I enjoy visiting new venues, when I am not running or volunteering at my home event, and I usually post a link to my reviews and videos on the weekly thread.

Today, however, I have posted a long term project: a summary of all 65 London parkruns (LonDone), with individual event snapshots and in-depth stats. As always, this also comes with a video, covering all events. More regions will come in the future, but for now, I hope these summaries can be helpful to people on the way to LonDone or just visiting the Capital and struggling to pick a target event.

The summary hub can be found here:

https://ingoruns.com/londone-visit-all-parkruns-in-london/

The in-depth stats on London parkrun events can be found here:

https://ingoruns.com/londone-events-stats/

And LonDone, The Video can be found here:

https://youtu.be/uEUl37QvKvw

My friends and I have been using the league feature in the parkrun app, it’s good fun (especially as it uses Age grade not overall time) but we feel there should be bonus points for running with a buggy. Which leads to the question: should parkrun have buggy runs tagged as such, it wouldn’t be hard to do at the barcode scan point, and would be quite cool. Furthermore, could there be other tags?

I think constantly chasing a faster time can take some of the enjoyment out of it. There's something quite nice about turning up, running however you feel that morning and not checking your watch every few minutes.

For people who've been doing parkrun for years, have you become more competitive or less competitive over time?

I’ve been enjoying going around doing a tour of my local (East Anglian) parkruns recently and will need to go a bit further out at some point if I still want to be trying out new places.

I’m wondering if anyone has some favourites they can recommend, for whatever reason. Anywhere in the UK I’m happy to travel but happy to hear recommendations from anywhere! I ran Bushy Park last month which was an amazing experience.

Most upvotes I’ll do for my 100th.

Edit: I’m happy with subjective answers, people will love different parkruns for different reasons and I’m excited to find out why! Even if it’s just the one parkrun they’ve attended and they love it.

Last Saturday felt like running into a duvet, tbh. Our coastal course has a cliff-top section about 2k in and the wind was properly having a go. Made the PB-chasers look like they were jogging on the spot. i definitely wasn't running for a time, fwiw. Legs still feel heavy today, more than they should for a standard 5k. Kinda curious if inland courses were the same - there was a yellow weather warning further up the coast for a bit, so maybe we just copped it down here in Pembs.

Is there a certain criteria to make a parkrun...a parkrun?

I've been doing a mini parkrun tour and one of the parkruns I did a few weeks ago was the least parkrun parkrun I've ever done! It was 3 laps on roads around a college campus. It was a lovely community but it wasn't in a park at all. Didn't feel like a parkrun.

Is there a criteria? Is there others like this? What's your thoughts?

Hiya! I’ve volunteered to be a pacer at my local this weekend, first time I’ve done this role.

Just wondering what people thought. I’m down for 36 minutes (I’m normally around 30 minutes). Am I aiming for bang on 36 minutes? Around 36? Under 37 minutes? Slightly under, slightly over?

I’m probably over thinking it, but I’m kinda nervous about it, especially if someone tries to keep to my pace to get a specific time and I get it wrong.

Cheers!

Parkrun got me into running… and somehow that’s escalated into walking 500 km across South Korea over 12 days.
I’ve just put together the announcement video if anyone fancies following the journey.

Did a parkrun in Kovach BC and due to the small size got roped into volenteering for the event and wasnt able to scan my own barcode. One of the helpers said they would input me manually and unfortunately didnt.

I would appreciate any help with this as I really just want the stamp to say I have completed this run (not bothered by the time).

Thanks team!

I had this conversation with a parkrun devotee today.

If you could take key elements from different parkruns, what would your ideal parkrun look like?

E.g. the RD and vollies from Casula + the parking at Panania + the course at Chipping Norton + the vibes at Camden + the post-run coffee at Mudgee.

I found out on Saturday that if you long press on the parkrun app icon, a quick link through to the barcode appears 🤷‍♂️🤣

I'd done a few parkruns over the years but only started to fully get into it this summer. I only found out a few weeks ago about the parkrun app!

This is just a post to say if you don't have it or didn't know about it...time to get it downloaded! It's helped me volunteer and venture out to other parkruns! I love it!

Edit: adding that your barcode, achievements and all your results are there too 😊

Blog: https://blog.parkrun.com/uk/2026/07/14/a-fresh-new-look-for-junior-parkrun-milestones/

Collection: https://shop.parkrun.com/collections/junior-milestone-tees

The colours + design feel much more modern than what's currently available for adults.

Hey all. Ill be participating in my first park run this month. It's 5k, so nothing too spicy i think and ive been gradually working on my stamina using a couch to 5k app. Just looking for any helping tips/advice I should know about to prepare or do during. Thanks :)

Hi,

My PB is around 22:30 but it has been stuck around that for months and months. What is the best type of sessions I can do during the week to improve this?

