Farfalle parkrun

On the last parkrunday of 2025 I visited Farfalle parkrun in Padova, Italy, for the first time. This new foreign adventure comes after a few weeks without major discoveries, with the exception of the new London event, Greenwich Peninsula parkrun, a few weeks ago.

I happened to be in Italy over Christmas. Not close enough to an event to join the Christmas Day specials, but I could definitely not miss to opportunities in a row to discover a new event. A couple of years ago I had visited Milano Nord parkrun for their last pre-Christmas event. I could go there again or I could drive a little bit further and discover a new venue. The little bit further was actually 3 hours drive, but it was definitely worth it!

Farfalle parkrun comes after three other Italian events I had visited in 2024 besides Milan: Mura di Lucca parkrun, Salento parkrun and Roma Pineto parkrun. All of them, highly recommended: there is something special about Italian parkruns that make them definitely feel different. I really enjoyed them all for different reasons and I would love to keep exploring them all and, eventually, complete them. Unless, as we hope, the number of events keep growing. I have family in Turin, so I would definitely welcome some events popping up in the Italian North West.

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

Trip to Farfalle parkrun and parking

Farfalle parkrun takes place inside Parco delle Farfalle, in Padova. Padova is in North Western Italy, along the major motorway going from Milan to Venice, not far from the latter. The park is in the Northern suburbs of the small town, not far from the city centre, but also very convenient to reach if you are coming by car.

If you are flying for quick touch and go, the most convenient airport is probably Venice Airport. From the UK at least, there are frequent flights going there, both low cost airlines and BA. From the airport, there are shuttle buses going to Padova, or you can either hop on a local train or rent a car.

If arriving in Padova by train, according to the official event site, Padova Central Station is about 2km from the event. I guess that means you could walk over in 20/25 minutes or you could hop onto bus n. 22 and hop off at La Corte Shopping Centre.

If you are driving, obviously do use a GPS, but the venue is very convenient to reach, just minutes off major motorways. As you approach it, there will be a small car park very close to the venue, but it was not obvious to me. However, a couple hundred metres afterwards, we saw the large free car park dedicated to the nearby shopping centre. Once you leave your car there, just walk back a couple of minutes and you will reach the main gate into the park.

Farfalle parkrun: start and briefings

As you enter the park, cross a little bridge and head towards a small children play area. After the swings, there is a wooden hut, which will be the backdrop for Farfalle parkrun meeting point. If you have to wait a bit, after the building there is an area hosting bunnies, chickens and ponies.

As 9am approach, a bell called everyone around towards the meeting point. First Timers and Main Briefing merged into one, with the RD welcoming all tourists and local participants. Special mention for a gentleman coming all the way from Sydney and a lady from Texas. Hope you enjoyed the event!

After the briefing, everybody walks to the start line, probably around 200m away. Once there, it is time for the group pic most Italian events seem to enjoy taking. And that’s taken straight on the start line, so don’t be taken by surprise, the countdown will start immediately!

Finally, it comes: it is the countdown. 3, 2, 1.

Time to go!

Farfalle parkrun course review – star ratings

Farfalle parkrun course review – route highlights

There were 28 parkrunners on the day of my visit to Farfalle parkrun. Looking at their historical attendance levels, this seems to be roughly in line with historical averages. Weekly numbers are quite volatile, from low 20s to a peak of 56 in November. There is a bit of seasonality, with good weather events hovering around high 30s and winter events in the 20s, but always in this healthy range. Having a 4 laps course, even with low numbers, you never feel alone. It’s a fun event and it works well with this field size. Could it support higher numbers? Sure, maybe around 100, but I think the overall experience would be affected if it became too busy.

It could be a decently fast course, especially on a dry day. There are 3 little bridges and several sharp turns, so it will never be a destination for PB chasers, but besides that, there are no terrible issues or bottlenecks. There are also a few spots with particularly exposed tree-roots, but the team goes overboard signalling them with little flags. All in all, try not to fall and you will be fine. It’s an enjoyable route.

Surface-wise, it is essentially a flat trail run. Roots, leaves, mud and some remaining cement walkways as a memory of paving in days past. I warmly recommend trail shoes. I ran in road shoes and could get by, but it was a pain in certain areas. Roots are not much of an issue, but mud and leaves can be, so I would have loved a bit more grip.

Elevation-wise, at 28m elevation gain over 4 laps, this is a flat course. The chart below seems to suggest a different story, but while on it, you don’t really feel major changes in elevation. There is a bit of a positive gradient in the segment approaching the open fields, when leaving the finish funnel behind. But it is light and short. Conversely, I never felt I was benefiting from a downhill. Enjoy your run and try not to slip on leaves or mud, climbs won’t be a concern here.

In terms of course design, it is more original that you would think. The start is about 200m away from the turning point where you start a new lap or head to the finish. When you get there, up North through open fields, then a wiggly segment in a little forest, back down to the funnel area, to loop around a riding area and some tennis courts before doing it all again. 4 times.

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

Immediately after the group picture is taken, the countdown starts. Then everybody can benefit from a wide start on grass by the side of some tennis courts. Past the courts, cut through a small meadows heading for a tiny wooden bridge over a stream. Get past that and run along a wide curve on tarmac, leading to another little bridge. Pass it and you reach the crossing point. Head left 4 times to start each laps and go straight at the end to reach the finish funnel.

As you turn left, a short slightly uphill under trees before exiting towards open fields. Here you will run on good hard path, again following a wide curve left first and then slightly downhill towards the edge of the park. At the end, turn 90 degrees right and head again towards a little forest. As you enter it, you will start a slightly muddier segment with a lot of twist and turns. First a short segment heading South, then 90-degrees left for another short segment before turning 90 degrees left again. Here you follow a small ditch for 30/40 metres before turning right, crossing it and then 90-degrees right again. Continue going another 30/40 metres before turning left again.

The twisty bit is not over, with a couple of longer segments under the trees before entering a longer straight on decent surface again. Here you will follow the same ditch again, heading towards the finish funnel area. Once you reach the end of this straight, turn right and left and cross the field in front of the children play area and the cafe. Then turn right and run again under the trees, passing by an enclosed area where kids were riding ponies. This is probably the muddiest part of the course.

Eventually, turn right and climb a little bit towards the tennis courts where the lap had started. Turn right after the courts and you have reached the original start line. Follow the same route that led you to the crossing point and head left there 3 more times.

Once you get there the 5th time, keep going straight. The finish funnel will be less than 20 metres away.

Congratulations on completing Farfalle parkrun!

Facilities at Farfalle parkrun

The wooden hut by the start is a cafe. However, when I visited it did not open before or after the event: not sure if it is seasonal and it only opens in summer or if it was just closed before of winter holidays. Volunteers and locals, however, were extremely welcoming and shared some drinks and sweets with everyone.

If you want a little bit more, there is a small cafe at the back of the (mediocre) shopping centre. There are also toilets there, again at the back of the building, not far from the cafe.

Farfalle 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 Farfalle parkrun, a beautiful event I don’t often hear being recommended by hard core parkrun tourists. Well, it should be. It is fun, the course is interesting and the team is very friendly and welcoming. And Padova is a beautiful city that is well worth a day or two to explore it, even to the detriment of Venice, the Dolomites or Lake Garda. Wherever you might be when you decide to drive here.

Finally, obviously, thank you, Farfalle parkrun team for your hospitality!