LonDone events stats

This is a companion page to my main LonDone page, to provide more granular LonDone stats.

I have collected a lot of information while visiting all 65 London parkrun events. This page shows a collection of raw data on London parkrun events to help you choose which event you could visit next. Are you in London for a weekend and want to visit an interesting local events? You certainly want to know if it is very hilly, fast or if it is going to offer free mud baths? You can find it here.

Or maybe you are tackling the whole journey to LonDone, London parkrun regionnaire and want to plan which events to visit in dry or wet weather and which ones to keep for memorable milestones? This helps you with that too. I am not offering fancy planner or mapping tools, but raw data you can then use as you prefer.

LonDone stats: Information on London parkruns

LonDone stats on elevation and mud risk. Which shoes should I wear for a specific London parkrun? Will a specific London parkrun be hilly or a flat event that could give you a PB? Elevation and surface make a big difference to your parkrun experience and you want to know what you will find before heading off!

Elevation gain (m) is a relatively objective metric: it is the elevation gain given to me by my Garmin after running the course. There might be minor differences due to GPS, but it is fairly objective. Other changes might be due to course changes, for example I’ve run Mile End before they stopped running the canal-side segments, but these should also be fairly minor.

Elevation profile, however, is more subjectives. This is how a course felt to me on the day. At each extreme, it is more consistent: a 100m elevation gain course will feel hilly, no matter what. However, as you go more towards the centre of the series, there is more variability. At consistent elevation gain, a course with more laps will feel less painful. A muddy cross country course might feel more undulating than one with perfect tarmac. The centre of the series is subjective: let me know if you have had very different experiences.

Surface and mud risk are fairly objective, shoes are not. You might decide to run any course in road shoes, but if you try to do that at Wimbledon Common or Roundshaw Downs after a wet week in winter, you will probably fall and be swallowed by quicksands. Could be a fun experience, I guess. Or a course like Lloyd will probably give a better experience with trail shoes in any weather.

PB potential is again, fairly subjective. In general, good surface, flat courses without meaningful elevation changes should qualify, but in London, you might have congestion issues. Fulham Palace could be a great candidate, but it is way too busy, and sometimes windy. Battersea wins, even if it is very busy itself, but my heart still is at Burgess parkrun, where my own PB is.