Have you ever looked back through your parkrun results, or perhaps tried to look up an old event you ran years ago, only to find the name has completely vanished? You are not going into a parallel universe: it turns out quite a few UK events have quietly rebranded over the years.
In fact, the biggest name change in the movement's history applies to the very first events! When founder Paul Sinton-Hewitt launched the original 5k back in October 2004, it was called the Bushy Park Time Trial (BPTT). As the movement slowly expanded to other locations like Wimbledon Common, Richmond, Banstead Woods, and Leeds, they were collectively known as "UK Time Trials." It wasn't until mid-2008 that the entire organization officially rebranded as "parkrun" to appeal to a wider, non-traditional running community. So, technically, all of those original "Time Trial" events were the very first parkrun name changers. Here is the full list of those early pioneers and the names they eventually adopted:
Albert Park Time Trial ➔ Albert parkrun, Middlesbrough
Banstead Woods Time Trial ➔ Banstead Woods parkrun
Bramhall Park Time Trial ➔ Bramhall parkrun
Brighton & Hove Time Trial ➔ Brighton & Hove parkrun
Bushy Park Time Trial ➔ Bushy parkrun
Cardiff Time Trial ➔ Cardiff parkrun
Hyde Park Time Trial ➔ Leeds parkrun ➔ Woodhouse Moor parkrun
North Hampshire Time Trial ➔ Basingstoke parkrun
Richmond Park Time Trial ➔ Richmond parkrun
Wimbledon Common Time Trial ➔ Wimbledon Common parkrun
It is an interesting little quirk of parkrun history. When you first hear about a local event, it is naturally referred to by the town or city it is in. But as the movement has grown, so too has the need for specificity.
parkrun HQ actually has a fairly strict naming policy: events are supposed to be named after the smallest identifiable geographical area where the event takes place. Think a specific park, trail, or open space rather than the name of the nearest town. This usually becomes an issue when a town gets large enough to host a second event.
A great example is Swindon parkrun. It ran under that name for nearly a decade, but when a second event (Seven Fields parkrun) popped up on the other side of town in 2019, organisers needed to adopt a more specific location-based name to avoid confusion. So, Swindon parkrun officially became Lydiard parkrun, named after the country park where it is held.
In other cases, it is just about accuracy. Take Ludlow parkrun, which rebranded to Mortimer Forest parkrun in August 2026. The venue was never actually in the town of Ludlow itself, and the new name does a much better job of reflecting the beautiful, hilly woodland trails where the event actually takes place.
If you are a bit of a stats geek like me and worry about your parkrun profile, don't panic. When an event changes its name, all previous results, personal bests, and volunteer credits are retroactively updated on the system. Your history remains completely intact; it just gets a new name.
It is worth noting that there can be a fine line between a parkrun that has simply changed its name and one that has been permanently cancelled and replaced by a new event with a different name. The key difference lies in the event history: a true "Name Changer", like the ones on this list, keeps the same course and continues the same event number count on their Results page. On the other hand, a new event that replaces a permanently cancelled one starts its count all over again at Event number 1. An example of this is Storeys Field parkrun. When it was permanently cancelled, it was replaced nearby by Brook Leys parkrun. Even though it is run by the same core team and located close by, Brook Leys is officially a brand new event, so its event count started back at 1.
Let me know in the Comments or contact me if you have any additional information or corrections to the information here. I’m also looking for images of the parkrun banners with the old name and the new name. I’ll donate £1 to parkrun for each contribution and will list you as a Contributor to this page.
Black icons represent the original Time Trial events that changed to parkrun events. Orange icons represent post-Time Trial name changers.
Avery Hill
Original Name: Greenwich parkrun
Date of Name Change: March 2025
Reason for Name Change: The original name was frequently confusing for tourists and visitors, as the course is located in Avery Hill Park in Eltham, not the famous Greenwich Park.
Region: London
Historic County: Kent
Present Day County: Greater London
Links: Avery Hill parkrun
Endcliffe
Original Name: Sheffield Hallam parkrun
Date of Name Change: July 2020
Reason for Name Change: A necessary change to the route to exclude a pavement section on Rustlings Road for safety reasons. This evolution into a fully park-based route prompted a rebrand.
Region: Yorkshire and the Humber
Historic County: West Riding of Yorkshire
Present Day County: South Yorkshire
Links: Endcliffe parkrun
Ferry Meadows
Original Name: Peterborough
Date of Name Change: December 2019
Reason for Name Change: To reflect the specific area and community rather than the generic city as a whole, especially due to multiple parkruns existing in the Peterborough area.
Region: East of England
Historic County: Northamptonshire
Present Day County: Cambridgeshire
Links: Ferry Meadows parkrun
Great Notley
Original Name: Braintree parkrun
Date of Name Change: June 2014
Reason for Name Change: The event was initially planned and referred to as Braintree parkrun during its setup phase, but was renamed to Great Notley prior to its inaugural event to adhere to parkrun's rule of naming events after the park itself.
