Every Saturday at 9.00am in rain, shine, sleet or snow hundreds of runners, walkers and joggers arrive at Woodhouse Moor Park to compete in a free, 5km, 3-lapped course. On a weekend when many other Parkruns were cancelled due to Storm Babet, Woodhouse Moor continued their event.
Ran entirely by volunteers, the run has become something of a local phenomenon since starting up in 2007. So far, a total of 34,138 people have participated in the event, completing 263,488 Parkruns altogether. The route in Woodhouse Moor also hails as the first ever Parkrun event outside of London.
But what’s the secret to its success?
In the most recent Parkrun, 626 participants competed, with 88 achieving personal bests. One of these people, coming in 33rd place was parkrun regular Edward Greenough, who when speaking to us, detailed what Parkrun has done for him, the community spirit within the group, and why you should think about coming along.
Parkrun will continue for its 777th edition on the 28th of October, so if you want to see what all the fuss is about, be there at nine in the morning, alone or with a friend.
