Rickmansworth parkrun

This parkrunday I visited Rickmansworth parkrun for the first time. Or Ricky parkrun, as the RD called it more efficiently. It was a spur of the moment decision. It’s been a while since I did not know where I would end up on parkrun eve, even less since I woke up and changed my mind last minute while drinking my morning coffee. This time, that’s what happened. I thought I would head towards Reading before I went to sleep and I ended up in Hertfordshire. I think my last spur of the moment decision was Broadwater parkrun, a few months ago. Again, an event away from the usual beaten track. And with a lake. I guess I like lakes.

Funnily enough, I was in the area to bring my niece to WB Harry Potter studios (ordeal). I did not think I would come back so soon, but here I was, coming back for Rickmansworth parkrun. Can you imagine which experience I enjoyed most? 🙂

This event also ticked one further box towards completing LonDone+. This journey will be much more casual and occasional than my trip to LonDone. According to the 5K app, there are 80 events in the LonDone+ list and including Rickmansworth parkrun I have visited 71 of them. Some of the missing ones are really far from where I live. But I will get there and I benefit from having visited the latest addition already, Egham Orbit parkrun. That’s a very unusual one, definitely worth a visit.

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

Trip to Rickmansworth parkrun and parking

Rickmansworth parkrun takes place in the Rickmansworth Aquadrome, a large, beautiful public park and nature reserve on the NW edge of the M25, in Hertfordshire. The location makes this venue very convenient to reach from London or the Home Counties, as long as you are happy to deal with the M25 late morning after getting your parkrun fix.

According to the official event site, RIckmansworth parkrun can be reached conveniently also using public transport. While not in London, the London Underground network does get all the way here. Rickmansworth Underground station is served by the Metropolitan line, with trains leaving from Baker Street on parkrunday mornings. National Rail services are also available at Rickmansworth station, which is on Chilterns line connecting London Marylebone and Aylesbury. Both options are roughly at the same location, about 15 minutes walk from Rickmansworth parkrun meeting point.

Unsurprisingly, I went by car, since I live 40 minutes from Marylebone and just a few minutes away from the A3. And the latter, feeds directly onto the M25. Inefficient, because what I think was a 30K trip in a straight line become nearly 70K, but fast and fairly convenient. At least on the way out.

The event is just minutes off J17 of the M25. Once you get off the motorway, you are very close to the Aquadrome, but it will take a few minutes more because there are some frankly odd roundabouts to navigate. Anyway, it won’t be long before you reach the park and can drive to the large, free car park. The team recommends to walk to location, probably because of overcrowding fears. When I got there I did not see any overcrowding, but when leaving the car park was completely full. Understandably, because this park offers so much and it seems to be very popular. Especially with good weather.

The meeting point is only 2 minutes walk away from Rickmansworth parkrun meeting point.

Rickmansworth parkrun: start and briefings

Once you leave the car park, just turn left and you will see people coming together just a couple of minutes in front of you. The meeting point is in front of the cafe and information centre. There is a large(ish) round clearing with the cafe on one side and the toilets on the other. A window for faster cafe orders is on the side of the cafe building and the First Timers briefing takes place next to it.

Toilets were open before the event.

In good time, volunteers call newcomers and tourists for the First Timers briefing. It was a nice and welcoming chat held from a local who clearly loved her home venue. Both this briefing and the next one focused on the route taking 3 laps around the lake and they said this is now the official route. As of May 2025, the official event site still describes a 2 lap route, with a detour by the side of the other lake. This does not seem to be the case anymore

After the First Timers briefing, people remain spread out on the little paved square in front of the cafe. Then the Main Briefing starts suddenly. They use a good loudspeaker, so people don’t really bunch up anywhere, but keep listening to it from where they originally were. Afterwards, everybody starts walking 200m up the tree-lined path opposite the car park to reach the start line. It is wide, but just a bit too narrow to accomodate local numbers without making you lose 20/30 seconds at the start if you start in the middle.

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

Egham Orbit parkrun course review – star ratings

Rickmansworth parkrun course review – route highlights

There were 629 parkrunners on the day of my visit to Rickmansworth parkrun. Not a record, because I see at least one event that broke 700, but definitely a busy day for this event. 600 was exceeded 4 other times in 2025 so far, so not a rare occurrence either. In general, it looks like Rickmansworth parkrun has stabilised above 500/550 this year and it is set to stay at those levels or higher. The only time when I have felt I was running a busy event was at the start. That’s cramped, with some walking and a couple of false starts, leading to 30 seconds or so running before I could really get going. Besides that, it always flew comfortably. There were times when overtaking was not obvious or slightly slower turns, but nothing too problematic. I think this event can sustain peaks above 700, but 6/650 is probably its sweet spot.

