Tullow parkrun

What to Expect

Tullow parkrun is a free, timed 5km event held every Saturday at 9.30am at Rathwood, on the Rath side of Tullow in County Carlow. It was the first parkrun established in the county and it runs on the Rathwood estate rather than on a town path, which gives it a very different character from the riverside courses elsewhere in the county. Like every parkrun it is organised entirely by volunteers, it costs nothing to take part, and it is open to runners, joggers and walkers of all standards.

The course is two laps and takes participants into mature forest and around a duck pond before returning to the finish, so it is more scenic and more sheltered than most Irish parkruns but also involves a little more underfoot variation than a flat track. Register once for free at parkrun.ie before your first ever event, then bring a scannable barcode - printed or on your phone - to every run, since finish times cannot be recorded without one. Results are published online the same day. The Tullow group has a long-standing habit of going for a coffee together in the Rathwood garden centre cafe straight after the run, which makes it an easy event to turn up at alone. Volunteers are always wanted and can sign up through the event’s own page.

Good to Know

• Every Saturday at 9.30am, year-round; check parkrun.ie/tullow for cancellations
• Venue: Rathwood, Rath, Tullow, Co. Carlow, eircode R93 X3F9
• Free; one-off registration at parkrun.ie before your first parkrun
• Barcode required at the finish funnel to record a time
• Two-lap forest course taking in a duck pond
• Post-run coffee in the Rathwood garden centre cafe most weeks
• Recurrence: weekly, every Saturday

Getting There

Rathwood is at Rath, just outside Tullow in north-east County Carlow, roughly 20km from Carlow town and signposted from the R725 Carlow to Shillelagh road. Use the eircode R93 X3F9 rather than searching for the town, as the entrance is on the estate road. There is a large car park on site at Rathwood. Tullow itself is about an hour and a quarter from Dublin via the M9 and N81, and public transport to Rath on a Saturday morning is very limited, so most participants drive.