Two Saturdays cancelled at Lodmoor, reason given as course unsafe or blocked. It follows the four busiest consecutive Saturdays in the event's 602-run history.

Weymouth parkrun is cancelled on Saturday 22 August and Saturday 29 August. The reason recorded against both dates on the parkrun UK cancellations list is “course unsafe or blocked”.

The event’s own home page carries the 22 August notice. The 29 August cancellation appears on the national list, which sets out every notified cancellation over the next three weeks. Weymouth is not listed for 5 September, so on the published record the event returns that Saturday.

Around 600 people have turned up on a normal Saturday this summer, so this is a large number of Weymouth mornings changed at short notice.

The four busiest Saturdays it has ever had

The cancellations follow an unprecedented run of turnout. Weymouth parkrun has held 602 events since it started at Lodmoor Country Park in August 2013, and its published event history shows the four Saturdays to 15 August were the busiest four in a row it has ever recorded:

Date Finishers Volunteers
25 July 2026 590 38
1 August 2026 (event 600) 690 43
8 August 2026 550 44
15 August 2026 590 44

Only 14 of the 602 events have ever finished more than 550 people, and four of those 14 are the four above. The event has never before had two in a row, let alone four.

The 690 who finished the 600th event on 1 August is the second-highest turnout in the event’s history. The record is 696, set on 20 April 2019.

2026 is already the busiest year in 13 seasons

The surge is not just an August spike. Averaged across the whole year, 2026 is the heaviest season Weymouth parkrun has had.

Average turnout at Weymouth parkrun by year, 2019 to 2026 Bar chart of the mean number of finishers per event at Weymouth parkrun. 2019: 422 finishers across 52 events. 2020: 416 finishers across 11 events. 2021: 351 finishers across 22 events. 2022: 293 finishers across 54 events. 2023: 330 finishers across 52 events. 2024: 390 finishers across 50 events. 2025: 439 finishers across 51 events. 2026: 493 finishers across 31 events. 2026 is the highest average in the event's history. Weymouth parkrun is having its busiest year in 13 seasons Mean finishers per event, by year. 2020 and 2021 held only 11 and 22 events. 2026 covers 31 events to 15 August. 100 200 300 400 500 422 2019 416 2020 351 2021 293 2022 330 2023 390 2024 439 2025 493 2026 The event is cancelled on 22 and 29 August. The published reason is “course unsafe or blocked”. Source: Weymouth parkrun event history, all 602 events to 15 August 2026, and the parkrun UK cancellations list, both read 21 August 2026. Chart by The Dorset Post.
Chart by The Dorset Post from Weymouth parkrun's published event history.

Across the 31 events held to 15 August, 493 people finished on an average Saturday. That compares with 439 last year, 390 in 2024, 330 in 2023 and 293 in 2022. The previous best full year was 2019, at 422. Every season before that averaged less.

Volunteer numbers have risen too, but not as fast: 44 marshals and helpers covered each of the last two events, against a more typical 33 to 39 earlier in the year. At event 600 that worked out at one volunteer for every 16 finishers.

What the record does and does not say

parkrun’s cancellation categories are fixed options, and “course unsafe or blocked” is one of them. It is used for anything from a fallen tree to a flooded path.

Weymouth parkrun has not published a statement explaining either cancellation. Its news page carries run reports up to event 600 and nothing since. We have not been able to establish from a first-party source why the course has been judged unsafe, and we are not going to guess at it.

What the event does publish is a course description, and it is relevant background. The 5k runs mostly on tarmac with a short gravel section, and it uses shared paths. The event’s own course page asks participants to give way to other park users, “for the continued success of the event”.

What it means for you

  • Do not travel to Lodmoor on 22 or 29 August. There is no event on either date.
  • 5 September is not currently cancelled. Check the event’s home page on the Friday before you go, because cancellations are notified to the national list as they are decided.
  • The nearest alternatives, as listed by the event itself, are The Great Field parkrun at 6.1 miles and St Mary’s at 15.5 miles. Both are free and both need the same barcode.
  • If you can help, the event is asking. Every parkrun is run by volunteers, and Weymouth’s volunteer page lists the roster. The contact address is weymouth@parkrun.com.

Sources

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