A team of academics reviewed existing research highlighting that parkrun participants show improvements in, among other things, fitness, total physical activity, and mood. Here, one of the researchers, Dr Anne Grunseit from the Prevention Research Collaboration at the Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney, talks us through the findings. parkrun is…
In the Central West region of New South Wales, Orange resident and 78-year-old parkrun enthusiast, Walter Jones, counts his lucky stars after completing cardiac rehabilitation with flying colours following the diagnosis of a partial blockage in a branch artery. With more than 100 parkruns under his belt, Walter said parkrun has been a wonderful addition…
It’s been another week of significant progress for the parkrun family around the world. Last Saturday saw more than 12,400 people walk, jog, run or volunteer at 117 events across five parkrun countries. There were also almost 600 first timers, and we’d particularly like to extend a warm welcome to those taking what might…
Kate Askew always had a fear of exercising outside and cried on the way to her first parkrun, because she was so nervous. Inspired by her mum, she completed her first parkrun and parkrun is now the highlight of her week. I cried on the way to my first parkrun because I was…
Haruka Murayama is Event Director at Tsujido kaihin koen parkrun in Japan. But her first introduction to parkrun was over in Northern Ireland. Here she tells us how parkrun helped her combat homesickness and improved her confidence. It was about two years ago, early January of 2018, when I discovered parkrun for the first…
As parkrun events gradually reopen across Australia, a survey of more than 1600 Aussie parkrunners has revealed the extent to which social restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic have significantly affected people’s health, happiness and connections to their community. The reopening of parkrun was welcomed by the overwhelming majority of respondents who were surveyed during…
It was wonderful to see events start back in Namibia at the weekend, the fifth parkrun territory to welcome back events since the Coronavirus pandemic paused parkrun across the world in March. We were looking forward to reopening in South Australia this coming Saturday, but sadly new infections and a subsequent two week state-wide…
Since our last fortnightly update we have been encouraged to see restrictions continue to ease in Melbourne and regional Victoria. After many months of uncertainty it has been heartwarming and uplifting to see friends and families reunited, and underlines how parkrun will play an important role in helping communities reconnect as our events reopen. …
I’m a late starting, accidental, athlete from Merimbula on the far south coast of NSW. My first parkrun, at 70, was the first time I had run in around 55 years. However, it only took that first walk to get me hooked and another two and a half years to run the whole distance. …
This month the island of Ireland celebrated 10 years of parkrun, and Country Manager Matt Shields told us all about the history of parkrun Ireland. parkrun first came to the island of Ireland at the Waterworks in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in November 2010. The event in Waterworks park was started by a team of…
