Everything you need to know about parkrun
Two decades ago, on 2 October 2004, club runner Paul Sinton-Hewitt pitched up at Bushy Park in southwest London to manage a 5K run involving 13 runners and three volunteers. This was the first ever Bushy Park Time Trial – a lowkey but uplifting event that was so well received it happened again. And again. And again.
Fast-forward to now and this inaugural Bushy Park Time Trial has exploded into a weekly running phenomenon. Now known as parkrun, and no longer confined to Bushy Park, Sinton-Hewitt’s brainchild is held in more than 2,000 locations in 22 countries – from the UK to Eswatini, Norway to New Zealand – spanning five continents across the world. Let that sink in a moment, then read on.
What is parkrun?
Let’s start with the nuts and bolts. Held every Saturday morning (at 9am in the UK, but often at other times overseas), parkrun is a free 5K event for all, from volunteers, walkers and amateur runners through to elite athletes. The community-spirited events are organised and managed entirely by teams of volunteers, and new parkruns are being added to the map all the time.
Events are held in a variety of urban and rural spaces and parks – hence, parkrun – and have no time limit. Positivity, inclusivity and accessibility are the foundations of the parkrun vision, as is the belief that everyone is welcome and ‘no one finishes last’. Do you want to obliterate a parkrun course record? Come along and give it some gas. Or do you simply want some fresh air at the weekend with friends? Get involved and enjoy every moment.
You can even do parkrun with a pet dog (trusting it is a good boy or girl and attached securely to a handheld lead by your side) or with a buggy (course conditions permitting), and partially sighted runners are encouraged to take part with guide runners.
What’s more, parkrun is an incredible way to get into running, to step up to the 5K distance, to improve your PB, to explore alternative and interesting new routes, or to meet like-minded people – the potential goes on. Whether running your first 5K is your goal for the year, or you’re a seasoned runner gunning for a quicker time, we have a selection of 5K training plans to help you get off on the best foot.
How do I become a parkrunner?
Good news: registering for parkrun is like a walk (or run, or parkrun) in the park. Whether you want to run or volunteer – or indeed do both – the first step is to simply register for a parkrun account. This will enable you to take part in any parkrun event around the world, as you wish, without having to do the tedious admin of signing up for events individually each week. As we now know, there are hundreds of parkrun events on offer – and you can search for your local one here.
If you’re running, jogging or walking, you’ll need to remember to bring a printed copy of your unique parkrun barcode with you to each event. A volunteer can then scan your barcode as you pass through the finish funnel, so your time and place are attributed to you and put on the results page of the relevant parkrun website. Here, you’ll also be able to search various other statistics about each event – such as your age graded score and gender position – so parkrun is particularly fun for the statistics geeks among you.
Aside from that, you’ll want to be kitted out appropriately. A pair of sturdy, comfortable running shoes is a good place to start, and thankfully there are many recommended running shoes out there to suit all budgets and feet. Some parkrun courses feature flat, smooth pavements while others scale towpaths, muddy tracks and even sand dunes, so it’s worth scoping out the terrain and weather conditions in advance to know whether fast road shoes or trail shoes would serve you best, and to help you to determine what other running kit to wear.
As a parkrun volunteer, you could do any of several roles including marshalling, time keeping and scanning barcodes. Both volunteers and runners are also rewarded for persistence over performance and can aim to hit certain milestones – the officially recognised ones being 25, 50, 100, 250 or 500 completed parkruns (although you needn’t stop there). You can even purchase a technical milestone T-shirt once you reach each one.
Some parkrun superfans even embark on other missions such as the parkrun alphabet challenge, where runners complete a parkrun beginning with each letter of the alphabet, such as Abingdon, Bedford, Cheltenham and so on. You don’t need to run them in alphabetical order (although this would certainly enhance the challenge), but you do need to be willing to do a bit of travelling.
Can children do parkrun?
Yes! Anyone aged four or over can register for a parkrun account and take part in the 5K event, although children under the age of 11 must stay within arm's reach of a parent, guardian or other designated adult of the parents' choice.
