Zielony Jar parkrun, Krakow

On the second parkrunday of August, I went off my usual beaten path and visited Zielony Jar parkrun in Krakow, Poland for the first time. And what a wonderful experience it was, combining a visit to beautiful Krakow with this great event and my second Z for the parkrun alphabet.

It was not an obvious visit. I had planned to be in Italy for a few days, but wanted to take in a new parkrun country before. And what better opportunity that combining my second Z with an event in Poland, a very active parkrun country I had not parkrun in yet? Flying from London to Milan via Krakow might not exactly be the most efficient way to do it, but I am glad I did, because this is definitely an event worth visiting. And a city worth several visits. And I had already run Milano Nord parkrun twice, after all. Nice to be back parkrunning internationally too, after my relatively recent trip to Munich for Westpark parkrun.

Zielony Jar is my second Z, after Zuiderpark in Den Hague, an event I visited before I started this site. Shame I have not been able to document that one, but at least I have one Z now. And I think I have one of the most popular Z options… and rightly so. Krakow is wonderful and the team at Zielony Jar parkrun go out of their way to make sure the trip is memorable for the many tourists that flock to their park every weekend.

There are 3 other events in or near Krakow, so plenty of options for repeat visits. Or maybe worth venturing out to discover another Polish city. I don’t know what I will do in the future, but one thing I know for sure. I had been in Poland on business several times in the past, including in Krakow, but this visit made me experience a different side of the country. And I thoroughly enjoyed it. I will be back for more Polish parkrun events. No doubt about it!

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

Trip to Zielony Jar parkrun and parking

If you are reading this post in English on a London-focused parkrun website, chances are you are not living in Poland. If you are, welcome and hope you enjoy my adventures. But if you are coming from abroad, the first step is obviously getting to Krakow. The local airport is very well served from European and Middle Eastern destinations and if you are coming from London you will have a lot of choices. From direct flights with BA to direct low cost carriers or connections via Germany with Lufthansa. I picked the direct BA flight that got me into town around 8pm, with some time for a nice dinner in Krakow old town.

Then if you are making a (long) weekend out of your parkrun trip, you will need to pick an hotel. Again, a lot of options for all budgets. However, I would recommend one in or near the old town, to make the most of the time you have at your disposal. Zielony Jar parkrun will be easy to reach in the morning. I stayed at the Holiday Inn Krakow City Centre. Decent chain hotel just outside the old town, gaining in location what it lacks in character. The price was fairly reasonable as well for a full service hotel and check out is at 12 noon. Which is one of the main conditions for me when I do parkrun abroad.

Zielony Jar parkrun is just outside Krakow ring road. The official event site offers very detailed help to reach the event. It’s in Polish, but most browsers offer automatic translation to English, so you should be ok getting it in a language you can understand. The most convenient public transport option seems to be a tram, but there are also bus routes available and listed on the website.

I booked an Uber, that took about 20 minutes from the city centre and cost less than 10 pounds (each way). If you come by Uber (or Bolt), set Zielony Jar as destination and use the 5K get me there option to find the start once you arrive near the park. Likely, you will be left less than 100m away from the parkrun meeting point but some apartment buildings will block your view of the park.

After the event I also ordered an Uber. There were no available drivers nearby, but someone picked my request up from the centre and drove over: bear in mind this could happen if in a hurry, because it will take them at least 15/20 minutes to reach you. And then you will need another 20/25 minutes to get back to your hotel in the city centre.

Zielony Jar parkrun: start and briefings

Zielony Jar parkrun has a reputation for being very welcoming and putting up a very entertaining pre-event performance. And indeed, bar the Zumba warm-up that did not take place when I visited, it definitely delivered.

The meeting point is by a stage with a concrete amphitheatre in front of it, with plenty of space to sit and wait and, conversely, a very clear focal point for the local team to gather and deliver their messages.

Here you will find there are more tourists than locals most week, so the New Joiners Briefing is merged with the Main Briefing, or at least this was the case on the day of my visit. The briefing is delivered in Polish, with translation provided every few sentences by a brilliant young lad, after his RD uncle covered things in Polish. They were also very thorough calling out locations tourists hailed from and many milestones. One milestone takes its own place on the stage though: people who will finish their first alphabet. Those are called for a special picture with a flag, definitely a nice touch.

Once the briefings are done, it is time to line up on the path between the stage and the seating steps and wait for the countdown. A scenic, energising countdown. Everything here helped building up momentum for the run, it was fun. And it was clear the local team enjoy welcoming many new people every week.

Then the countdown came, loud and clear. 3,2,1.

Go!

Zielony Jar parkrun, Krakow course review – star ratings

Zielony Jar parkrun, Krakow course review – route highlights

There were 52 parkrunners on the day I visited. This seems to be bang in line with average attendance levels for Zielony Jar parkrun, at least during warmer months. Attendance fluctuates from 40 to 75, depending on the week, but always keeping to healthy levels. In winter you can see it go down to 20 some weeks, while some lucky parkrundays seem to get into the 90s, with even one even 100 in early November 2024. The course can handle this attendance level very well, even as a 4-lapper. Paths are reasonably wide and there are only a few tight turns. Also the out and back section never felt too busy. I am sure you could have more than 100 parkrunners here and still have a very enjoyable event.

