After winning his four year long battle with throat cancer, Paul Rodgers was “out of action” and wanted to get back to working on his fitness. With the help of multiple charity organisations, he was determined to return to parkrun and focus on his recovery. My parkrun journey started back in November 2016 and it was more…
Matthew Akpan’s superpower, Asperger’s Syndrome, has seen him become an esteemed parkrunner and complete some brilliant challenges for charity in memory of his father. I’ve been running since the age of 13 years old, when I started at the running club in Beeston, Leeds in 2002. Since my first parkrun in 2008, I’ve completed…
Jonathan Harris fell in love with volunteering and started encouraging his students to come along and join him at his Bradford parkrun in the glorious Lister Park. He discovered the physical and mental benefits that parkrun has for young people and has been spreading the joy of parkrun ever since! At the beginning…
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…
Nigel Herbert stumbled upon parkrun with a good friend when they were both looking to improve their health and fitness. He has not looked back, getting more involved to help ensure others enjoy parkrun as much as he does. I lived pretty much opposite my local parkrun event and for three years I wondered…
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 our five tips for volunteering to see why we love it so much! 1) Take someone with you From our volunteering research, we know that some people who are volunteering for…
Rachael Holmes suffered a back injury which caused her to lose a lot of physical condition. She is working steadily to regain her strength and fitness, with parkrun helping to keep her active and motivated. I started running a few years ago, but just before the pandemic I suffered a back injury. During the…
Have you ever wondered what a parkrun looks like over in Japan? You’re in the right place! We recently talked to Ikeya Kenjiro, the event director at Kashiwanoha parkrun about how it changed his Saturday mornings, and why he loves volunteering at parkrun. I first heard about parkrun in April 2019 when a flyer was delivered…
Sally Warren’s hip operation and the subsequent recovery left her at a very low ebb. Here she tells us how volunteering at her beloved Burgess parkrun played its part in lifting her spirits. There was nothing better than the accomplished feeling I used to get by 10am on a Saturday morning, when I’d…
Hayley Dillingham has been volunteering at Anchorsholme junior parkrun since late 2021 which has encouraged her children to join her. When I heard about junior parkrun starting at Anchorsholme Park I signed up my son, Flynn age seven, and thought it would be a good way of me doing more exercise too. Once my…
