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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 Greenham Common, and run on 95% hardpack trail, 5% tarmac. Note that some sections of the course may 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 Newbury 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). Health advice about running can be found at the excellent Runners' Medical Resource website.
  • 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 Newbury 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 Newbury parkrun in a larger map

Course Description

The Newbury parkrun is a simple, single lap course and will be fully marked all the way round. The start is located just through the gate from the car park at Venture West. Runners head east along the hardpack gravelled path for 800m, and then take a left turn which crosses the main old runway (approximately 100m of tarmac). Runners will then be directed to take a right turn along the hardpack gravelled path to the north of the main runway. Follow this path for around 1.25km and take the right fork, following the path round until you find yourself on the return straight back towards the business park (approximately 3kms). Follow the straight all the way to the finish.


Toilets are available for parkrunners from 8am at New Horizon House towards the entrance to the park. These will be signposted. As they are approximately one kilometre from the start of the run, we advise you use this facility as you are driving into the park and then continue on to the race car park afterwards. Please note that runners must not relieve themselves on Greenham Common – this will lead to Newbury parkrun’s use of the Common being jeopardised.

Getting There

Location of Start

The start is located just through the entrance to Greenham Common at the north-western corner of the Greenham Business Park next to the Venture West building (RG19 6HN). The common is accessed through a gate at the back of the car park, with the start area approximately 50m through the gate. Please ensure that you shut this gate when you have used it as Greenham Common is home to grazing cattle.


Getting There by Public Transport

The nearest rail stations are Newbury and Thatcham. The Basingstoke Link bus from Newbury Bus Station in Market Square leaves from Bay B at 07:40 and 08:40, arriving at Basingstoke 07:52 and 08:52 respectively. If you arrive at 07:52, the Coffee Exchange would be pleased to welcome you and keep you warm until the start of the parkrun.


Getting There on Foot

You can access the common by foot or by bicycle from any of the Common's entrances. Anyone travelling from Newbury or Thatcham may prefer to access from the north side, including via the "Control Tower" entrance. You can cycle across Greenham Common to the start area next to the business park. Alternatively, use the entrances to the Greenham Business Park on the south side of the common.


Getting There by Road

Access via the Greenham Business Park from the A339. There is a large car park located at the Venture West Building (RG19 6HN). However, we would prefer it if you could use the large car park at New Greenham Arts (opposite the Coffee Exchange). Car parking will be signposted from the entrance of the park.

Post Run Coffee

Please join us for a post run coffee at The Coffee Exchange on Greenham Common, which has kindly agreed to open especially for parkrunners. The fare offered by the cafe is all homemade, and served in a very friendly environment. We want to encourage as many of you as possible to join us post-run - the chance to socialise in the coffee shop is an essential park of the parkrun experience in our view!.