There are a lot of turns in this course, including a 180-degrees turnaround point around a cone. However, most turns just keep the run interesting, rather than making it trickier. One of the tightest ones is immediately after the start, where you have to turn hard right on a downhill gradient. It’s not a problem, but just be aware you will have to slow down a bit since the field will still be very packed. Another tight turn is at the end of the high ground straight, again tighter than 90 degrees and just before a downhill starts. Kind of fun and definitely not problematic. It is a fun course, enjoy it and there will not be anything to be concerned about.

Surface-wise, it is nearly all good tarmac, with the exception of the first few metres on gravel. I run in road shoes and had zero problems, but I run it in August. I guess if it has been raining a lot, some section could become quite slippery. I doubt you will ever feel the absolute need to use trail shoes here, but maybe in winter take into account a bit more traction can be beneficial. In summer? You can even sport your carbon plated racers, if you want to.

Elevation-wise, 90m elevation gain would put Zielony Jar parkrun along some of the tough courses in the UK. It is a good elevation gain and the RD mentioned this is the second hardest parkrun in Poland. However, this is spread over 4 laps, so each incline is not terrible in itself, but they do build the pain up as you repeat them over and over and over and over again. There are 2 main inclines in the loop section, one after the retail arcade and one after a short straight soon thereafter. They are both short, with the first one being fairly mild in gradient and the second one a bit steeper. Then, after 4 laps, do you remember the start was downhill. Yes, this is the last gift from course designer, a short uphill to reach the finish funnel. Kind of evil, but by that point, you will see the funnel so that should be enough to get you home. Interesting how my previous international parkrun at Westpark Munich also had an uphill finish. Sadism prevails. 🙂

In terms of course design, it is pretty simple. A short segment you only do at the beginning and the end gets you into a park loop. The loop includes an out and back segment towards the end and then you turn right back towards the start again. Do this all 4 times and then turn back towards the funnel to reach the finish line.

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

Once it is time to start, everyone lines up in front of the stage heading towards the park. As the countdown ends, go straight for a few metres and then start angling slightly while the path takes a downhill slope. At the end, take a hard right corner and you are in the park loop, under beautiful green and red mature trees. The first segment is relatively straight, passing by a concrete building and a park bench. At the end, take a 90 degrees turn left for another slightly downhill segment leading towards the retail huts.

At the bottom, turn 90-degrees left again and run in front of a few wooden huts holding retail outlets and immediately after you passed by them, turn 90-degrees left again. Here you will be met by a short uphill: it’s not terribly steep and it goes virtually unnoticed. During the first lap, at least. On top, turn right this time and start a straight segment that is mostly flat or slightly downhill. Here you are running through the middle of the park, with beautiful trees on both sides and more of an open, airy aspect. At the end of this segment, turn left and immediately right again to enter another short straight segment on a wider path.

Not much time to enjoy the wider path though: soon you will have to take another 90-degrees turn right and climb the steepest hill of this course. Not long, but definitely a good incline. On top, turn left again and go slightly downhill for about 100/150 metres, until you are in the open with less trees around. Here, take a tight turn left and go down a short but fun downhill slope. At the bottom, turn right again and keep going straight. You will soon start meeting people coming back in the opposite direction, because this is the beginning (or the end) of the two-way flow section.

Keep going straight before turning right and climbing another short hill, and at the top take a light left turn to go down towards the end of this path, by some basketball fields. At the end, turn 180-degrees around a cone and go back to the beginning of the out and back segment. This time, turn right and soon afterwards turn left. Keep running 50 metres or so and you will reach the point where you had originally entered the loop after the start. The team will be here to encourage and cheer very enthusiastically!

Do this all 3 more times, then at the end of the fourth lap, turn right when you meet the path coming down from the amphitheatre. Go up for a short while and the finish line will be there waiting for you.

Congratulations on completing Zielony Jar parkrun!

Facilities at Zielony Jar parkrun, Krakow

Zielony Jar parkrun is set in a well tended, tidy and beautiful park with a nice children play area and great paths. But there aren’t many other facilities in it.

Public toilets are visible from the meeting point, just up hill to the side of the children play area. I did not go check them out, but the team warns on their facebook page that coins are needed to access them. Since I am pretty much living a cashless life these days, that would have been a bit of an issue for me, had I now known about it in advance.

The official event site mentions a pub/cafe about 600m away from the start: I did not go check it out so I cannot comment and say if it is nice or not. They also mention an ice cream stand at the nearby shopping area within the park. I suppose it is the collection of wooden huts that you will run by 4 times. If so, I don’t think the ice cream one was open on the day of my visit. Not a bit deal, plenty of great options for parkbreafast back in the centre. I ended up stopping by a Cafe Nero in front of my hotel.

Zielony Jar parkrun, Krakow: 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

Zielony Jar parkrun is a staple event for international parkrunners: it offers a rare Z, it is in beautiful Krakow and it is hosted by an incredible team of volunteers. The course is also quite fun, I did really enjoy it and it being 4 laps was not a drawback at all. Seeing people coming and going all the time is actually quite fun.

It is definitely worth a visit, go see it for yourself and let me know you liked it as much as I did!

Finally, obviously, dziekuje Zielony Jar parkrun team for your hospitality!