COVID-19 (Coronavirus) update 13 October

As 2020 rumbles on, and with it the global efforts to navigate the COVID-19 Pandemic, it’s increasingly the case that people around the world are being impacted in vastly different ways. At parkrun we see evidence of this every single day, where some of our communities are largely back to a pre-virus normal, whilst others are continuing to live under tight restrictions. Wherever you are reading this update, please know we are thinking of you and the whole parkrun family is with you.

In positive news, it was great to see 3,700 different people walk, jog, run, or volunteer across 33 parkrun events in three different countries on Saturday. And it’s important that, particularly at times like these, we celebrate victories, however small they may seem to be.

Before the end of October, we also hope to reopen events in Poland, Tasmania, Western Australia, Japan, Guernsey, and the Isle of Man, which would take us to over 100 weekly parkrun events for the first time since March this year. And with our Southern Hemisphere communities now moving into their summer, we hope that the virus will retreat enough to enable more events in those regions to reopen relatively soon.

However, over half of our events are in Northern Hemisphere countries, where winter is approaching and, typically, the virus is increasing. And it’s in these communities where various forms of restrictions are being imposed, leading to increased social isolation.

We continue to believe that outdoor environments are relatively safe, that events such as parkrun are incredibly beneficial for our health and wellbeing, and that robust evidence must underpin all decisions to restrict access to physical activity.

We are getting through this, together.

Tom

Tom Williams

Chief Operating Officer

parkrun Global