Parkrun
Parkrun (stylised as parkrun) is a collection of 5-kilometre (3.1 mi) events for walkers, runners and volunteers that take place every Saturday morning at more than 2,000 locations in 22 countries across five continents.
Runners at Chermside Parkrun in Australia | |
| