Cranleigh parkrun

For the first parkrunday in March, I left London and visited Cranleigh parkrun for the first time. This comes after cheating on parkrun last week and running the Runthrough Hyde Park 5K instead on parkrunday. I know, shame on me, but I wanted to try such a central route. It is probably the greatest parkrun that will never be, after all. Moreover, an excursion out of London was overdue. After all, two weeks ago I had finally reached LonDone status after running Valentines parkrun. 65 events out of 65 in the capital ticked off, 7 still not covered by this site.

When thinking about my next destination during the week, I knew I wanted to go somewhere out of London, but not where to yet. I used the great filter functions on the 5K app and noticed Cranleigh parkrun was due for a prime event number that I didn’t have yet. Ticking off an event number on a secondary parkrun challenge is a as good a reason as any to pick an event, isn’t it? On top of that, I am also on my way to becoming Surrey regionnaire, with only 2 events left after my visit to Cranleigh parkrun, so it was an easy decision.

As I usually do, I browsed a few posts and videos about Cranleigh parkrun to see what would expect me. And some of the recent event pictures on their website scared me: the event can definitely turn into a mud bath. I didn’t particularly enjoy the mud at Walthamstow parkrun a few weeks ago, but I know mud in the Home Counties can be a whole other thing. I will never forget the quicksands I waded through at Woking parkrun last year!

However, the week had not been terribly rainy. Or so I thought, even though I had spent a few days abroad on business, so no idea what I based it on: the last couple of days, maybe. I decided to try my luck, how would it go? Kind of meh – not as bad as pictures from recent weeks showed, slightly helped by sub-0 temperatures, but still very muddy in two sections. Including a fall when getting through one of them to cover myself in mud! 🙂

Anyway, enough with my rumblings. It’s time to dive into some more info about Cranleigh parkrun!

Trip to Cranleigh parkrun and parking

Cranleigh parkrun takes plance in Knowle Park, in Cranleigh, starting by the park car park. Cranleigh is a village in the Borough of Waverley, in Surrey, not far from Guilford. The park is relatively new, it was opened only in 2023 and it shows. It is tidy, well landscaped and organised.

While there is no train station in Cranleigh anymore, nearby Guilford is obviously extremely well connected via road and rail. According to the official event site, if you want to go by public transport, the closest station is indeed Guilford. This is served by South Western and offers frequent connections to London Waterloo, Gatwick or the coast (Havant). Stagecoach buses are then available from Guilford or Horsham.

If going by car, Guilford is extremely well served by the A3 and, hence, also the M25. Bear in mind as of 2024/2025 the A3/M25 junction is being completely redeveloped so during rush hour it can get extremely congested. Once in Guilford, you will have about 10 minutes more on the road to reach Cranleigh and then turn right towards Knowle Park. Be mindful that the postcode will point to a spot slightly further out than the car park. As you approach the park, you will need to turn left before the turn Waze is pointed to. However, a handy parkrun banner is there to help. Trust it, turn and you will be in the right car park.

The car park is sizeable and cheap. Payment is possible via the RingGo app. The team suggests to be here by 8:30 to avoid the car park being full if it’s a high attendance day. I was there at around 8:20 and it was still mostly empty.

Cranleigh parkrun: start and briefings

If you are in the car park, you will not be able to see any obvious features, but you are not far from the meeting point. Follow the flow of people to the exit from the car park opposite the way you came in, or by the beautiful children play area. You will then be on a well tended path: follow it for about 50 metres until you reach some small wood structures. Turn right there and discover that’s the cafe. After less than 10m you will reach a clearing by the lake and that’s Cranleigh parkrun meeting point.

Once it is time, the First Timers briefing happens in the middle of this clearing. The volunteer who gave it on the day I visited was very friendly and welcoming and the course description honestly focused on two things: mud and ‘the hill’. Apparently the mud situation was much less challenging than usual, but still annoying. And the hill… well, as he said, no way to describe it positively, it is there and it is painful.

