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…
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,…
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…
It’s a new year. Grab your friends, family, colleagues and neighbours and start with parkrun. Insight shows us that one of the most powerful tools for encouraging people along to a parkrun is word of mouth. So, this new year, why not help a friend get started on their parkrun journey. Here are…
At parkrun, you can simply start by showing up. Mindfulness Coach Davina Driver, from Dømmesmoen parkrun in Grimstad, Norway, takes us through some practical mindfulness strategies to help us appreciate everything that parkrun, and our surroundings, have to give. I recently read a book that got me thinking about parkrun as a place where…
If volunteering for the first time at parkrun is one of your New Year’s resolutions but you’re not sure what to expect, read these five tips for volunteering to see why we love it so much! 1. Bring someone with you From our volunteering research, we know that some people who are volunteering…
Is 2023 going to be the year you do your first 5k parkrun? Whether you’re a complete first timer, or you’ve been coming for years as a volunteer parkrunner, here are seven quick tips to make sure you kick 2023 off in a great way! 1) Wear something comfy You don’t need expensive…
