parkrun
parkrun (formerly known as UK Time Trials) is the name given to a collection of weekly 5 km running events in the United Kingdom, one in Denmark and one in Zimbabwe. They are all free to take part in.[1][2] There are currently 25 events under the parkrun umbrella. Bushy parkrun was the first to be held; it started in October 2004.
Events
The events are (alongside the date the particular event started):
- Albert parkrun – Middlesbrough – May 2008
- Amager Fælled parkrun – Amager Fælled, Copenhagen, Denmark – May 2009
- Banstead Woods parkrun – Coulsdon – June 2007
- Basingstoke parkrun – Basingstoke – July 2008
- Bedfont Lakes parkrun – Bedfont – May 2009
- Black Park parkrun – Slough – May 2009
- Bramhall parkrun – Stockport – April 2008
- Brighton & Hove parkrun – Hove – June 2007
- Bromley parkrun – Bromley – August 2009
- Bushy parkrun – Teddington – October 2004
- Cardiff parkrun – Cardiff – February 2008
- Edinburgh parkrun – Edinburgh – October 2009
- Finsbury parkrun – Finsbury Park – November 2009
- Gorleston Cliffs – Gorleston, near Great Yarmouth – April 2009
- Glasgow parkrun – Glasgow – December 2008
- Heaton Park – Manchester – June 2009
- Leeds Hyde parkrun – Leeds – October 2007
- Reading parkrun – Reading – September 2009
- Richmond parkrun – Richmond upon Thames – June 2007
- Rolf Valley parkrun – Harare, Zimbabwe – September 2007
- Roundshaw Downs parkrun – South Croydon – July 2009
- South Manchester parkrun – Manchester – November 2009
- Sunderland parkrun – Sunderland – October 2009
- Wimbledon Common parkrun – Wimbledon – January 2007
- Woodbank parkrun – Stockport – August 2009
History
Founded by Paul Sinton-Hewitt in 2004, the idea of parkrun grew from the initial Bushy parkrun event (originally called Bushy Park Time Trial). parkrun supports volunteer teams to organise weekly 5 km runs around the UK (as well as Denmark and Zimbabwe). Sinton-Hewitt was presented the Runners World 'Heroes of Running' award [3] for philanthropy for his work with parkrun in 2009.
Sponsors
parkrun is currently sponsored by:
- Sweatshop, a chain of running clothing shops.
- Lucozade Sport, a sports drink manufacturer.
- Nike, a sports clothing manufacturer.
- London Marathon, The London Marathon.
Statistics
As of 6 May 2010, combined statistics for all events:[4]
- Number of events: 2,260
- Number of athletes: 43,287
- Number of runs completed: 269,007
- Average number of athletes per event: 124.5
- Average number of runs per athlete: 6.2
- Total distance completed: 1,345,035 km
- Total number of clubs attended: 983
- Fastest man: Craig Mottram – 00:14:00 (10 June 2006)
- Fastest woman: Katrina Wootton – 00:16:20 (3 January 2009)
See also
References
- ^ "TimeOut – Bushy Park Time Trial". Retrieved 2008-04-21.
- ^ Reuters' article about parkrun
- ^ Runners World - Heroes of Running
- ^ "parkrun website – Home". Retrieved 2009-08-22.