy Parkruns I am coming every week!
COST
The cost of Parkrun is FREE. You just need to register and take your barcode to register your time.
RESULTS
You can find the latest results for Milan Nord Parkrun HERE
WOULD I DO IT AGAIN?
Absolutely Yes, I think this would be better during the summer months when the course is dry and you can enjoy the warmth of the Italian sunshine rather than drizzle of rain like I experienced.
The team at Milano Nord Parkrun are incredibly friendly and hospitality is fantastic.
THINGS TO BEAR IN MIND
- This is normally a quiet Parkrun mostly run by locals and a few tourists, but it gets busy the weekends of the Milan half marathon or marathon.
- Parco Nord is a very large park, so try to find the Milano Nord Parkrun listing in maps as Parco Nord will take you the West part of the park. The start/finish area is in the East.
- It can be wet and muddy so wear appropriate clothes, shoes and not your super shoes unless it is dry.
- Their is large tarpaulin to leave your bags on at the start/finish area.
- Taxi's are expensive, it cost 128 euros from Bergamo airport to our hotel.
WHERE TO STAY
We stayed at Tocq Hotel, which is just outside the main city centre and is around a 20 minute walk to see the tourist attractions like the Duomo cathedral.
It is also near the main train station if you want to use public transport to Parkrun or the city centre.
KIT
I wore the following race day kit:
- Top: Proviz fully reflective running jacket
- Tights: Nike Lunar Ray trail tights
- Socks: SHYU race day socks
- Trainers: Hoka Skyward X trainers
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Watch: Coros Pace 3
QUESTIONS
If you have any questions you would like to ask about the Milano Nord Parkrun, please get in touch.
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