Local Parkruns Have Now Resumed

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Back up and running every Saturday morning at three venues

The popular Saturday event returns. Picture: Parkrun

Sporting the slogan ‘free for everyone forever’ Parkruns are free, weekly, community events that take place all around the world, and they have now restarted locally in Tooting, Wimbledon and Clapham.

Take your pick from the 5k Saturday morning events, or the Sunday mornings 2k junior Parkruns for children aged four to 14.

Parkrun says the events are “positive, welcoming and inclusive experiences where there is no time limit and no one finishes last. Everyone is welcome to come along, whether you walk, jog, run, volunteer or spectate”.

Starting at 9am on Saturday mornings, the Tooting Common Parkrun takes place at Doctor Johnson Avenue, Tooting, SW16 1RT; Wimbledon is at Wimbledon Common near the windmill; and Clapham is at Clapham Common, Broomwood Road, London, SW4 9AU.

Runners do need to register before trying their first event – but it’s free and you only need to do it once. Just download the registration form, print your barcode and head down to your local event.

Don’t skip registration as you must bring a printed copy of your barcode and If you forget it you won’t get a time.

Parkrun is the invention of Paul Sinton-Hewitt, who was born in Zimbabwe and brought up in South Africa. Now a global phenomenon, the first Parkrun took place in south west London’s Bushy Park, with just thirteen runners, in October 2004 and was originally known as the Bushy Park Time Trial. The events became Parkruns in 2008 when they expanded abroad, first launching in Zimbabwe, quickly followed by Denmark, Australia, the USA and South Africa. There are now more than six million runners registered worldwide.

Parkrun is partnered with the Royal College of GPs with the aim of jointly promoting healthy living through “increased physical activity, socialisation and mutual support”. It is a charity and founder Paul Sinton-Hewitt is now one of its trustees. He says, "No-one should ever have to pay to go running in their community regularly, safely and for fun."

Parkruns are run by volunteers who love running so if you fancy lending a hand go to the volunteer hub.

Participants are also reminded not to attend if they display any Covid-19 symptoms.

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August 17, 2021