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 my running club in 2002. Since my first parkrun in 2008, I’ve completed over 330 parkruns at…
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 was even on the start line of…
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…
Today is International Women’s Day and we’re proud to have welcomed nearly three million women and girls to walk, jog, run and volunteer at parkrun. Whilst thousands of women and girls participate in parkrun every single weekend, we also know that females are less likely to come along to parkrun after they have registered….
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. Here we take a look at the importance of the barcode, and why we love it. For the first five…
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, 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…
Whether you are new to parkrun, or you’ve been parkrunning for years, it’s only natural from time-to-time to find yourself in a bit of a parkrunning slump. Are you struggling for motivation? Have your times plateaued? Tempted by the snooze button? Looking for some inspiration? Here are 10 ways you can rediscover your parkrun mojo! …
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…