Region: East of England
Historic County: Essex
Present Day County: Essex
Links: Great Notley parkrun
Greenham Common, Newbury
Original Name: Newbury parkrun
Date of Name Change: September 2025
Reason for Name Change: To better reflect its location and to differentiate it from the recently established Victoria Park parkrun, which is also located in Newbury.
Region: South East England
Historic County: Berkshire
Present Day County: Berkshire
Leybourne Lakes
Original Name: Malling
Date of Name Change: October 2024
Reason for Name Change: To avoid confusion with Malling Rec parkrun in Lewes (which started in summer 2024), and to logically reflect its actual location in Leybourne Lakes Country Park, since "Malling" is a borough and not a specific town.
Region: South East England
Historic County: Kent
Present Day County: Kent
Links: Leybourne Lakes parkrun
Lydiard
Original Name: Swindon parkrun
Date of Name Change: Late 2019
Reason for Name Change: A second parkrun (Seven Fields) launched on the other side of Swindon, so the original event adopted a more specific location-based name to avoid confusion.
Region: South West England
Historic County: Wiltshire
Present Day County: Wiltshire
Links: Lydiard parkrun
Maidstone River Park
Original Name: Maidstone
Date of Name Change: March 2024
Reason for Name Change: To better reflect the route and align with parkrun policy of using the smallest identifiable location, particularly since Mote Park parkrun had also opened in Maidstone.
Region: South East England
Historic County: Kent
Present Day County: Kent
Links: Maidstone River Park
Markeaton
Original Name: Darley Abbey parkrun
Date of Name Change: March 2016
Reason for Name Change: The event relocated to a different site (Markeaton Park) following its last run at Darley Abbey in January 2016, carrying over its event number count to the new location.
Region: East Midlands
Historic County: Derbyshire
Present Day County: Derbyshire
Links: Markeaton parkrun
Monsal Trail
Original Name: Bakewell parkrun
Date of Name Change: November 2021
Reason for Name Change: The event retired its old route and moved to a new, safer course on the Monsal Trail.
Region: East Midlands
Historic County: Derbyshire
Present Day County: Derbyshire
Links: Monsal Trail parkrun
Mortimer Forest
Original Name: Ludlow parkrun
Date of Name Change: August 2026
Reason for Name Change: The venue was never actually in or near the town of Ludlow (it is roughly three miles away). Organisers felt the new name better reflected the trails and scenery where the event is held.
Region: West Midlands
Historic County: Herefordshire
Present Day County: Herefordshire
Links: Mortimer Forest parkrun
Photo by: Mark Brace
Nostell
Original Name: Nostell Priory
Date of Name Change: Circa 2018
Reason for Name Change: The name was shortened to align with parkrun's naming conventions, referencing the wider Nostell village and estate rather than specifically the Priory building.
Region: Yorkshire and the Humber
Historic County: West Riding of Yorkshire
Present Day County: West Yorkshire
Links: Nostell parkrun
Pollok, Glasgow
Original Name: Glasgow
Date of Name Change: June 2014
Reason for Name Change: The first parkrun in Scotland was originally just known as Glasgow. However, due to the growth of parkrun and the addition of three other events within the city, it was renamed to Pollok to reflect its specific location in Pollok Country Park.
Region: Scotland
Historic County: Lanarkshire
Present Day County: Glasgow City
Links: Pollok parkrun, Glasgow
Sandall Park
Original Name: Doncaster parkrun
Date of Name Change: Circa 2022
Reason for Name Change: To align with parkrun HQ's naming policy, which stipulates events should be named after the smallest identifiable geographical area (the park) rather than the town.
Region: Yorkshire and the Humber
Historic County: West Riding of Yorkshire
Present Day County: South Yorkshire
Links: Sandall Park parkrun
Silksworth
Original Name: Sunderland
Date of Name Change: Circa 2018
Reason for Name Change: To more accurately reflect the specific location of the course within the Silksworth Sports Complex, particularly as other parkrun events began to populate the wider Sunderland area.
Region: North East England
Historic County: County Durham
Present Day County: Tyne and Wear
Links: Silksworth parkrun
Town Moor
Original Name: Newcastle parkrun
Date of Name Change: July 2021
Reason for Name Change: Changed when the event restarted after the COVID-19 pause. Several other parkruns had launched in Newcastle, requiring a more specific location name, which was accompanied by a route change.
Region: North East England
Historic County: Northumberland
Present Day County: Tyne and Wear
Links: Town Moor parkrun
Woodhouse Moor
Original Name: Leeds parkrun (and originally Hyde Park Time Trial)
Date of Name Change: February 2015
Reason for Name Change: To reflect the fact that there were now four separate parkruns operating within the city of Leeds.
Region: Yorkshire and the Humber
Historic County: West Riding of Yorkshire
Present Day County: West Yorkshire
Links: Woodhouse Moor parkrun
Contributors
The great people of the parkrun Tourism community who provided input to this page. Photo credits are listed above in the relevant event section.
Mark Brace,
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parkruns are free, weekly, community 5k events all around the world. I started in December 2012 and have been obsessive about it ever since. See my parkrun Collection page for details.
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