Going ahead this Sunday
No cancellation listed for Sunday 1 November.
- Also cancelled Sunday 8 November: Venue unavailable
Junior parkrun
Dartford junior parkrun
A free, fun, and friendly weekly 2k event for juniors (4 to 14 year olds). Nearby Saturday parkrun events can be found here.
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United Kingdom
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England
- 2 kilometres
- Central Park
Meeting point: 51.44107, 0.21907. The interactive map loads with JavaScript. Open the same point in OpenStreetMap.
Coordinates 51.44107, 0.21907.
The course
Course description
The 2km course consists of 2 anticlockwise laps with most of it on tarmac paths. From the start line, participants head towards the Ellenor Lions Bridge, the skatepark and the cafe before turning right at the bandstand. The route follows the path around the bandstand before looping back towards the café. There is then a right turn onto a gravel path before participants head straight ahead on the path towards the athletics track car park. Next to the toilets, the route turns left onto grass and heads for the start. The second lap follows the same route until the finish funnel.
On the course
The course is in Central Park, Dartford. The course is 2000m (2K) long. This has been accurately measured by us with a professional measuring wheel. The course is run on a mixture of tarmac paths and grass. Some sections of the course may accumulate mud, leaves and puddles after rain. Marshals will be located along the course.
The course will be marshalled so that juniors will be in sight of a marshal at all times.
Please remember that the parkrun uses shared paths. Please give way to other park users. This won't slow you down and will help ensure the overall success of 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 may be limited so try to arrive early.
Facilities
Refreshments are available from the Central Park Athletics clubhouse. There is also a cafe in the park, which opens from 10am. Toilets can be found in the clubhouse and near the Cranford Road entrance to the park.
More details
Public transport
Train: The nearest main line train station is Dartford - please visit the National Rail website for timetables. Dartford junior parkun is approximately 15 minutes’ walk from the station, through the town centre.
Bus: Many local Fastrack bus routes stop at Home Gardens, which is a 10-minute walk to the start. Check the Fastrack website for timetables. A few buses (96, 428 and 492) are run on behalf of Transport for London. For timetables visit the Transport for London website.
On foot
There are entrances into Central Park on Market Street, Cranford Road and Darenth Road. Central Park can also be accessed from Princes Road and the Princes Tunnel.
By road
Acacia Car Park in Dartford town centre is a convenient place to park for Central Park. It is just over a 5-minute walk to the start. The postcode is DA1 1DJ. Car parking is free on a Sunday.
Coffee
Every week we grab a post-parkrun coffee: Central Park Athletics clubhouse. Please come and join us!
We're friendly
Every week we grab a post parkrun coffee at Central Park Athletics clubhouse - please come and join us!
junior parkrun rules and guidelines
Dartford junior parkrun is a fun, free event organised by volunteers for the benefit of everyone. To make the event as safe as possible, participants, spectators and volunteers are asked to take note of the following rules and guidelines:
- Whilst parkrun fully accepts its duty of care and will do everything it can to minimise risk of injury and harm to all participants whilst at parkrun events, it is parent/guardians who ultimately have responsibility for the welfare of their children.
- It is not mandatory for a parent/guardian to participate in junior parkruns, but children under the age of 11 must be accompanied to/from the event by a responsible adult, and the responsible adult must remain in attendance for the duration of the event.
- junior events are open and inclusive. Disabled people may participate wherever it is safe for them to do so. The event team can provide disabled participants with course information in order that the participant (or their parent/guardian) can make an informed decision about their safe participation.
- Whilst more competitive children can use junior parkruns to test themselves against their own time, and against others, participation should ultimately be for fun, and we urge all parents/guardians/volunteers not to put children under undue pressure to perform.
- junior parkruns are running, jogging and walking events, and the use of children’s scooters, balance bikes, trikes or cycles is prohibited.
- Slower runners are encouraged to seed themselves, by starting towards the back of the group especially if an adult is accompanying them.
- junior parkruns are timed events. Only those aged between 4 to 14 years old completing the course themselves will be given a result.
- Exceptions to this rule are subject to the discretion of parkrun head office. Examples include those over 14 with special educational needs (SEN) or those with a registered disability, for whom social interaction and physical activity may be difficult but important.
- A strict ‘no barcode no result’ policy will be enforced.
- Buggies are allowed, subject to course conditions, but only if the adult pushing the buggy is accompanying a junior parkrunner. Adults with buggies are urged to position themselves appropriately for the safety and enjoyment of all.
- With the exception of assistance dogs, dogs are not allowed to accompany walkers, joggers, runners or volunteers at junior parkrun events.
- Take care on uneven surfaces – whether on grass or on tarmac. Watch out for cyclists, other participants, pedestrians, children, dogs, wildlife, park animals, vehicles, park maintenance work, falling branches, bollards, posts and other obstacles around the course.
- Spectators should keep clear of participants on the course and keep control of any children and dogs.
- Participants should take care near roads and car parks, congregate away from the cars and be careful if driving to/from the event.
- Photography or filming is likely to take place at junior parkrun events. Please see our photos page for more details.
- Lyme Disease is a bacterial infection spread to humans by infected ticks. Consider protecting yourself by wearing repellent when at parkrun events in grassy or wooded areas. See lymediseaseuk.com for further details.
Please consider helping the event by volunteering - this event survives only because of your generosity. Please visit the volunteer page for more information.
Volunteering
All parkrun events are organised by volunteers - email dartfordjuniors@parkrun.com to help.
Safeguarding
parkrun is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and adults at risk. For our full safeguarding processes and policies please see our Safeguarding Hub.
To report a safeguarding concern please email safeguarding@parkrun.com.
Event stats
- 442
- Events
- 2,363
- Finishers
- 20,025
- Finishes
- 648
- Volunteers
- 4,097
- Personal bests
- 43
- Groups
- 00:13:07
- Average finish time
Nearby parkruns
- Dartford parkrun Central Park · 0.2 km
- Dartford Heath parkrun Heath Lane · 2.1 km
- Swanley parkrun Swanley Park · 5.1 km
- Swanscombe Heritage Park junior parkrun Swanscombe Heritage Park juniors · 5.7 km
- Foots Cray Meadows parkrun Foots Cray Meadows · 5.9 km
- Whitecliffe Lake parkrun Whitecliffe Lake · 6.0 km
- Bexley parkrun Danson Park, Bexley · 7.5 km
- Lesnes Abbey Woods junior parkrun Lesnes Abbey Woods Park · 8.3 km
Challenges this parkrun helps with
- Alphabeteer Challenge Starts with D
Park5K is not affiliated with parkrun. - last updated 26 October 2026
Bushy parkrun