SSAFA Cardiff 5K Road Race Series Info

SSAFA South East Wales' long running summer running race series.

The SSAFA Cardiff 5K Road Race Series is entering its 27th year!

Registrations
Race Information
Our Supporters
Previous Results

Welcome to the SSAFA Cardiff 5K Road Race Series.  This is a three-race event held every year in Cardiff, raising funds for SSAFA South East Wales.  You can enter 1, 2 or all 3 races.  As well as being a fundraising event, the Series is a competitive event, held under UK & Welsh Athletics rules and features on the CAAC Calendar.

The series was founded in 1998 by respected Race Director Graham Finlayson BEM after he retired as Colour Sergeant from 2nd (V) Battalion the Royal Regiment of Wales after twenty eight years service.


It is open to all runners, young and old, new and experienced, club members or individual runners.

Please note: in 2026 runners will only be able to register online before the date of the race.

The three races are held in consecutive months - May, June and July, every summer - you can register for each race using the buttons below.

This is a highly competitive event, and the current course records are 15:29 (Ladies) and 14.24 (Men).

All prizes are awarded for collection at the prize giving ceremony on the race day only: unclaimed prizes cannot be delivered, nor collected, at a later date.

Each race will be limited to 400 runners.  Entries will be given out on a first come, first served basis.

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Registrations

Cardiff 5K Road Race Series 2026

The three race dates for 2026 are:

  • Wednesday 20 May
  • Wednesday 3 June
  • Wednesday 22 July

Each race begins at 19.30.

Registration Fees:

Club Members: £11

Individual Runners: £13

 

Race Information

The race has been using the current course since 2019, originally designed (and measured) by our race director, with the Start/Finish line located south of the Ambulance Station.

Access to the Start/Finish line will be signposted from the Blackweir Tavern which will continue to serve as the Race HQ.

Race Bib Numbers – Medical information

Note that the reverse of every race bib number has a form for medical information. When you receive your bib number, please insert the necessary information for use in emergencies.

First responders like St John’s Ambulance will refer to this if a runner is unable to communicate and, in more serious cases, it might be all that accident and emergency workers have to go on. Knowing you’re allergic to penicillin or diabetic could make everybody’s job a lot easier.


Travel and parking

The race is easy to reach either by car or train.  

The race HQ is at Blackweir Taven, on Cardiff's North Road.  You can see this on google maps here.

The nearest train station is Cathays, which is a very short walk to Blackweir Taven.

If travelling by car, then there is only limited parking available at the Blackweir Tavern, so it is advisable to use the nearby pay and display facilities. These are situated further along North Road (A470) heading towards the city centre and in this direction, the car park will be on your right.

However, given the traffic conditions at this time of the day, the car park is best accessed travelling in the opposite direction, i.e. away from the city centre. You will then be able to turn left off the road into the car park.

If you arrive on North Road heading towards the city centre therefore, pass the car park on your right, turn left into Corbett Road, first right into King Edward VII Avenue and turn around. Turn right at Corbett Road traffic lights to put you on the left side of the road for the car park.


Course Map and Elevation Profile

You can view and download a map of the course and elevation profile here:


Personal Data

Your support is very important to us and we’d like to continue to keep you informed about the vital work we do. We’ll never sell or share your details. Your personal information is protected and processed in accordance with current data protection legislation, including GDPR.

When you tick the box on the Race Entry Form to consent to data retention, you agree to us holding on to that information for the purposes of promoting and managing the Series.

In order to promote the Series from time to time, we may email you with reminders and news; from the point of view of managing the Series, we obviously need to retain the data required to publish the results of each race and the overall Series’ winners.

The only information we make publicly available therefore are your name, surname, club affiliation (if any), your category, your vest number and your finishing time(s).

We will not supply any information we hold to a third-party.

Our supporters

Previous Results