Orientation
Pieschener Allee Parkrun takes place in Dresden on a path which runs along the River Elbe, parallel with Pieschener Allee. The start is opposite the Sportpark Ostra Car Park, where there is plenty of free parking.
Facilities
There aren’t really any facilities at the start, you just turn up and run. There are toilets and a cafe across the road in the Sportpark. We stayed at the Leonardo Hotel, which is only a 10 minute walk from the start.
Course
The course is a straightforward out-and-back on a path along the river bank. There is a total elevation of 10 metres.
Terrain
The course start is on a paved path, then continues on to a gravel trail. You do a U Turn, then return to the start, finishing on the paved path.
Difficulty
It’s fast and flat and mainly on a paved path, so basically about as easy as running 5 kilometres gets. Also, according to my Garmin, it was a little short at 4.83 km, which made my time even faster…
Fun Factor
Pieschener Allee is a small, but friendly parkrun – most of the runners when we attended were expats and very welcoming of visitors. The week we ran, there were only 26 runners – in fact this is above their average attendance of 22.3. We really enjoyed our run at Pieschener Allee; apart from the friendly nature of the event, it was a very pretty route along the river bank.
We didn’t stop after the race for a coffee, as we had a tight itinerary, but we did have a wander round the Sportpark opposite. The Heinz-Steyer-Stadion has seen some action over the years. It was here that the legendary Heike Drechsler broke the World Long Jump Record in 1986. More recently, the less legendary Thomas Dold broke the World Record for running 10k backwards in an impressive 39.20 – faster than most people could run it forwards!
Note: Pieschener Allee Parkrun has not taken place since March 2022, after it was brought to the organisers’ attention that it passes through a Protected Area, where running is prohibited. They are in the process of trying to find an alternative route.
Jane's Midlife Journey 