There are currently 27 parkrun events in present-day Essex of which I have done 6. The first was Gunpowder which started on October 22nd 2011 and the newest is Thorney Bay Beach which started on May 2nd 2026. Hatfield Forest was also an Essex event but has now closed. The name for having completed all parkrun events in the county is “PIED (parkruns in Essex Done)”.

The Historic County of Essex has a further 9 events. These are now part of Greater London. Completing these is “Completely PIED”. Victoria Dock, which was part of Greater London and within the Historic County of Essex, has been permanently cancelled.

For the absolute completists there’s also the “Completely PIED +” which includes the 12 parkrun events in Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Kent, Suffolk whose Voronoi area extends into Essex.

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

All of the Essex parkrun events …

Below are each of the Essex 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 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.

ARU Writtle

I have not yet completed this event
Inaugural: December 6th 2025
Links: Event Home Page, Course Page

Basildon

I have not yet completed this event
This event is also part of Kent ++
Inaugural: April 5th 2014
Links: Event Home Page, Course Page, blog7t write-up

Billericay

I completed this event on: New Year’s Day 2023 with a finish time of: 26:57
Other routes touched: None
Inaugural: June 24th 2017
Links: Event Home Page, Course Page, blog7t write-up

Brentwood

I completed this event on: November 16th 2019 with a finish time of: 28:53
Other routes touched: None
This event is also part of LonDone ++
Inaugural: December 6th 2014
Links: Event Home Page, Course Page, blog7t write-up

Burnham-on-Crouch

I have not yet completed this event
Inaugural: July 22nd 2014
Links: Event Home Page, Course Page, blog7t write-up

Chalkwell Beach

I have not yet completed this event
This event is also part of Kent ++
Inaugural: February 29th 2020
Links: Event Home Page, Course Page, blog7t write-up

Chelmsford Central

I have not yet completed this event
Inaugural: January 19th 2013
Links: Event Home Page, Course Page, blog7t write-up

Clacton Seafront

I have not yet completed this event
Inaugural: October 15th 2015
Links: Event Home Page, Course Page, blog7t write-up

Colchester Castle

I have not yet completed this event
Inaugural: April 6th 2013
Links: Event Home Page, Course Page, blog7t write-up

Great Dunmow

I have not yet completed this event
Inaugural: April 14th 2018
Links: Event Home Page, Course Page, blog7t write-up

Great Notley

I have not yet completed this event
Inaugural: June 28th 2014
Links: Event Home Page, Course Page, blog7t write-up

Gunpowder

I completed this event on: December 27th 2014 with a finish time of: 25:47
Other routes touched (cycle): NCN 1
This event is also part of LonDone +
Inaugural: October 22nd 2011
Links: Event Home Page, Course Page, blog7t write-up

Hadleigh

I have not yet completed this event
This event is also part of Kent ++
Inaugural: October 22nd 2016
Links: Event Home Page, Course Page, blog7t write-up

Harlow

I completed this event on: Christmas Day 2019 with a finish time of: 26:54
Other routes touched (cycle): NCN 1
Inaugural: November 8th 2014
Links: Event Home Page, Course Page, blog7t write-up

Harwich

I have not yet completed this event
Inaugural: August 1st 2014
Links: Event Home Page, Course Page, blog7t write-up

Hatfield Forest

This parkrun event has been permanently cancelled. I did not complete this event before it was closed.
Inaugural: March 21st 2015. Final event: #131 on September 23rd 2017
Reason for cancellation: The venue couldn't sustain the growing event, mainly due to a lack of all-weather parking, leading to difficult conditions in winter and limited space
Replaced by: Castle Park
Links: Event Home Page

Highwoods

I have not yet completed this event
Inaugural: March 2nd 2019
Links: Event Home Page, Course Page, blog7t write-up

Hockley Woods

I have not yet completed this event
Inaugural: February 2nd 2015
Links: Event Home Page, Course Page, blog7t write-up

Maldon Prom

I have not yet completed this event
Inaugural: August 31st 2013
Links: Event Home Page, Course Page, blog7t write-up

Markshall Estate

I have not yet completed this event
Inaugural: November 13th 2021
Links: Event Home Page, Course Page, blog7t write-up

Mersea Island

I have not yet completed this event
Inaugural: December 17th 2016
Links: Event Home Page, Course Page, blog7t write-up

Roding Valley

I completed this event on: September 22nd 2018 with a finish time of: 27:08
Other routes touched: None
This event is also part of LonDone +
Inaugural: January 14th 2017
Links: Event Home Page, Course Page, blog7t write-up

South Woodham Ferrers

I have not yet completed this event
This event is also part of parkrun Compass Club
Inaugural: March 10th 2018
Links: Event Home Page, Course Page, blog7t write-up

Southend

I have not yet completed this event
This event is also part of parkrun Compass Club
This event is also part of Kent ++
Inaugural: October 13th 2012
Links: Event Home Page, Course Page, blog7t write-up

Thorney Bay Beach

I have not yet completed this event
Inaugural: May 2nd 2036
Links: Event Home Page, Course Page

Thurrock, Orsett Heath

I completed this event on: March 12th 2022 with a finish time of: 25:59
Other routes touched: None
Inaugural: October 10th 2015
Links: Event Home Page, Course Page, blog7t write-up

Walton Promenade

I have not yet completed this event
Inaugural: February 28th 2026
Links: Event Home Page, Course Page

Wickford Memorial

I have not yet completed this event
Inaugural: February 29th 2020
Links: Event Home Page, Course Page, blog7t write-up

PARKRUNS IN HISTORIC COUNTY OF ESSEX BUT NOW IN GREATER LONDON(“COMPLETELY PIED”)

See the LonDone blog post for maps and stats for these:

*Hackney Marshes starts and ends in Historic Essex but most of the course is in Historic Middlesex

COMPLETELY PIED+: The Voronoi overlappers.

Once you’ve completed all of the parkrun events in Historic Essex the icing on the cake is to complete the 12 parkrun events in Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Kent, Suffolk whose Voronoi area extends into Essex. Note that different parkrun apps have slightly different calculations for their Voronoi maps. For this page I’ve used the Voronoi map from the Running Challenges Chrome Extension.

In the images below the light blue polygon is the non-Essex parkrun event whose Voronoi area extends into Essex. The red line is the county border.