Shortly afterwards, the Main Briefing happens in an unusual set up. One where everyone can actually see and hear the RD delivering it, which is great. Funnily enough, during the Main Briefing the RD mentioned how running conditions on the course today were great, because the mud was frozen. Spoken too soon, the sun was coming out! When it is time to get going, everybody walks back past the cafe hut to the path you had arrived from, where the start line is.

Then, I heard the RD start the countdown. 3, 2, 1, go!. The party had begun.

Cranleigh parkrun course review – star ratings

Cranleigh parkrun course review – route highlights

There were 117 parkrunners on the day of my visit to Cranleigh parkrun. Looking at historical attendance, Cranleigh parkrun started as a relatively small event with fields of around 60 participants before the Covid break, after it came back it graduated to consistent attendance levels above 100. It seems 130-150 is usually what you can expect here. The end of October and beginning of November 2024 saw a short lived foray above 200. At average attendance levels, the event definitely does not feel busy, so I have no doubts it can be enjoyable above 200. Most paths are wide enough for large numbers..

There are no bottlenecks or obvious choke points around the course. The only spot that I would traditionally warn about is when you pass by the car park, where there is a small gate. It is wide and easy to see, so definitely not an issue. What you need to be careful about here is mud. On one of the flat muddy straights, it just slows you down a bit. However, the downhill from the hill of doom is also quite muddy. And since it is steep, it is also quite slippery if not firm under foot. That’s where i spectacularly landed on my ass. Fun. Just be careful and you will be ok. Probably.

Surface-wise, technically it is a mix of hard paths and grass. The approach to the hill and climb are on grass while the rest is on paths. However, not only the grass section tend to get muddy, also a section of the paths are, apparently, not the best at draining. So mud can be found on both sides of the course. Trail shoes are probably recommended here most parkrundays, unless we are going through a protracted dry period, which is kind of unusual in the UK.

Elevation-wise, 44m elevation gain over 2 laps should be an indication of a flattish event, am I right? And the event is very flat, with one exception, evil hill. That sadistic, cruel bump is where all elevation at this event will be. It is relatively steep and not too long, so you should be able to survive it if you know what’s coming. The downhill is also quite steep and it can be quite muddy, so pay attention while on it.

Course layout is not easy to describe, but I will try simplifying it. Roughly, you will be running 3 parallel out and back paths along the lake and the car park. Then the last straight will extend towards the end of the park and enter the ‘old park’. Here, cross a field, climb the hill and come back to do it all again.

A quick Relive route plot is on my YouTube Channel, with longer video highlights embedded below.

Once it is time to go, everyone is already lined up by the cafe huts. You are on a path a few metres ‘in-land’ from the little lake and you face towards the lake. The count down was loud and clear and the start line was not congested. As things get going, you enjoy an easy start on good surface. It is a flat straight line past the volunteers and then on a short straight with low vegetation on both side. Soon, it will be time for a wide 180-degrees gentle turn that did not feel busy even during the first lap.

After the turn, it is time to double back in the opposite direction, this time right by the lake. You will probably be more in the mindset to enjoy the view during the second lap, but while small, the lake here looks good. Keep going, pass another small clearing and then turn 90-degrees left when you reach the end of the lake. Now a short segment by the meeting point, pass the clearing where the briefing were held and turn 90 degrees right soon after that. Time to start another short straight that will get you to the car park, through some bollards and then by the car park until you reach the toilet block on the side opposite to the one facing the car park. Until now, you have been able to run on good, firm surface.

Time for another 180-degrees now, leading you onto a longer straight that will go back up to the opposite side of the lake. And here the fun begins. Immediately after the turn, terrain becomes much less firm and, on the way I visited, it was essentially all mud until the next turn. The first lap was slightly better then the second: while temperatures had been below zero overnight, a strange, foreign yellow orb had shown up in the sky a few minutes earlier and apparently that strange thing produces heat. Tawing was faster than most people expected and nice, frozen soil was quickly turning into mush.

This is the longest straight so far, because it brings you back to the other end of the lake, so it combines the last two segments in length. And the mud is pretty much relentless, with very few areas without it. It was not quicksands and there were not many lake-sized puddles, probably because it was just unfreezing. But it is enough to make running harder and, unless it’s your thing, unpleasant. I was wearing road shoes and risked slipping a few times. Ended up walking a big chunk of this segment.

