#78: Park Run

Sizewell Park Run. Sizewell A and B nuclear power stations in the background

Park Run is great. A 5km circuit in the company of a few hundred others with your time recorded and emailed to you soon afterwards. Marshals cheer you around the course, dogs are welcome and mums and dads run with buggies. People wear ‘milestone’ T-shirts – 100 runs, 250, even 500. There's also an event for children. Some GPs even prescribe Park Run.

I’ve notched up 20 Park Runs so far, the first in the grounds of Bristol’s Ashton Court last June, the latest last month at Alexandra Palace in North London. Along the way I’ve run in other places like Oswestry, Cheam and Sheffield. As well as a burst of positivity and feeling of achievement to start the weekend, you learn something about the local area. For example, that Birkenhead Park in Liverpool influenced the design of New York’s Central Park. Or that Sizewell C power station, currently being built, is enormous already, maybe over twice the size of Sizewell B. Anyway, it’s a brilliant way to start the weekend.

Banbury Park Run's 10th anniversary celebrations

Is Park Run good for you?

Research with over 76,000 Park Runners just published by Sheffield Hallam University shows I am not alone. About 90% of participants thought it had improved their fitness and sense of achievement. On almost every measure their experience was more positive than they had expected when they signed up. Volunteers who help organise said it made them feel more part of the community, and just over 72% of volunteers said they were happier because of taking part. However, the research authors admit that since only Park Runners answered the survey, it could be biased towards the positive, and it didn't include people who dropped out or never ran after registration.

Reading the journal article reporting the research I learnt a new word – eudemonic, conducive to happiness. There is overwhelming evidence that physical activity improves physical and mental health and ‘substantial evidence’ that vigorous activity (like Park Run, for most people) is even better than moderate activity. Looking forward to the next one.

Find your local Park Run here.

Nonsuch Park, Epsom