Every Saturday morning, hundreds of thousands of people turn up for a parkrun, a free, timed 5k event held in parks and green spaces across the world. Founded in 2004, parkrun has become a global movement that makes fitness accessible to all. You don’t need to be fast, own any specialist kit, or even consider yourself a runner.
In Taunton, the Longrun Meadow parkrun has over 300 people walk, jog, or run the two-lap course. Yes, walking is absolutely fine. This is one reason it is such a great way to get started with exercise if you’ve not done any for a while. If your goal is to run it all, then the Couch to 5k programme is perfect for you.
One of the problems people often have when they start running is that they go too fast and then quickly have to slow to a walk. My advice is to run at a pace where you could have a conversation. A parkrun is the ideal place to do this – you will find lots of friendly people and they will happily talk to you.
Even if your first parkrun is a walk, you will still be building your cardiovascular health. An often overlooked aspect of parkruns is the mental wellbeing benefits. This comes from being outside in the fresh air, doing some exercise and particularly for parkruns, the social interactions; parkruns are such friendly and welcoming events.
Once you have done one parkrun then be warned, you might get addicted! This is one addiction that I condone. You’ll realise that each week you can get a little bit quicker and a little bit fitter. Parkruns will record each run you do so you can track your progress.
You may have heard of parkrun tourism? This is when you do parkruns when you are away from home, some people actively search out as many parkruns as possible. You don’t need to go far from Taunton to do this either, other notable ones in the area are Burnham-on-Sea or Weston-Super-Mare for something flat and coastal, or Killerton for one a bit more rural.. And the good thing is that your times and progress will be logged wherever you do one, anywhere in the world. And wherever you do one, you will find the same great parkrun community atmosphere, you will be welcomed wherever you do one.
So if you’ve been intrigued by parkruns and wondered if you can do one, then the answer is, yes you can! Find your local one today and make a trip there this Saturday morning, it could be the start of a most healthy addiction!