Once you reach the end of this ordeal, unless you were lost in the quicksands for tourists to find you in May, another 90-degrees turn left gets you back onto a better surface. And back running towards the point where you took the first turn in this quirky course. It is a short straight segment that leads to a little bridge. Once you pass the bridge you are at the intersection point mentioned above and have to turn 90-degrees again, right this time.

Now you are on another straight segment on good surface, this time heading away from the lake. It will be probably 2/300m before you have to take another 90-degrees left turn and keep running on similar surface towards a line of trees that separates the new part of the park from the domains of Evil Hill. Once you reach those trees, a little S-segment gets you on grass. A gentle elevation starts here, but it is barely noticeable. Crossing the hill requires a little climb and then a little downhill will bring you to the next turn. It is grass here and it was slightly muddy, but nothing comparable to the previous segment, so you can still run pretty easily. Look to your left for nice views on the beautiful hill that you will seen hate.

When you get to the end of this field crossing, time to turn 90-degrees left and you see her: Evil Hill. 20m of elevation in probably less than 100m of distance. So yeah, it is not fun. And I can swear I heard her laughing like a cartoon villain in the background. It was not my podcast, I am sure, it was Evil Hill. Surface is, thankfully, not bad here, so at least there is that.

Once you reach the top, 30/40 metres straight before turning left again and start the descent. This is short and steep so I suppose it could be a lot of fun when it is not muddy. Unfortunately, on the day of my visit it was muddy. And slippery. And I fell, obviously, on the second lap. Anyway, survive it and turn right at the bottom to join another dry, nice path that keeps going slightly downhill for a short while. The path will take a wide, gentle turn left and feed you back on the first path, where the meeting point was. Turn 90-degrees left and start the second lap. Now you know what’s waiting for you!

Towards the end of the second lap, after you roll down the hill, get on the gently turning path again. Roughly half way through it, meet the volunteers standing at a fork and turn 90-degrees left. On a field crossing again. However, differently from the field leading you to the hill, this is muddy. A lot again. And since course designers are usually not friendly people, instead of crossing directly to the finish funnel, the made an L-shape here. Cross this field parallel to the funnel all the way, then turn sharp right again to cross it along the perpendicular again heading towards the funnel. This portion is less muddy, thankfully.

Congratulations on completing Cranleigh parkrun!

Facilities at Crystal Palace parkrun

The area around the lake is the ‘new’ park and facilities are great. It is not a huge area, but it makes the most of what is available, with plenty of benches, water features and a couple of little wooden bridges. The children play area is particularly impressive, better than most others I’ve seen at parkrun locations.

The clean and modern toilet block is by the entrance of the car park. It is not massive but it is open before the event.

As far as parkbreakfast, the little wooden block by the start line is where most parkrunners will go. It offers a decent spread of pastries, cold drinks and coffees. Service is friendly and there are several wooden tables to enjoy the outdoors is weather allows.

As a competitor to the McDonald’s index, I am continuing to collect data for the parkbreakfast index: how much is breakfast at each location?

At Cranleigh parkrun, I ordered a pain of chocolat, a diet coke e and a single espresso. This cost me £8.05. Pretty pricey for a small hut cafe and considering the pastry did not taste fresh.

Cranleigh parkrun: Video Highlights

As usual, I’ve taken a few video snippets during the run to give an idea of the course. If you like it, please subscribe, it’s a fun past time for me 🙂

The other parkrun videos on my YouTube channel are all linked on the course review and video highlights summary page.

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Achievements and performance

Conclusions

Cranleigh parkrun is a great event in a nice location with a quirky course designers and a very friendly group of volunteers. It is challenging, but rewarding, with nice views and fun challenges. I would love to come back, but definitely during spring or summer, if I can catch a dry spell. And hopefully, once when I have regained some fitness and can end with a better time.

Finally, obviously, thank you, Cranleigh parkrun team for your hospitality! See you soon, hopefully.