Lees Road Ennis

As amenity parks go, it is hard to beat Lees Road.  It has everything you want for a family.  Trails to run on, full size AstroTurf pitch, soccer pitches, rugby pitches, GAA pitches, 400m running track and a skateboarding park.

It is home to our local Parkrun which can be a quite testing 5km run on the trails in the forest.  I have done a few parkruns around Munster and this is the toughest as you have a few hills to negotiate before the finish.

It can get very busy on the trails during certain times as parents drop off their kids for some kind of training and they take off to run or walk the many routes in the forest.  As you can see from the photos it is very picturesque in Lees Road and it is a great place to go to clear your head.

A new initiative in association with Active Ennis is set up on the trails. They have set up Fartlek Training which anyone can do at any time.  Fartlek is a Swedish term meaning 'speed play'.  It is a form of interval training that allows the athlete to run at varying levels of intensity over a given distance.  It is effective in improving both speed and endurance.  There are 3 loops marked out in the park and each loop can be run at an intensity to suit your ability.  The red loop is 1200m, the blue loop is 1600m and the black loop is 3400m.  There are signs up around the trails to guide you.

A great place to run.  It can be testing on the lungs and legs if you want it to be.  Every Saturday morning, Parkrun takes place at 9:30am and it gets a good crowd.  So if you are ever around Ennis, pop in and give it a go!!!

Thanks for reading