Parkrun celebrates 20 years of making people healthier and happier

Parkrun started on Saturday October 2, 2004 when 13 runners joined a free timed 5k run at Bushy Park in south-west London, which was organised by runner Paul Sinton-Hewitt while he was recovering from injury.

What started life as the Bushy Park Time Trial has developed into parkrun which sees people, walk, run and volunteer at more than 2,500 locations every week while a 2k junior parkrun takes place on a Sunday morning across the UK, Ireland, and Australia for children aged four to 14.

Around 200,000 people take part every Saturday across more than 900 locations in the UK – and while some are experienced runners, others are building up their speed and stamina and many are taking their first steps towards a more active lifestyle.

The first ever Parkrun event on the island of Ireland, back in 2010, was at the Waterworks in north Belfast.

Since then Mr Shields has set up almost 200 parkruns across Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, with the latter's first event in Malahide in 2012.

There are now about 50,000 regular Parkrun participants in Northern Ireland, with more than 6,000 weekly participants, according to Parkrun.

Almost 2,000 GP practices around the world are twinned with their local event and social prescribing has seen parkrun suggested to people with anxiety, depression, asthma, arthritis, diabetes, heart conditions and cancer.

New research led by Sheffield Hallam University and the University of Sheffield, based on a six-month study of 548 newly registered parkrunners, showed life satisfaction increased after doing as few as two parkruns.

More than 45,000 people who have registered for parkrun in the UK this year identified themselves as completely inactive before signing up.

Professor Steve Haake, from Sheffield Hallam University’s Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre – who led the study, said while those who are least active see the greatest benefit from taking part, it is not just completing the 5k which makes a difference as improved wellbeing is also seen in those who volunteer.

He said using the UK Office of National Statistics approach to measuring wellbeing, on a scale of zero to 10 (where 10 is the best), the new research showed life satisfaction increased by 0.26, from 7.49 to 7.75, in those participating in parkrun, taking them from below the UK average to above it.

He said people often meet up with friends before and after taking part and also form more casual relationships with people they see regularly with parkrun giving a common interest.

“You see your friends, then you run, then you have a cake and chat. For a lot of people, that’s what makes it,” he said.

Russ Jefferys, parkrun’s chief executive officer since February 2022, has been taking part in parkrun since 2011 and became an employee in 2015.

He regularly hears stories about how people’s lives have changed as a result of joining “a very supportive low pressure community where the time that you take doesn’t matter”.

“It’s about being social and outdoors,” he said.

He believes it can play a role in preventing health issues which could relieve pressure on the NHS which may be required to make fewer interventions as a result.

“We are thinking about supporting people’s health in a sustainable way. The current system is clearly broken,” he said.

Parkrun is now a UK based global charity with almost 70 employees and an annual turnover around £10 million.

To mark the 20th anniversary, Brooks has launched limited edition Ghost 16 parkrun trainers in the event’s trademark apricot colour, with 15% of profits going directly to the charity.

Mr Jefferys said: “It’s important people know it’s free and always will be free. There’s no requirement for people to pay anything to take part.”