A sense of belonging

Lisa Cameron has been parkwalking throughout this month and well before parkwalk had launched. Lisa tells us how she heard about the parkwalk campaign and why it helps her mental health.

About five years ago, a colleague at work started leading a couch to 5k beginners course. I signed up and joined, and the graduation was to be held at the local Milton Keynes parkrun. I then started to volunteer at parkrun too, and then in January 2020 I set myself the challenge that I would reach the milestone of both 50 runs and 50 volunteer credits.

Then covid and lockdown hit and I was diagnosed with asthma – I thought this was the end of my parkrun journey. But I loved the camaraderie of being involved.

It was late September when I saw my local parkrun advertising about the brand new parkwalker role. I immediately signed up!

It is great to be back out there with no shame of having to walk, to be able to catch up with friends, and to feel part of it is amazing. With the friends I have met through parkrun, I have shared births, deaths, marriages and everything in between.

Being out in the fresh air with the parkwalk family has a massive positive impact on my mental health – having a sense of belonging to the community can only be a good thing. Plus, the volunteers are always so friendly and encouraging!

As long as parkwalk is going, I’ll keep banging on about it!

Lisa Cameron