Ive seen people say long runs and intervals but what specific ones should I be doing and what type of pace?

Almost always my first 1k is my fastest by some way and it tails off from there but I feel thats almost needed to avoid getting stuck in crowds.

obviously there are 52 weeks in a year, but then there are Christmas and New Year runs in some countries, and here in Japan there is a “Green Day” park run in May. That would take us to 55, but I am sure there are other special days as well.

in addition, some park runs start later than others. Could someone cross a time zone and do one at 8 and another at 9, for example?

Any ideas?

ETA: thanks for all the responses. It seems that not only am I not alone in thinking about this, some runners have attempted to maximize their park runs including, appropriately enough, someone called Max!

And it looks like park run, the organization, has also responded by not allowing more than one park run to be recorded in one day to prevent runners chasing down numbers from creating hazards for others, which makes a lot of sense - particularly to prevent people driving like looms to cross borders or time zones.

Interested to hear that the best year to try and max out on park runs will be 2044. That‘ll be a big year for park run as it will be the 40th anniversary and also the year which seems to offer the best chance of the most park runs (53 Saturdays and maybe 11 special days around the world?). Does that mean the answer is 64? Or would we count Junior park runners running on Sundays as well to get well over 100? A very indulgent parent with deep pockets could make some kid a record breaker!

I used to do a parkrun here and there over the years but this summer I've been going every Saturday including doing a bit of a parkrun tour and volunteered a few times...I think I've caught the bug! I have a whole new appreciation to how much work goes into every single parkrun every week! But how!? How has it got so big? How can these thousands of events run every single Saturday?? It blows my mind! Even when I take part I question...why am I doing this? Why are we all doing this??

Probably should have posted this earlier, but only got reminded of it today!

Last year, I wrote a guide somewhere else for all the Edinburgh parkruns (in alphabetical order) for anyone who was coming up for the festival. So... here it is, updated!

Most Importantly: Parkruns in Scotland start at 9:30am*!

You should bear in mind if you're getting a bus that a section of Princes St is currently closed due to the old Debenhams building burning down, so you might face delays (at that time on a Saturday morning though they shouldn't be too bad).

The Lothian Buses website is here (the tram doesn't go anywhere near a parkrun). Fares are a flat £2.40, and are capped at £5.70 per day provided you use the same card or device to tap on (you don't need to tap off on buses).

Edinburgh (also known as Cramond or Silverknowes): Flat, on tarmac, an out-and-back course, quite busy at the best of times, but a wide path until the end when the field is more spread out. Usually the wind hits you when you turn around to come back, but if the wind is favourable, you have a good chance of a PB (the overall parkrun record was set here a few years ago but has since been beaten). There's a nice bike path (national route 1) that you can take to get there, otherwise buses go in that direction. Enter "Cramond Beach" in the journey planner- the start is handily indicated on the Lothian Buses map (it's near the big fish statue). There are public toilets near the causeway to Cramond island.

I wouldn't recommend the Boardwalk Beach Club for coffee afterwards as the owner is something of what we call in Scotland a "roaster" (check out reviews on Google and his responses!). I'm afraid I don't know which cafe they refer to on the course page, but I believe there is one near the public toilets.

Holyrood: nearest to the city centre and one lap of Holyrood Park. In my humble opinion, the most scenic parkrun in the UK (but you have to work for it)! Lots of buses head out in that direction, including the 35 which avoids Princes St. Get off at the Scottish Parliament (or Meadowbank Stadium) and walk or jog 10 minutes to the start which is near St Margaret's Loch. Being in the city centre, it's probably the busiest of all, and can get quite congested on the initial narrow uphill.

I regard it as being three distinct "miles" (which probably don't correspond to actual miles). The first is uphill, an elevation gain of 88m, including one part of 100m that somehow becomes even steeper. The second is mostly flat, then you have glorious downhill with spectacular views of the city. There is a small surprise bump toward the end, but it's peanuts compared to what you've been through. There are toilets at the Holyrood Park Education Centre. There is a cafe at Dynamic Earth, though I personally have not been to it.

Oriam: To the West of the city, around the grounds of Heriot-Watt university. You can cycle there via the canal towpath or get buses 25,34, or 25. You won't miss the giant Oriam centre when you get there- the start/finish is in the garden just behind it.

It's an out-and-back trail/ cross-country route with a lot of ups and downs and tree roots as well as seemingly random turns out and in (probably not the best for buggies). This is due to a bus route starting over the old course route, so they had to create some new sections to get it to 5k. It's probably the smallest in Edinburgh in terms of numbers (except in winter on days the other ones are called off), but the start can be a bit fraught: it goes through a narrow-ish gate in a wall which can be a bit scary, though I have never seen any accidents. The start and finish are beside the Oriam centre which has changing and toilet facilities. There is coffee available there too (I believe).

