Milano Nord parkrun

Orientation

Milano Nord parkrun takes place at the Parco Nord Milano approximately 5 miles north of central Milan. The start is near the southern edge of the park, close to the Viale Suzzani Entrance. There is parking near the park entrance, but frankly you’d be crazy to drive in Milan. Bignami Metro Station is just across the road from the Park. We stayed at the Milano Re Hotel, which is less than a mile from the start, which you can walk to almost entirely within the boundaries of the park.

Facilities

There toilets near the start. The parkrun website invites participants to stop for a drink at the Enigma Bar, which is just outside the park entrance. We were keen to get into Milan for some sightseeing, so just picked up some refreshments from a supermarket across the road.

Course

The course consists of two circuits of the park. I say ‘the park’ – the park is actually enormous, dissected by various roads. So, it’s two circuits of this section of the park.

Terrain

The terrain is a mixture of paved and gravel paths.

Difficulty

The course is flat and the terrain is fairly even, with a total elevation of just 31 metres. The biggest difficultly, depending on the time of year, could be the heat. When we ran, in June, it was over 30 degrees! It was also quite busy, so there was an element of people dodging required.

Fun Factor

Milano Nord is one of the bigger continental European parkruns, with an average of 69 runners. There are a mixture of locals and tourists. At a lot of runs on the continent, I have found that the majority of runners are serious (ie fast). Here, there were also plenty of joggers in attendance, so I didn’t feel out of place. The park is lovely, so factor in some extra time to spend here. And, of course, it’s in the beautiful city of Milan – what’s not to love?