Happy 10th Birthday Parkrun!

Last Thursday, ten years to the day since he founded Parkrun, Paul Sinton-Hewitt received a CBE for services to grassroots sports participation.

The event which began as a time trial in Bushy Park with just 13 runners, has now spread to over 45,000 events in 9 different countries with upwards of 760,000 people registered- a phenomenal achievement!

On Saturday, I headed to Roundshaw Downs parkrun, a 10minute bus-ride from my flat, to be part of the celebrations...

Roundshaw Downs parkrun

In case you're not familiar with Parkrun:

• These free weekly timed 5km runs take place every Saturday at 9am. Click to find your nearest parkrun here. 

• To take part simply register on the parkrun website. Once registered, you can turn up at any parkrun anywhere in the world whenever you want!

• Just print out your personal barcode and get ready to run!

• At the finish line your time will be recorded and you will be given a finish position token. Take this to one of the volunteer "scanners" and present your personal barcode and token. This will match the recorded time to your personal details.

If you become a dedicated parkrunner, there are 50, 100 and 250 tshirts to collect (and 10 run tshirts for Junior members)- I've got a little way to go yet! 🙂

I love the community feel of parkrun, getting people involved in running with a free volunteer-led event. There's always such a mix of people taking part, from young kids, adults with pushchairs, dogs, and impressive OAPs who can run faster than me!

Roundshaw Downs was a lovely route- two laps of a green, undulating, muddy course! I will definitely be back, and am looking forward to trying some new ones too- any suggestions?

Have you been to a parkrun? 

Beki x