Across the world on a Saturday morning, residents in prisons, young offender institutions, and correctional facilities are walking, jogging, running and volunteering in a groundbreaking initiative that is changing the lives of prisoners and staff alike. Two years on from the first event, we take a look at the phenomenal success of parkruns on…
parkrunner Paul was on the start line of the very first parkrun inside prison walls, Black Combe parkrun at HMP Haverigg. Now, more than a year on from his release, he tells us the positive impact parkrun has had on his life. There was a lot of nervousness around setting up that parkrun at…
Inmates at the Wandoo Rehabilitation Prison in Perth, Australia, will become the first women in custody anywhere in the world to take part in weekly parkrun events when Wandoo parkrun launches this Saturday 20 July. Wandoo became Western Australia’s first dedicated alcohol and drug rehabilitation prison for women in custody when it opened in August…
In January, the prison-based parkrun at HMP Leyhill in South Gloucestershire got underway. parkrun Ambassador Peter Hayes attended the inaugural Cromhall event and shared this run report… It was pitch black and drizzling outside PEI Cross’s office as we checked our equipment and prepared for the prison’s inaugural parkrun. The sign in the gym entrance read…
When you consider that prisoners are cocooned in concrete and steel for most of the week, the appeal of an outdoor run in a green space might seem obvious. But talk to the men here and you realise that, for many of them, doing parkrun is about more than just getting some fresh air and…
Every journey starts with a single step… Hi, I am the gym manager working in HMP Haverigg up in Cumbria. I would like to enquire about getting a parkrun event set up inside our prison so that our prisoners can have the opportunity to get involved in this initiative. Hopefully they will then want…
In September 2017 I participated in the Wetherby 10k, which takes place around town centre. As I ran over the bridge towards HM YOI Wetherby, a male juveniles prison where I am employed as a social worker, I started to think about the benefits of running for young people who are remanded or sentenced to…
Springhill parkrun in Buckinghamshire became the third prison parkrun in the world, and the first to take place in an open prison, when it launched in June 2018. Amanda Burnham, Head of Security at HMP Springhill, tells us how the idea for a prison parkrun came about, and the impact it is already having after…
Retired teacher and veteran runner, Tommy Fee, had a milestone moment on Saturday 2 June as he crossed the finish line at Lower Drummans parkrun at Magilligan Prison. The weekly 5k event is held within the grounds of Magilligan Prison, and was the last of the 26 parkruns across Northern Ireland which Tommy aimed…
Black Combe parkrun in Cumbria became the first parkrun event in the world to launch inside a prison on 4 November 2017. One of the participants that day was Alfy Kirkley (pictured left) who went on to complete 17 parkruns and set a new course record before his release last week. As he left, Alfy…
