Going ahead this Saturday
No cancellation listed for Saturday 31 October.
Parkrun
Grahamstown parkrun
A free, fun, and friendly weekly 5k community event. Walk, jog, run, volunteer or spectate – it's up to you!
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South Africa
-
Eastern Cape
- 5 kilometres
- Makana Botanical Gardens
Meeting point: -33.31470, 26.52067. The interactive map loads with JavaScript. Open the same point in OpenStreetMap.
Coordinates -33.31470, 26.52067.
The course
Course description
The course is made up of 2 laps.
The warm up stretch is about 500m of flat gravel. At the end of this road, you’ll reach a metal gate at the boundary of the gardens - here you will turn right up a small hill. You follow the pathway until you see another arrow pointing you right. This will take you up a fairly steep hill with a beautiful view of Grahamstown from the top. The path often becomes congested here as it is quite narrow and overgrown so please stick left and pass right should you wish to overtake.
As you start to descend from the lookout point there are lots of loose rocks so please be careful. You will run along a nice open flat section before seeing another sign which points you down the big hill where there is a gravel pathway. This can be slippery so rather run on the grass if you’re concerned.
At the bottom of the hill, there will be hazard tape and a sign which says “run around the pond” follow this right arrow around a narrow body of water and you’ll come out just about where you started your run.
As you face down the warm up stretch again, you’ll see a big lamp on your left with a bricked lane, you need to run down this bricked path towards the river where you will cross over the bridge and keep left & keep off the stairs. Follow the bricks until you reach an open grassy section. There is a pole located at the end of this grass section, you’ll need to run a loop around that pole before returning to the bridge. When crossing back over the bridge, keep left to avoid oncoming runners. After the bridge, you’ll see a sign which points left, this is telling you to run across the grass keeping the river on your left hand side.
When you reach the T junction look up at the signs! One points left saying “Lap 2” and the other points right saying “To the finish line”.
If you have completed only 1 lap so far, you need to turn left and repeat Lap 1 again. If you have already completely 2 laps in our beautiful gardens, you’ll need to turn right and give it your all for the last 400m to the finish line.
On the course
The course is 5k long. The course is at Makana Botanical Gardens, Grahamstown. The course is run on a mixture of bricked lanes, trail paths and grass. 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 signs will be 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 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 may be limited so try to arrive early.
Facilities
Toilet facilities are available however these will be locked ? you will need to ask a volunteer for the key. Free parking can be found at The Provost Cafe and below the Gardens at the Eden Grove parking lot.
More details
Public transport
N/A
On foot
Turn into Lucas Avenue off Somerset Street (left if you are coming from PE side or right if coming from town side). Walk up towards the Settlers Monument. Destination will be on your left.
By road
Turn off Somerset Street into Lucas Avenue. If you are coming from town heading towards PE you will turn right into Lucas, if you are coming towards town from Beaufort Street, you will turn left into Lucas Avenue. Destination will be on your left.
Coffee
Every week we grab a post-parkrun coffee: Provost. Please come and join us!
We're friendly
Every week we grab a post parkrun coffee in Provost - please come and join us!
Course safety
Grahamstown parkrun is a fun, free event organised by volunteers for the benefit of everyone. We wish to make the event as safe as possible, so participants, spectators and helpers are asked to take care about the following:
- Please be considerate to the park and other park users at all times.
- Children under the age of eleven must be accompanied (within arm's reach) throughout the event by a parent, guardian or appropriate adult of the parent's choice.
- 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.
- We invite everyone to consider volunteering at parkrun. Your support helps your parkrun events remain sustainable and free for all in your community, and it’s also a wonderful way to improve your own health and happiness. Please visit 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 event, please drive carefully.
- 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.
- Please ensure that you are fit enough to walk, jog, run 5k (3.1 miles) with us.
- If you see someone with a serious problem, please stop to help them out and get help as soon as possible.
- If you’re watching, keep clear of participants on the course, and look after any children and dogs you may have with you.
- It is not permitted to run with a pushchair and a dog at the same time.
- You are welcome to take part with one dog by your side, within reach at all times, on a short, handheld, non-extendable lead. The use of waist harnesses is prohibited. Please also see this Support Site entry for further details about parkrunning with dogs.
- parkrunners pushing buggies are welcome, but please take care of others around you and do your best to start at an appropriate place in the field for your pace.
We hope these tips help to ensure that Grahamstown parkrun is fun and safe for everyone.
Age grading
All parkrun events use Age Grading to help parkrunners compare results.
parkrun events use Age Grading to help parkrunners see progress and compare results.
For more information, please see our Support page.
Volunteering
All parkrun events are organised by volunteers - email grahamstown@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
- 548
- Events
- 6,483
- Finishers
- 58,774
- Finishes
- 565
- Volunteers
- 7,507
- Personal bests
- 184
- Groups
- 00:40:37
- Average finish time
Nearby parkruns
- Port Alfred parkrun Port Alfred · 46 km
- Hogsback parkrun Hogsback · 88 km
- Pirates Sport Club parkrun Pirates Sport Club · 95 km
- Wells Estate parkrun Wells Estate · 99 km
- PE Hobie Beach parkrun Hobie Beach · 109 km
- Kidds Beach parkrun Upper Kidds Beach · 110 km
- St George’s parkrun St George’s · 112 km
- Somerset East parkrun Somerset East Golf Club · 112 km
Challenges this parkrun helps with
- Alphabeteer Challenge Starts with G
- Stayin' Alive Starts with G (needed for Stayin' Alive)
- Periodic Table Matches symbols: Ga
High quality prints
Get your parkrun achievements in stunning detail. Choose from digital downloads to print yourself, or opt for our premium professional printing service featuring high-quality glossy paper with deep, vibrant inks for exceptional color depth and clarity.
Available in both A4 and A3 sizes, perfect for framing and displaying your running accomplishments. Every print is crafted with precision to showcase your milestones, challenges, and legends in the finest quality.
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Park5K is not affiliated with parkrun. - last updated 26 October 2026