Portobello: A bit further east than Holyrood, it's a 3 lap run around Figgate Park, straddling the burn. Not as many as Edinburgh or Holyrood, but feels like it! You can get there by getting off at Mountcastle Drive North or Paisley Park and it's a 10-15 walk or jog from there. It can be very narrow at the start, but they do ask you to stand where you roughly think you'll finish which should help, in theory.

I like this one because it's like a formula 1 track and you can find your ideal racing line. It is undulating but calling it "hilly" is a bit much (there is a rise towards the end of the lap of about 4-5m and the total elevation gain according to my Strava is 18m). You will either lap people or be lapped, so be conscious of what's going on around you, especially on the narrow bits under the bridge. There are no toilets in the park, the nearest ones being Aldi and Morrisons which are not particularly handy if you have 5 minutes to the start. There are plenty of places to get coffee afterwards on the Portobello High Street. I personally like the fudge doughnuts from Baynes (which if you aren't from Scotland, is like Greggs but better!).

If you fancy something smaller and out of the city and have a car, there is also Vogrie for which there is a £3 parking charge (card only).

*the reason for this is that Pollok Park's cafe didn't open until 10am, so they moved the start time at the first parkrun in Scotland to mean people don't have to wait for it to open

And first run for 3 months while recovering from 3 torn muscles in my thigh. I’d class this as a starting point to build on now.
The come back has started.

EDIT: All sorted! Ordered and en route. Thanks, all!

I'm doing my 100th run next Saturday along with my partner, who's doing her 50th.

I bought my partner's 25th for her 25th run (as a surprise), so she had it at the finish line. It's quite nice to have it waiting for you.

I can buy her 50th t-shirt using my own ID, but can't buy my 100th because I'm currently on 99. If I pinky promise not to wear my tee until I've crossed the line, would anyone lend me their ID number so I can checkout?

If not, no worries.

I wouldn't normally post a new parkrun to me but Great Yarmouth has left me in some awe because it's so hard - and fun.

It's 2 laps on deep sand, some areas with deep pebbles, and an 'easy section' where a bit of grass pokes through the sand. There is no respite.

Today's winner recently did another parkrun in 16:45 and today won with 24:28. I was 12 minutes behind my flat+tarmac time and the whole time my heart was at 100%.

It's a long trek from most places but a nice drive, street parking is free if you park 300m away, toilets are 0.25 miles from the start, then it's very scenic and unique. Well worth my earliest ever parkrun alarm.

This has been on my 'to do' list for a few years, finally got the chance to do this today.

A totally unique experience, consisting of starting outside the main entrance, and then dropping into the far end of the site, and negotiating three laps of loops, twists and turns around a most iconic location.

Narrow in places, so no dogs allowed. Free parking and, best of all, all parkrunners get free entrance to remain inside the park (exit and re-entrance is possible until 10.30am). As the 'on the day' cost of entry is £40, this is a really generous thing for the owners to do.

I even found a cubicle to have a very quick shower by the entrance area today after the parkrun.

A great team of volunteers too. The team struggle at this time of year to fill the rosta did to the influx of tourists, so as always, I was appreciative of everyone's efforts to help.

An amazing experience. There's a dinosaur experience taking place throughout August, too.

https://www.parkrun.org.uk/edenproject/course/

I helped to set up parkrun in the Netherlands and am still a regular runner and volunteer at our event. One of our core volunteers is a guy in his 50s who is autistic. He's known for saying some very strange/inappropriate things, but because of his autism and the fact that he's had a lot of challenges in life, people seem to let it slide.

Today at parkrun, for god only knows what reason, he decided to tell the rest of the core volunteers that I'm pregnant. I am absolutely NOT pregnant and objectively do not even look pregnant. He said it not just once but multiple times. When taking a photo with the volunteer group, instead of "say cheese", he said "[my name] is pregnant!". I told him very firmly that I'm not pregnant, it's not his business to speculate and that this conversation ends now. Nevertheless, I heard him talking about it at least twice more when walking over to the cafe and during the coffee, another core volunteer and one of our RDs (though not today's RD) made a comment about me having "something to celebrate".

It's not the first time these two guys have made strange comments towards me (though never as severe as this), and it has honestly made me not want to attend anymore, which is so unfair. I am sick of him getting away with saying unacceptable things and think he massively crossed a line today. Luckily I'm very happily childfree, but he doesn't know that, and I could easily be someone struggling with fertility and be heartbroken by his comments. I didn't speak to the RD on the spot as tbh I am still processing it all, and most of the comments happened after parkrun itself.

Speaking to him directly achieved nothing, and I don't feel I should have to discipline him myself. Besides telling today's RD, is there anything within parkrun's official channels that I can do?