A recent research paper published in the academic journal Psychology, Health and Medicine has highlighted the wide-ranging benefits of parkrun for those living with a mental health condition. The impacts were found to be greatest for those who walk or run, as well as volunteer. A team of researchers undertook a detailed analysis of…
Five kilometres. 5,000 metres. 500,000 centimetres. 5,000,000 millimetres. 3.1 miles. However you think of it, parkrun is the same distance every week. However, some weeks it can feel a lot, lot longer! Here are five mental tricks you can use to make your weekly parkrun feel like a walk, jog or run in the…
Going to parkrun was non-negotiable for Tess, but over time she fell out of love and “felt like a burden”. After hearing about the parkwalk initiative she returned to parkrun, feeling welcome and accepted within the community. I got involved relatively early on with parkrun. I’m not going to lie, I’m a bit…
Izzy has anxiety and often finds going out and about on her own scary and difficult. She has been a parkrunner since 2014 and finds her local parkrun community offers her a safe space where she feels comfortable and not judged. My first parkrun was in 2014. My mum had been a few times and…
On Saturday 18 February, many Australian parkruns held a Pride-themed event to mark WorldPride being hosted in Australia — the first time the event has taken place in the southern hemisphere. Here are some of the highlights! Mosman parkrun Lochiel parkrun North Wollongong parkrun Frankston Nature Conservation Reserve parkrun Ros…
At parkrun, we’ve always tried to keep that event day experience the same as it was back when we began in 2004. But one thing has evolved over the years – the barcode. We take a look at the importance of the barcode, and why we love it. For the first five years,…
After the heartbreak and devastation across New Zealand over the past couple of weeks, Anderson parkrun in Napier received some heart-warming and uplifting feedback from many of their participants at the weekend. “We had no electricity and we were offered showers and phone-charging by those who had generators, batteries or power.” “It was…
Jan Stachow is a 94-year-old retired Polish army major who recently completed his 400th parkrun in Krakow, making him the oldest parkrunner in the world to boast such an achievement! Jan enjoyed doing sports from an early age including: pole vaulting, gymnastics, fencing, swimming, parachute jumping, skiing and just before he turned 70, he…
Having gathered the courage to try parkrun, Bea Conner has found it to be friendly, welcoming and so much more than a ‘run,’ all of which has been beneficial for her mental health. My whole life, I have been plagued with severe mental illnesses. I lost who I was, and my entire identity became…
Walking at parkrun after a double hip replacement has helped Paul Fulbrook to get active again and it’s ideal exercise for Otto, his Border Collie pup, too. I started parkrunning in 2015 after I’d seen an advertisement in my local paper for the Couch to 5k programme leading up to attending a parkrun. As…
