Search  •  FAQ  •  Other events  •  Return to parkrun home

The Course

The course is 5000m (5K) long. This has been accurately measured by us with a professional measuring wheel. The course is in Wythenshawe Park and run on a mixture of tarmac, trail and grass, 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 Wythenshawe 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 Wythenshawe 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 Wythenshawe parkrun in a larger map

Getting There

Location of Start

Outside main hall, in front of Oliver Cromwell statue.

Getting There by Public Transport

Bus 101 from Princess Parkway: (heading from City Centre)
Bus 179 along Altrincham Road (from Stockport direction)
Bus 370 from Didsbury along Wythenshawe Road, or from Altrincham Interchange along Wythenshawe Road

Bus stops are located nearby on Princess Parkway, Wythenshawe Road and Altrincham Road.

Getting There on Foot

The park is a short walk from the centre of Northenden, following Palatine Road (B5167) until it turns into Wythenshawe Road. The park can also be accessed from the Altrincham Road (A560) side.

Getting There by Road

The park is close to the Princess Parkway (A5103), as well as the M56 Sharston junction (Junction 1). It is also close to Junction 5 of the M60.

Course Description

The course starts outside the Hall, sets off towards the Wythenshawe Road then going off road completing a small loop which brings the runners passed the Oliver Cromwell statue.

Once back on the paths the runners follow the path around to the football pitches. On the football pitches the runners follow the stream as far as the bridge, crossing the bridge and then following the stream back the direction the runners came but on the other side.

The end of this section of trail brings the runners out near the car park. The runners go towards Wythenshawe Road, passing the farm and then cutting through the wooded area before the team rooms, this brings the runners out in front of the Oliver Cromwell Statue.

The runners then follow the path back towards the football pitches to complete a second lap. Once the runners arrive at the statue on the second lap, they turn left and finish where they started.

See also the course map above.

Post Run Coffee

Please join us for a post run coffee at the Courtyard Tea Room within the park.