Early last Saturday, along with thousands of runners all over the country – and all over the world – I hauled myself out of bed to take part in my first parkrun, the free weekly 5K timed run that’s quietly becoming a running phenomenon.
I’m lucky enough to live within easy reach of Longrun Meadow, 65 acres of country park that sits alongside the River Tone, close to Taunton town centre. Even better, Longrun now hosts one of nearly 230 local parkrun events that take place around the UK every week.
And having tried it once, I’m a fan. If you haven’t been to a parkrun yet, here are 5 reasons to give it a go:
1. It’s free and easy
The idea of parkrun is beautifully simple. There’s no fee to take part – all you have to do is sign up on the parkrun website once, print your unique barcode, and then remember to bring it with you to every parkrun event you take part in.
And no need to pre-register for an individual event either – you can decide that morning that you want to run and just show up.
2. A run for everyone
Anyone can take part in a parkrun – there’s no age limit so the whole family can run together. You can even bring the dog.
The atmosphere is relaxed, friendly and welcoming to experienced runners and beginners alike. It’s billed as a ‘timed run’ rather than a race, and parkrun’s about more than being the fittest or the fastest.
For Dave Bullock, the man that brought parkrun to Longrun Meadow, that’s the big plus of the event. His day job at Somerset Activity & Sports Partnership (SASP) is about getting local kids and adults active and involved in sport. So the real measure of success for the parkrun is that it’s attracting runners of all ages, shapes, sizes and experience.
So far, the youngest Longrun Meadow parkrunner has been 3, and the oldest 72!
3. Motivation and inspiration
If you need some motivation and inspiration to get fit or keep fit, Parkrun can help you challenge yourself and track how you’re improving.
After each run, you get your results emailed to you, with plenty of statistics to satisfy any data geek. Not only can you find out your time and position overall as well as in your age category, but whether you achieved a PB and how many parkruns you’ve completed.
And an age graded score tells you how well you performed relative to your age and gender.
4. Your pick of locations
From National Trust properties, such as Killerton and Montacute House, to country parks, heaths and woodlands, there’s a huge variety of runs to choose from. Even Camp Bastion in Afghanistan hosts its own parkrun!
No need to pre-register. Just choose your event and turn up.
And if there’s nothing local? Why not start one?
5. For the community, by the community
Parkrun UK is a non-profit organisation and each event relies on volunteers to manage and run it. So while the runs are free, runners can give back by helping and supporting their local events.
Getting the right team of volunteers in place is key, and the support of local Taunton running clubs Running Forever and Taunton Athletic Club has been crucial to the success of the Taunton parkrun.
With an average field of around 200 runners after only 3 weeks, Longrun Meadow parkrun looks set to go from strength to strength.
Have you experienced parkrun yet? Please share your thoughts in the comments below!