Alternatively, children can get moving at junior parkrun – a 2K event designed specifically for children aged four to 14, held every Sunday morning in a growing number of locations. Here, children can be big and bold and run unaccompanied, although parents or guardians can run with them if they prefer.
Reminiscent of the original 5K event, the first junior parkrun was held in Bushy Park in April 10 with nine children and a group of parents and volunteers cheering them along. Now, junior parkrun presides at more than 400 locations in the UK, Ireland and Australia.
Well over three million people have completed a parkrun to date, covering both the Saturday morning 5K and the 2K junior parkrun on Sunday. So, whether you’re a weekly warrior or an occasional attendee, when you partake in parkrun you certainly won’t be alone.
What are the parkrun records?
It’s safe to say that 2023 was a big year for parkrun records.
On 24 June 2023, GB Olympian Andy Butchart ran a blistering time of 13:45 at Silverknowes parkrun in Edinburgh, breaking – by a mere three seconds – a men’s parkrun world record that had stood for 11 years. Even better? This record-breaking performance at Silverknowes was Butchart’s debut parkrun appearance.
The previous parkrun record of 13:48 was set in Bushy Park, parkrun’s motherland, in 2012 by Andy Baddeley, a fellow GB Olympian and Andy B. (In other words, if you’re an Andy B in search of an elite-level challenge, perhaps give parkrun a shot.)
Ciara Mageean – another GB Olympian from Northern Ireland – broke the women's parkrun world record record just before the year was out on 23 December 2023 at Victoria Park parkrun in Belfast. Mageean clocked her record-breaking time of 15:13 just a day before the one-year anniversary of the previous women’s parkrun world record of 15:31, achieved by Welsh athlete Melissa Courtney-Bryant in Poole, Dorset in 2022.
Poole is quite a hotspot for parkrun activity, as this was also the venue for yet another world record in 2023. Here, on 7 October, nine-year-old Louis Robinett completed the full 5K course in a phenomenal time of 17:40, cementing him as the parkrun world record holder in the JM10 category.
Which parkrun is the best?
For fear of upsetting diehard parkrunners who believe that their local parkrun is the best (of course it is), we cannot objectively answer this. So, instead, we’ve highlighted some list-topping UK parkruns that are worth a visit this year.
Most attended parkrun
It might come as no surprise that the Bushy Park wears the crown for the most parkrun attendees. The Christmas Day parkrun event on 25 December 2019 welcomed a staggering 2,545 festive parkrunners, which is almost 900 more runners than the next most-attended parkrun event in Southampton on 18 January 2020 (1,612).
Numbers aside, and no matter what your level of parkrun experience, you simply must experience an outing along the original parkrun route in Bushy Park – where you'll perhaps spot some resident deer along the way.
Fastest parkrun
According to statistician and runner Tim Grose, the mind behind the Power of 10, Pegwell Bay parkrun in Kent is the fastest parkrun in the UK, closely followed by Bromley parkrun in second position and Poole parkrun (perhaps as expected, going by the above) in third. The current course record for Pegwell Bay is 14:17, set by Chris Olley in June 2018. Not a shabby time.
Toughest parkrun
This is another subjective one, unless you’re Grose using statistics to once again verify your claim. Along with being one of the tougher ones to roll off the tongue, Great Yarmouth North Beach parkrun in Norfolk is the toughest – or slowest – parkrun in the UK, according to Grose. This is followed by Cumbria’s Whinlatter Forest parkrun in second, and the Woolacoombe Dunes parkrun in Devon in third.
Hilliest parkrun
While some claim that Whinlatter Forest is also the hilliest parkrun in the UK – featuring almost 200m of ascent – Durlston Country Park parkrun in Dorset has a strong claim for the title. The constantly undulating route by the Jurassic Coast is quite something for the legs and lungs, although the spectacular views you’ll spy from Portland in the west to the Isle of Wight in the east will serve as a remedial distraction.
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