Meanwood Headingley 8km Loop

The Meanwood – Headingley 8km loop is a total road run route in inner-west Leeds.

Starting off at the Edge, Leeds University the run quickly hits the roads of Headingley and Meanwood. Stay on your toes because at the 2 and 4-mile mark there’s some hills!

 

Wanting to find your way to the start of the route? Here is a link for a Google Maps Directions page.

This route has a distance of 8.53km and an elevation gain of 161m.

The largest non-stop incline begins in the final third of of the route, and has a distance of 314m and an elevation gain of 21m. You can see this on the above elevation chart in red.

The largest continual decline is 326m long with an elevation drop of 18m which starts towards the back end of the route. This is shown on the chart as green.

Route Highlights

It's the simple things that come up trumps on the Meanwood Headingley 8km run route. The straight flats of Meanwood Road is ripe for a speedy split!

Best Time To Run

A total road run means that this run route is a goer all year round.

Leave the rear of the Leeds University campus via Blenheim Walk and take Headingley Lane north on the main road. Follow this road until you reach St Anne’s Road & Shaw Lane. Take the right down Grove Lane all the way to Meanwood Road.

As the flats of Meanwood Road stretches out in front of you, this is the chance to go up the gears until you reach Melville Road roundabout. Run up this hill until you reach Woodhouse Moor (Hyde Park) on your left. Cross Headingley Lane – outside the university engineering building – onto Clarendon Road. Follow Clarendon Road round until you finish on Preston Street.

 

Headingley Lane is one of the busiest roads in and out of Leeds. With lots of side roads and turnings, it can be a little risky for any runner. Slow down and look twice!

Woodhouse Moor (Hyde Park) is located on the edge of Leeds, 1-mile from the city centre. The run starts and finishes next to Woodhouse Moor park. A park that attracts millions of visits each year.

Bins are aplenty on this road run. The nearest toilet facility is at the Edge gym by the start and finish of the Meanwood Headingley 8km Loop.

The nearest parking is paid at the University car park – Postcode LS2 3AE (Google Map Directions). A couple of minutes around the corner from the start of the run on Vernon Road.

 

A good place to go after this run for some food and drink – with a great beer garden too – is the Hyde Park pub. They do pizzas, tapas and a classic Sunday roast.

Just be warned that the Hyde Park pub is on the Otley run – infamous for fancy dress and excessive boozing!