about parkrun Minimize
parkrun
  

A short but fascinating journey Minimize



 

We offer weekly, 5km, timed free runs open to all ages and abilities

parkrun started in 2004 with just 13 runners in Bushy Park, Teddington. Since then, the Bushy parkrun has become a well established running event; open to all runners who happen to be near Teddington on Saturday morning. When we started Bushy, this was the only regular, weekly 5km timed running event in the UK.  All our events are run every Saturday of the year and some even boast a special event on both Christmas and New Years Day.

In 2007, Wimbledon Common parkrun was developed to respond to the demand from the runners and on the same principles as Bushy parkrun. This was quickly followed by Banstead Woods which paved the way for the others to follow.

When Paul first set out to create Bushy parkrun, his aim was to make it simple for anyone to take part whenever it suited them. He hoped that runners would want to compete against themselves and not necessarily against the other participants. Right from the start, this was to be a community project where the runners would always run for free. Paul expected to see approximately 20 club athletes turn up every week to complete. He never expected it to grow into the brand that it is now.

parkruns are community events with strong loyalty from runners and volunteers. We help local volunteers set up events throughout the world using the 'parkrun-in-a-box' concept.

Every event is growing and there is strong demand for more. parkrun is sponsored by adidas, GSK Lucozade, The London Marathon and Sweatshop in the UK who make it possible for these events to be free.

Bushy Park parkrun won the Runners World Best Small Event in 2007 and parkrun founder Paul Sinton-Hewitt won a Runners World Heroes award in 2009.

parkrun offers a unique proposition to runners

  • A non-commercial, free, feel-good, community event
  • Runners sign up on the website once in their life… then just turn up and run at any event in their country
  • Results are emailed the same day and posted on the website with historical results and stats including age group records and age-graded performances (for those getting older!)
  • There are clubs to encourage participation. A 50 Club for runners who've reached 50 runs, a 100 Club, a 250 Club, and a Junior under-19 10 Club
  • Each event offers an annual points competition at each event to encourage attendance
  • We keep in touch with runners through an emailed weekly newsletter and the website

parkrun offers free, weekly events with low barriers to participation - so drives participation in sport, and helps running & athletics attract  participants in competition against other sports such as football, rugby, cricket, cycling, swimming, etc. With people attracted to increasingly popular activities such as adventure racing, urban racing, bmx, surfing, etc, it’s essential that athletics offers events that are easy to take part in and fun.

 
  
Sign up Minimize
Start running this weekend!

All parkruns are free but you must register in advance. Once registered with parkrun, you can participate in any of our events at any time without letting us know that you are coming. If you want to be a parkrunner, you will need to register once only. Help us to help you. All our events are free and organised by volunteers.

Sign Up

Looking for your barcode?

If you have already registered, and are looking for your barcode, we can send you a link to your barcode by email.
  
Supporting clubs Minimize

Clubs are very welcome to use parkruns to recruit new members - more than half of parkrunners are unattached.

parkrun encourages and publicises local clubs at parkrun events through links on the parkrun event website and other ways. Our experience, with many examples, is that a local parkrun generates increased club members.

Contact the local parkrun event.
  
Supporting local races Minimize

Race organisers are very welcome to use parkruns to publicise their events, through links on parkrun websites and through publicity at events (with the advance permission of the parkrun event director, in case of local park bye-laws etc). Experience shows that events longer than 5k attract more runners if publicised at local parkruns. Contact the local parkrun event.