The start line requires a bit of patience, but besides that, the course is very pleasant to run. There are a couple of places where the path narrows a bit, but they are well marked. After the start, when things start to get going a bit, bear in mind there are speed bumps on the path every few metres. When you can barely see where to put your feet, they could be an inconvenience. Then, at the end of each lake loop, in short sequence you will cross a narrow bridge and get through some metal poles. Both are easy to see and navigate, just keep in mind they will be there.

Surface-wise, it is virtually all on tarmac, with the exception of 2 metres on wooden planks when you are crossing the little bridge. Tarmac is in good conditions and conducive to a fast run, if you start in front and are in good shape. The only small gripe I would voice is that in some sections the path has a fairly steep curve going down each side from the central spine. If you are not running exactly in the middle, the uneven footing might be very slightly inconvenient.

Elevation-wise, with 10m elevation gain over 3 laps, this is definitely a flat course. At no point I felt I was going through a meaningful change in elevation. While sometimes it was clear there was a bit of a gradient, it was never something that affected my effort significantly.

Course layout is pretty simple to describe, at least the (new?) 3-lap version. A straight out and back connecting the start/finish line with the lake and then 3 laps around a round-ish lake. Nothing more complex than that.

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

Once it is time to start, everyone is tightly packed at the far end of the tree-lined path that hails from the meeting point. The path is not wide enough to avoid a long line, but I’ve seen worse. Fulham Palace parkrun, you are the benchmark to beat for this. I was positioned mid pack, and it took about 20 seconds for my section to start walking timidly, then a couple of false starts and after another 10/15 seconds we started running slowly. I would say another 100 metres before things stabilised into a crowded but manageable run. As said above, pay attention to the little speed bumps. After another 100m or so, you reach the clearing in front fo the cafe, run by it and then take a 90-degrees left turn. This is where you enter the lake look that you will run 3 times.

You first run by an area with volunteers and spectators, then join a short segment that touches another lake, with a big lawn on your right. Soon it will be time for a slight left turn that will feed into the actual lakeside path. It is nicely sided on both sides by mature trees, with fishing platforms every few metres offering unobstructed views on the lake. At the top of the lake, turn right and navigate a narrower passage in front of a lake house before turning right again to go back along the other long side of the lake.

From half way to the end of this segment, you will be running between the lake and the Union Canal, so with water on both sides. It creates a cool visual impact. Towards the end of the segment, watch left to see a beautiful little bridge crossing the Canal through the trees. Nice picture opportunity, if you want. That’s when you have to turn right again for another short side of the lake and soon right again for the bottom portion of the first long side of the lake. Roughly half way, turn left to leave the lake and run a short segment leading you back towards the meeting point. Just before you get there, you cross the little bridge and metal poles I referred to above.

Once you reach back the clearing before the meeting point, turn right for laps 2 and 3. At the end of the third lap, go straight instead and run the initial straight again. At the end of it, you will find the finish funnel where the start line was originally.

Congratulations on completing Rickmansworth parkrun!

Facilities at Rickmansworth parkrun

The Rickmansworth Aquadrome is great. It offers a lot, even if you just want to wander around, use the children playgrounds or sit by one of the lakes. I suspect, fishing and watersports enthusiasts can have a lot of fun. I even saw a speedboat doing rounds pulling someone on water skis. Early May, awesome.

Toilets are available by the meeting point. Not huge, but not crowded either and they are clean.

As far as parkbreakfast, side window in the cafe building offers a good mix of sweet options and some savoury ones. No traiditional sodas available, but a few fancy flavoured waters. Service goes fairly fast.

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 Rickmansworth parkrun, I ordered a cherry muffin, an elderflower drink and a single espresso. This cost me £10.6. Quality was very good, but the price is definitely more than expected. Kind of exploitative, to be honest. Guess that’s what happens when you are the only option and there is a lot of demand.

Rickmansworth 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

Rickmansworth parkrun was a great event. The Aquadrome is gorgeous and it offers not only a lot to do afterwards, but also a beautiful setting for our weekly parkrun fix. It is flat, fast and scenic. I guess the 3 round laps around the lake might become a bit tedious in the long term, but for one or a few visits, it is an exceptional venue.

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