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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 Cutteslowe and Sunnymead Park, and run on a mixture of grass, paths and tarmac. 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 Oxford 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 Oxford 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 Oxford parkrun in a larger map

Getting There

Car Parking

We recommend that you use the Oxford University Press sports pavilion car park at Jordan Hill - this isn't quite visible on the map above - if you drag the map to reveal more of the top left corner, you'll see the P sign. You can also visit Google Maps direct to see a larger version of the map, showing everything in a bit more detail.

Location of Start

The start is in the northern end of the park (OX2 8NP) and finishes in the southern end (OX2 7XD).

Getting There by Public Transport

There are regular bus services to the park, run by the Oxford Bus Company (routes 2, 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, 7D) and Stagecoach (17, 17A and 17C).

Getting There on Foot

There are 2 main entrances into the park - one at there northern end off Harbord Road (OX2 8NP) and one off the A40 (OX2 7XD).

Getting There by Road

parkrunners can use the Oxford University Press sports pavilion car park at Jordan Hill (OX2 8EF) - this about a 1km jog to the park and is available free until 11am for parkrunners. There is high demand for parking within the park itself, so we strongly encourage use of this.

There are two car parks for Cutteslowe and Sunnymead park. One is at the north end of the park on Harbord Road, but is heavily used, so spaces will be limited and this is best avoided. The other is at the south end of the park, off the A40 (heading towards Headington). These are pay and display (50p for 1hr or £1 for 3 hours).

Please show respect for local residents by not parking in local roads.

Course Description

Scenic run around this beautiful North Oxford park: Starting in the northwestern corner, near the main park entrance, we begin with a short lap around the grass, before heading south along the footpath to the southern end of the park; passing left across the grass to join a track; continue around the parameter of the park turning left at the end onto a narrow path through a wooded area; continue around the edge of the field (joining the peace mile), then bearing left onto a path that turns into a road. Repeat for another lap and a bit with the finish on the grass in the southwestern corner of the park, cose to the car park off the A40.

Post Run Coffee

Please join us for a post run coffee each week at Summertown Wine Cafe, South Parade, Oxford. Drag the map above slightly to the South West to see the location (coffee cup icon).