There are currently 8 parkrun events in present-day Bedfordshire. The first was Bedford which started on June 11th 2011 and the newest is Jubilee, Bedford which started on June 21st 2025. The name for having completed all parkrun events in the county is “Made the Beds”.

I first completed the county on August 24th 2019 at Bedford.

Note that the address for Rushmere parkrun is in Bedfordshire, but the whole of the parkrun course is in Buckinghamshire, so I have listed it there.

Numbers exclude any events that are not open to the general public such as prisons or armed forces facilities.

A map of the parkrun events in the county of Bedfordshire.

All of the Bedfordshire parkrun events …

Below are each of the Bedfordshire 5k parkrun events in alphabetical order. A few things to note:

The interactive maps below take you to the approximate location for the course, typically the centre of the park. See the course instructions in the parkrun page for each event for specific directions to the start.
Course maps and elevation profiles show the route at the time that I ran it and may have changed since then. See the Course page in the event’s page on parkrun.org.uk for the current course outline. Note that course outlines are from Garmin data during a specific run and may vary from the officially measured distance.
Please contact me if you spot an event that doesn’t have a course map and elevation profile and you would like to donate one from your own run. I’m also interested in maps and elevation profiles for courses that have changed or where there’s a regular alternative route (e.g. Horsham). I’ll need a GPX file from your run plus the date. I’ll include a credit for you and will donate £1 to parkrun.

Bedford

I completed this event on: August 24th 2019 with a finish time of: 26:06
Historic County: Bedfordshire
Ceremonial County: Bedfordshire
Other routes touched (walk): John Bunyan Trail
Inaugural: June 11th 2011
Links: Event Home Page, Course Page, blog7t write-up

Dunstable Downs

I completed this event on: May 18th 2019 with a finish time of: 28:35
Historic County: Bedfordshire
Ceremonial County: Bedfordshire
Other routes touched (walk): Icknield Way, Chiltern Way
Other routes touched (cycle): Icknield Way Trail
This event is also part of Chilterns parkrun
Inaugural: February 23rd 2019
Links: Event Home Page, Course Page, blog7t write-up

Great Denham

I completed this event on: July 27th 2019 with a finish time of: 25:50
Historic County: Bedfordshire
Ceremonial County: Bedfordshire
Other routes touched (walk): Ouse Valley Way
Inaugural: February 17th 2018
Links: Event Home Page, Course Page, blog7t write-up

Henlow Bridge Lakes

I completed this event on: November 6th 2021 with a finish time of: 26:47
Historic County: Bedfordshire
Ceremonial County: Bedfordshire
Other routes touched (walk): Hicca Way, Kingfisher Way
Other routes touched (cycle): None but NCN 12 runs past the entrance.
Inaugural: September 18th 2021
Links: Event Home Page, Course Page, blog7t write-up

Houghton Hall

I completed this event on: New Year’s Day 2018 with a finish time of: 27:02
Historic County: Bedfordshire
Ceremonial County: Bedfordshire
Other routes touched (cycle): NCN 6
This event is also part of Chilterns parkrun
Inaugural: December 23rd 2017
Links: Event Home Page, Course Page, blog7t write-up

Jubilee, Bedford

I completed this event on: January 3rd 2026 with a finish time of: 27:47
Historic County: Bedfordshire
Ceremonial County: Bedfordshire
Other routes touched (walk): John Bunyan Trail
Inaugural: June 21st 2025
Links: Event Home Page, Course Page

Luton Wardown

I completed this event on: April 15th 2017 with a finish time of: 26:51
Historic County: Bedfordshire
Ceremonial County: Bedfordshire
Other routes touched (walk): Lee Valley Trail
Other routes touched (cycle): N/A, but the western edge of the course runs close to and parallel with NCN 6
This event is also part of Chilterns parkrun
Inaugural: April 18th 2015
Links: Event Home Page, Course Page, blog7t write-up