Which London parkrun you should sign up for to beat the crowds

Turning away from the treadmill, this year has seen the rise and resurgence of outdoor running trends with couch to 5k and parkrun seeing many new recruits, and running clubs being used by some Londoners as the new dating apps.

Making its debut in London’s own Bushy Park back in 2004, parkrun started with only 13 runners and has grown into an internationally recognised event, with over 2,300 locations in 22 countries, and a community of over nine million parkrunners to date.

In London alone, searches for local parkruns have risen by 89% over the past year, with these weekly events becoming a popular way to get in an outdoor workout for both running newbies and professional runners alike.

However, as parkruns have grown in popularity so have their crowds, which could be an off putting factor for those taking part in the event or planning a run in the area.

Luckily for Londoners there are many parkruns to choose from around the city to avoid crowds, with 64 different event locations from zone 1 to zone 9, which are all accessible by tube.

But which London parkruns have the highest turnout and which are better for those looking for a more quiet experience?

At UNTIL, our researchers have created a parkrun popularity index, examining user running data from parkrun UK and the Strava app to reveal the most popular 5k parkruns in London from zone 1 to zone 6, and where you can go to avoid the crowds.

The parkrun popularity index ranks each parkrun from 0 to 100, with 100 being the most popular among runners and therefore the least desirable for those looking for a quiet 5k, and vice versa.

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The 10 busiest parkruns in London

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In the southwest borough of Epsom and Ewell, Nonsuch Parkrun has emerged as the busiest parkrun in London, with a popularity score of 100. Reflected by its ranking, the park had the highest turnout to date for the official weekly event at 278,000 attendees overall, and was also the most visited by runners overall on Strava, at over 27,500.

Banstead Woods parkrun in Reigate and Banstead, on the outer edge of South London, comes in second place with a popularity score of 51.87.The official event has brought over 136,000 runners to the park since its inception, further recorded by over 15,500 runners on Strava.

Following close behind is the third most crowded London parkrun in Croydon. Lloyd parkrun has a popularity score of 40.48.

Bedfont Lakes parkrun, Raphael parkrun and Riddlesdown parkrun make up the top five favourite locations among London runners for their weekly 5k, with popularity scores of 40.48, 38.25 and 34.44 respectively.

Surprisingly, Bushy Park ranked further down the list as the 15th busiest parkrun location in London, despite being the place where it all began.

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The 10 lowest attendance parkruns in London

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Southall parkrun has emerged as the best parkrun in London for avoiding a crowd, with a popularity score of 0 out of 100 and the least number of people to have attempted the official run or Strava route.

Lordship Recreation Ground parkrun in Haringey, North London, is the second best choice for anyone looking to avoid a crowd with a popularity score of 1.07.

In the West London borough of Hounslow, Hanworth parkrun ranks as the third quietest parkrun and could be a good alternative to Bedfont Lakes parkrun in the same borough, which ranks as the fifth worst parkrun for a crowd despite being only a 30 minute tube ride away.

Pymmes park in the northern borough of Enfield, and Wormwood Scrubs park in the western borough of Hammersmith and Fulham make up the top five quietest locations for a parkrun in London, and the best choice for anyone planning to take part in the weekly event.

In southeast London, Charlton Parkrun, Catford Parkrun and Sutcliffe Parkrun are the best choices for a crowd free 5k, taking sixth, ninth and tenth place respectively.

The research shows all ten of the busiest parkruns as being further out in zone 6 to zone 8, possibly due to these areas being more densely populated areas to reside among runners.

Also, despite the crowds of central London being an inconvenience experienced by many, the parkruns closer to Central London from zone 2 to zone 4 seem to be less busy on average.

As the sun comes out and more Londoners flock to parks around the city, runners, joggers and walkers alike would benefit from knowing which areas will be dominated by parkrun crowds on a Saturday morning, and where they can go to avoid a crowd.

While these parkrun locations are dotted all around greater London, travelling a bit further out your borough to a less busy park may be worth it for a better running experience or day out.

On less sunny days, those who want to supplement their running activity with a more structured session, personal training space to rent can help both PT’s, running coaches and runners alike achieve goals on a flexible basis.

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Methodology

For this study, researchers at UNTIL examined user running data on parkrun UK and Strava for 64 parkrun routes in London, from zone 1 to zone 9, to reveal the number of people who had attempted each route.

Once the data had been collected, an index score (from 0 to 100) was given to each parkrun in each data set for parkrun UK and Strava, based on the popularity of each route on that platform; those with a higher index score were the most popular or busy, and vice versa.

Following this, an average figure was found by combining the two separate index scores given to each parkrun on each platform, creating an average popularity index score across the two platforms of parkrun UK and Strava.

Data correct as of March 2024.