Going ahead this Saturday
No cancellation listed for Saturday 31 October.
Parkrun
Reading parkrun
A free, fun, and friendly weekly 5k community event. Walk, jog, run, volunteer or spectate – it's up to you! Nearby Sunday 2k junior parkrun events for 4 to 14 year olds and their families can be found here.
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United Kingdom
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England
- 5 kilometres
- Thames Riverside, Reading
Meeting point: 51.46038, -0.94157. The interactive map loads with JavaScript. Open the same point in OpenStreetMap.
Coordinates 51.46038, -0.94157.
The course
Course description
The Reading parkrun route takes in a long opening and home straight along the Thames Towpath from its start adjacent to Wokingham Canoe Club. It consists thereafter of 2 laps around a well maintained gravel footpath around the nature reserve, across the meadows and the towpath again, ultimately taking a final left turn and a sprint to the end!!! Its very flat, on varying surfaces and regular road running shoes should certainly suffice in most weathers.
Please note: We sometimes have to alter the course depending on the conditions under foot, but the route will always be clearly sign posted.
On the course
The course is 5k long. The course is in Thames Valley Park, Reading. The course is run on a mixture of gravel 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
Please note, there are no on-site toilets. The nearest toilets are in Costa Coffee Drive Thru, Suttons Business Park, RG6 1AZ.
More details
Public transport
Either of the buses to Woodley (13 or 14) will get you onto the A4.
Coming from Reading town centre, get off at the first stop after you have gone under the A329(M).
If coming from Woodley, then get off at the bottom of Shepherds Hill at Shepherds House Lane. It is then a short walk to TVP.
Please check timetables with Reading Buses website here.
On foot
From Reading train station, you can take a walk or jog alongside the River Thames heading east towards Sonning. This is a lovely walk taking 40 minutes on average.
By road
If driving, head for RG6 1PQ.
Free parking is permitted along Thames Valley Park Drive. Please park sensibly and leave room for others. Pay & display parking is also available at Thames Valley Park Park & Ride and David Lloyd Health Centre at £1.00 per hour via Ringo or at the machines in the car park.
Do not park in the Wokingham Waterside Centre car park, this is reserved for their customers' use.
Coffee
Every week we grab a post-parkrun coffee: Tutu's Ethiopian Table in Palmer Park . Please come and join us!
We're friendly
Every week we grab a post parkrun coffee at Tutu's Ethiopian Table in Palmer Park - please come and join us!
Course safety
Reading 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.
- 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.
- 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 Reading 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 reading@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
- 727
- Events
- 27,664
- Finishers
- 185,753
- Finishes
- 1,500
- Volunteers
- 27,839
- Personal bests
- 1,461
- Groups
- 00:28:15
- Average finish time
Nearby parkruns
- Woodley parkrun Woodford Park · 2.7 km
- Woodley junior parkrun Woodford Park · 2.7 km
- Prospect parkrun Prospect Park · 4.8 km
- Prospect junior parkrun Prospect juniors · 4.8 km
- Dinton Pastures parkrun Dinton Pastures Country Park · 4.8 km
- Green Park parkrun Green Park · 4.9 km
- Dinton Pastures junior parkrun Dinton Pastures Country Park · 5.1 km
- Henley-on-Thames parkrun Henley-on-Thames · 8.1 km
Challenges this parkrun helps with
- Alphabeteer Challenge Starts with R
- Pirates! Starts with R (needed for Pirates!)
- UK Postcode Areas Postcode area RG
- Periodic Table Matches symbols: Ru, Re, Rn, Ra, Rg
Parkrun Planner
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Plan your weekends
Bushy parkrun
High quality prints
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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.
Check out our awardsPark5K is not affiliated with parkrun. - last updated 26 October 2026