Floodlit running on Colchester Sports Park's cycle track starts 17 November, Tuesdays and Fridays, free for members or £5 a session. Checked November 2026.
From Tuesday 17 November, runners can book floodlit sessions on the 1-mile cycle circuit at Colchester Sports Park, at Northern Gateway, twice a week all winter. The sessions are called Light Up Your Run. They are free for Adult Standard and Adult Plus members, and everyone else pays an introductory £5 a session.
The idea is simple: on dark winter evenings, a lit, closed loop with no cars on it is a safer place for an evening run than an unlit road or pavement.
Session times
The sessions run every week from 17 November:
- Tuesdays: 7pm to 8pm, and 8pm to 9pm
- Fridays: 8pm to 9pm, and 9pm to 10pm
Each hour is booked as a separate session, online through the Sports Park’s cycling page or in the Sports Park app. The council says runners of all ages and abilities are welcome.
What it costs
| Who | Price per session |
|---|---|
| Adult Standard or Adult Plus member | Included in membership |
| Non-member | £5 (introductory pay as you go rate) |
The release calls the £5 rate introductory, so expect it to change at some point. It does not say when.
Why the Sports Park is doing it
Colchester City Council says the sessions were developed “in response to customer feedback and growing demand for safe outdoor running opportunities during the winter season”. They are aimed at people training for an event, keeping up their fitness, coming back to running, or looking for “a safer alternative to running on dark roads and pavements”.
Cllr Martin Goss, the council’s Portfolio Holder for Waste, Neighbourhoods and Leisure, said: “We know many runners struggle to maintain their routines during winter when evenings become darker and local routes feel less accessible.
“Light Up Your Run gives people a safe, well-lit and welcoming space to continue exercising throughout the winter months. We’re excited to offer something different that supports our community and responds directly to customer demand.”
The track
The Sports Park describes the circuit as a 1-mile, all-weather, floodlit closed road cycle circuit, and says it is the largest in the East of England. It is built for road cycling, with several separate loops inside the main one, so beginners and faster riders can use it at the same time. Outside the running sessions it stays open to cyclists from 6.15am to 10pm on weekdays and 8am to 10pm at weekends, according to the Sports Park’s own page, which runs the running sessions alongside its Winter Wheels campaign for cyclists.
If you drive, the Sports Park car park at Northern Gateway is free for the first 30 minutes and then charged; our Colchester parking guide has the current rates.
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