Roding Valley parkrun

This parkrunday I ventured very far within the M25 to visit Roding Valley parkrun for the first time. My home event being Wimbledon Common parkrun, this must be the furthest event I had left, while still sticking within the confines of the LonDone area. But I wanted to tick it off before the rainy season is fully on us, considering how much open grassland is present at this event.

This comes after my second visit to Avery Hill parkrun, another London event and one of the last few events I needed to record one my short videos at.

I went to Roding Valley parkrun unusually unprepared. I knew very little about the event and the surrounding area, so I was keen to discover the soul of this parkrun on the go.

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

Trip to Roding Valley parkrun and parking

The event takes place at Roding Valley Recreation Ground, in Loughton. Still within the M25, we are in the NE quadrant of the orbital, at the edges of London and Essex. Also, we are very well positioned to explore massive Epping forest after the event, if interested.

According to the official event site, the closest station is Loughton Underground station. It is on the Central Line, so not the most modern trains and a long way from central London, but extremely well connected to the TFL network and easy to reach for most people, given enough time. The station is about 10 minutes walk from the entrance to the park and Roding Valley parkrun meeting point is not far away from it.

If you are driving, target postcode IG10 3BS. Roding Valley Recs is not far from major road networks, so if you are coming from outside London you might have an easier way reaching it compared to coming from the wrong side of town. Once you get close, turn into Roding Road and drive to the very end. Here you will find gates leading into two small car parks. Both are just at the edges of the park and free. They are not huge, but attendance at this event does not reach overwhelming numbers, so if you get here by 8:40 you should not have major issues finding a convenient spot.

Roding Valle parkrun: start and briefings

From the car park, just walk into the park and keep going at the edge of the meadows heading towards a fenced sport area. Get past it and turn right immediately after you pass it: you will see Roding Valley parkrun meeting point about 100m away.

The meeting point is on open terrain, at the end of large meadows. It was nice when I visited since it was a dry day, but I guess it could be fun if it is raining a lot.

The First Timers Briefing is held not far from the pop-up sign and it covers all the basics plus a brief description of a fairly simple route. Tourists and first timers were made to feel very welcome, as often is the case.

Not a long wait before the main briefing starts and all usual topics are covered. This is not a very busy event, so things remain fairly intimate and, I am sure, familiar for the nice local team at Roding Valley parkrun.

Afterwards, it is time to walk to the start line. Yes, strangely, the meeting point is in the middle of the meadows, but the start line is roughly where you came from. At the corner of the fenced sports area about 100m away. Not a long walk and a good chance to start thinking where you want to start on the wide start line on grass.

Then, I heard the RD start the countdown. ‘3, 2, 1, go!’. It was time to go.

Roding Valley parkrun course review – star ratings

Roding Valley parkrun course review – route highlights

There were 141 parkrunners on the day of my visit to Roding Valley parkrun. A solid turn out, but not big enough to make it feel crowded. Opposite actually, for London standards this is probably a small local event with a vibrant home community. It also seems to be bang in line with long term averages for this event. Looking at their website, attendance seems to oscillate between 120 and 180, with few exceptions. Those show a few events below 100 and a recent peak at 194. A nice change from the big crowds at most London events.

With a moderate running field, a wide start line on grass and a lot of segments on very open meadows, this is unlikely to ever be an event feeling congested. There are, however, a couple of isolated choke points. A crossing between the two main fields through a small opening through an hedge and a little, charming wooden bridge over a stream.

Surface-wise, Roding Valley parkrun is a mixed terrain event. I would guess about 2/3 of it are run on grass, with the remainder on hard paths. The grass sections were on solid terrain and short cut grass which was a pleasure to run on when I visited. But I visited on a a dry early autumn parkrunday: I don’t doubt things would be very different during the winter or after a week of rain. I ran in road shoes and had no problems, but I suspect trail shoes will be a big help.

Elevation-wise, at 8m elevation gain over 2 laps, this is definitely, unquestionably flat. I don’t think I’ve ever really felt any meaningful elevation change on my legs at Roding Valley parkrun. On a dry day, it might even be a PB course if you enjoy running on grass and you have not already secured a PB at Battersea parkrun.

In terms of course layout, it is very simple. 2 laps around the the edges of two wide fields, with the start and finish point located at the middle point separating them.

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

The start is on a wide grassy stretch and from there people get to run towards the edge of the field. You run a straight segment until the corner of the park before turning right for another short straight segment. After that you soon start a less regular segment that will bring you all the way to the opposite side of the Southern field.

This segment starts under partial tree cover and you will continue coasting trees and a little stream for most of the way down. Most of the turns are fairly gentle, with the exception of one mild semi-circle roughly half of the way down. Soon after that you will reach a little wooden bridge and cross the little stream.

The Southern field segment is again mostly on open meadows, until a 90-degrees right turn at the Southernmost point. After that turn, another short straight segment before turning 90-degrees right again to start the way up towards the starting area again.

At the Northern edge of this field, turn right again instead of going straight for a short detour into the field, before turning left and crossing a tree-line that separates the two fields. After turning, cross another grassy area, and turn again left for another enclosed area. Aim for the corner where you see the fenced playing fields, get past it and you will have a final stretch from where the meeting point was to where the start line was.

The first time you get here, fight the temptation to turn towards the finish funnel and start lap 2. The second time, go straight into the funnel. You deserved it.

Congratulations on completing Roding Valley parkrun!

Facilities at Roding Valley parkrun

Roding Valley Recs is a beautiful green space, but besides a few outdoor playing areas, facilities are quite limited.

The official event site says that toilets are available at a rugby club building, but I did not see them. Not that I really looked for them to, or asked a volunteer for help. I’m sure they are somewhere, if you really need them.

There is also no cafe and I did not see any obvious location in the immediate area around the park you could easily walk to.

Roding Valley 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

I enjoyed Roding Valley parkrun, even though I slightly pulled a muscle and walked most of the second lap. It is very far from my base in Wimbledon, so I doubt I will return on purpose, but if I were in the area I would happily run it again.

If you want a back to basics 5K run around beautiful fields, Roding Valley is a very solid option

Finally, obviously, thank you, Roding Valley parkrun team for your hospitality, once again!