Parkrun.. More than a run...It's a family

So this morning I returned to Frimley Lodge Parkrun after a very long absence. Covid stopped many things, park run one of them. Though Parkrun returned in July I have not been in a position to attend until now. I was able to attend parkrun in my hometown of Lethbridge, Alberta at Henderson Lake Parkrun when I was in Canada 2 weeks ago as my triumphant return and though a small and relatively new parkrun compared to Frimley the welcome was warm and familiar.

I returned from Canada this week, and as my running Club Frimley Flyers had agreed to takeover today at Frimley Lodge Parkrun and I had put my name down to volunteer, it was time for me to return to where I first fell in love with Parkrun.

From the off I was instantly home and welcomed by people as though I had never been away, and this is what has inspired me today to write.

I enjoy everything about Parkrun. One thing I miss most about Canada is the sense of community that we have there, it is not something I think we have as much of here in the UK, or at least I have not had that experience in the places where I have lived.

This is not the case at Parkrun, as soon as you have been to a parkrun, you will know what I mean. It is inclusive, warm and welcoming and there is always friendly faces.

I volunteered today, I was a Marshal and in some respects I enjoy marshalling more than I do actually running. I love cheering for everyone as they run by, I know as a runner I always appreciate a smile and a "well done keep going", if things are going well its that extra kudos and if things aren't going well then it can be just that little pick me up to make things feel a bit better. No one ever finishes last, and you don't even have to run, people do come to parkrun and walk its the same 5km either way. I have walked many a parkrun either because my children came, and the 5km as a run was too much or at times when I was either injured or simply recovering and walking was all I could do it didn't matter because you never felt out of place and were encouraged and celebrated all the same as the people who ran it.

Parkrun is run entirely by volunteers and is always free to participate which means it is accessible to everyone no matter what your circumstances are, and how many things in this world can say that? I always leave parkrun a little happier than I did when I got there. This is equal parts between getting out of the house and doing something I love combined with the friendly and welcoming people who attend it.

I hope that if your reading this, you check one out near you it is a global movement and it is growing every day. I promise you will not ever regret making the effort to get out at 9am on a Saturday.

https://www.parkrun.org.uk