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The Course

The course is 5000m (5K) long. This has been accurately measured by us with a professional measuring wheel. The course is in the Milton Country Park, and entirely on gravel paths, although some sections of the course do accumulate mud, leaves and puddles after rain. Dependent on availability, marshals will be at key sections of the course, or temporary signs in place.

Please remember that the parkrun uses shared paths. For the continued success of the event, please give way to other park users. This won't hurt your time, it won't stop you from getting a PB and it will make sure everyone continues to to enjoy the event.

Please, wherever possible walk, jog, cycle or use public transport when attending the event. If you do have to drive, please consider car-sharing to reduce our impact on both the environment and other park users.  Please also watch out for other park users when arriving and leaving. Parking is limited so try to arrive early.

Course Safety

The Cambridge parkrun is a fun, free event organised by volunteers for the benefit of everyone. We wish to make the run as safe as possible, so runners, spectators and helpers are asked to take care about the following:

  • Please be considerate to the park and other park users at all times.
  • Please arrive by foot, by pedal-power or by public transport if you can - your efforts help to reduce our impact on the park and the planet.
  • Please consider volunteering to help occasionally - this event survives only because of your generosity - please vist the volunteer page for more information.
  • Take care near roads and car parks - some vehicles drive very quickly. Please congregate away from the cars and be careful in particular if you have children. If you’re driving to the run, please drive carefully even if you’re late!
  • When running, take care on uneven surfaces - whether on grass or on tarmac. Watch out for cyclists, other runners, pedestrians, children, deer, dogs, vehicles, park maintenance work, falling branches, bollards, posts and other obstacles around the course.
  • Runners with dogs are welcome, but please keep dogs on a short lead or harness and under control throughout the event.
  • Runners pushing buggies are also welcome, but please take extreme care of other runners around you. If possible start from the back of the field and try to keep to one side of the main body of runners.
  • Please make sure you’re fit enough to run 5k (3.1 miles) – if you’re in any doubt, please consult your doctor.
  • Remember to warm up before the run.
  • If you see a runner with a serious problem, please stop to help them out and get help as soon as possible.
  • If you’re watching, keep clear of runners on the course, and look after any children and dogs you may have with you.
  • While rare, Lyme Disease is present in areas where deer live, and occasionally passed to human’s through infected ticks. See NHS Choices website for more about Lyme Disease, and how to deal with ticks.
  • This is a free training event, so all run and attend at their own risk.

We hope these tips help to ensure that Cambridge parkrun is fun and safe for everyone.

Age Grading

All parkrun events use Age Grading to help athletes compare results.

Age Grading takes your time and uses the world record time for your sex and age group to produce a score (a percentage). This score allows you to compare your personal performance against other people's performances even though they might be a different age and a different sex to you - the higher the score the better the performance. The scores can also be compared across different run distances - to allow you to, for example, compare a 5km time against a marathon.

For more information, please see the Running For Fitness website.

Course Map


View Cambridge parkrun in a larger map

Course Description

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The Cambridge parkrun Course starts with a short clockwise lap around the southern section of the park, and continues with two longer anti-clockwise laps around the northern section, then finishes with a diagonal run across the southern section.

  

Getting There

Location of Start

The start is at 52.2367˚N, 0.1615˚E

Getting There on Foot or by Bike

from Cambridge - Milton Country Park is located approximately three miles north east of Cambridge City Centre. From Great St Mary's make your way to Bridge Street, Chesterton Road, then at 'Staples Corner' follow Milton Road out of town, straight on at the Golden Hind pub and through the underpass near the guided busway. At the junction with the Science Park fork right to continue in a straight line along Cowley Road, over the pedestrian bridge across the A14 and immediately turn right. Continue 200m straight ahead into the car park of Milton Country Park. The start is just inside the park near the Cafe and Visitor Centre.

from Waterbeach Railway Station - Milton Country Park is located approximately two and a half miles south west of Waterbeach. From the Railway Station make your way out of the village towards Clayhithe, then at the bridge proceed along the river towpath south towards Cambridge. Turn right just before Baits Bite Lock onto Fen Road and cross the railway line at the level crossing. Enter the park through the northern gateway tucked between bungalows on your left and walk through the park (no cycling) to the visitor centre and start.

Getting There by Public Transport

If arriving by train you can reach Milton Country Park from either Cambridge Station (plus bus) or Waterbeach Station (plus warm up jog/walk/cycle). For Waterbeach, see the directions above. For Cambridge, take a bus from Cambridge railway station to the city centre, from there take a Citi 2 or 9 bus to Milton, and alight at the stop opposite Tesco (adjacent to the industrial estate by the park entrance). Alternatively, take a Park & Ride bus from Cambridge City Centre to Milton Park & Ride (Butt Lane) and walk from there. It is generally cheaper to by a Dayrider ticket than a return if you are travelling by bus from the station or city centre.

Timetables for bus services to Milton are available on the Cambridgeshire County Council bus pages.

Getting There by Road

The Park is located just off the junction of the A10 and A14 and is clearly signposted from there. Take the Milton exit from the A10/A14 roundabout down into the village. At the roundabout outside Tesco turn right to drive through a small industrial estate into the car park (£2 fee).

If you are using a sat nav the Park's postcode is CB24 6AZ however it shares it with the industrial estate so don't rely on it for the very last bit. Once you've turned into the estate at the roundabout outside Tesco go straight ahead until you reach the Park entrance (your sat nav may encourage you to take a right turn inside the industrial estate - ignore it).