Cheltenham parkrun is on for Christmas Day, Friday 25 December, at Pittville Park, but not New Year's Day. Gloucester City and Cirencester run on 1 January.

Cheltenham parkrun will run on Christmas Day, Friday 25 December 2026, but not on New Year’s Day, Friday 1 January 2027. That is the event’s declaration on parkrun’s own Christmas Day and New Year’s Day table, read on 5 November, which shows a tick for Christmas and a cross for New Year. The team confirmed the Christmas run in a post on 15 October: “Cheltenham parkrun will be putting on a Christmas Day event as we know it’s become a Christmas tradition for so many of our runners and volunteers” (Cheltenham parkrun).

Overview

  • Christmas Day, Friday 25 December: on, at Pittville Park. It is free
  • Start time: not published yet. The event normally starts at 9am on a Saturday
  • New Year’s Day, Friday 1 January: Cheltenham is off. Gloucester City and Cirencester have declared
  • The Cheltenham junior parkrun (2k, ages 4 to 14) is off on both days

Christmas Day at Pittville Park

It is the usual free, timed 5k: two laps, run mostly on grass, starting by the boathouse next to Pittville Park lake. The event starts near Tommy Taylors Lane, and the postcode on its course page is GL50 4RN (course page). Register with parkrun once, before your first run, and bring a scannable copy of your barcode, or you will not get a time.

Expect a crowd and a slow start. The team’s report on Christmas Day 2025 describes “a sea of Santa hats”, a first lap that began as “a gentle walk due to the sheer volume of runners”, marshals singing carols, and 42 first-timers (Cheltenham parkrun).

The course page warns that sections can gather mud, leaves and puddles after rain.

New Year’s Day: where to run instead

Distances are the ones Cheltenham’s own event page gives under “other parkruns nearby”. Status is from parkrun’s special events table on 5 November. A blank in that table means the team has not yet declared.

Event Distance from Cheltenham parkrun Christmas Day New Year’s Day
Cheltenham On Off
Tewkesbury 6.3 miles Not declared Not declared
Gloucester North 6.9 miles Not declared Not declared
Gloucester City 7.9 miles Off On
Kingsway, Gloucester 10.4 miles Off Off
Stratford Park, Stroud 12.9 miles Not declared Not declared
Evesham 13.3 miles On Off
Newent 14.2 miles Not declared Not declared
Stonehouse 14.2 miles Off Off
Cirencester 14.3 miles Off On

parkrun says only one result may be recorded on each of these extra days, so you cannot do two events on one morning and have both count.

A tick is a plan, not a guarantee, as events depend on volunteers. Check the table again before you travel.

Getting there

The event asks people to walk, jog, cycle or use public transport where they can, and warns that parking may be limited. Normally the H bus from the station serves the Leisure Centre, and the station is about 1.4 miles away, but no trains run on Christmas Day, and buses are on our Christmas trains and buses page. Our parking in Cheltenham page has the council car parks, and closures are on Cheltenham roadworks and travel.

What to watch for

The start time. Events usually post these on their news pages in December, and we will add Cheltenham’s when it appears, along with any change in the nearby events’ declarations. For a colder start to Christmas morning, see the Cheltenham Lido Christmas Day Swim. The rest of the month is on what’s on in Cheltenham.

Sources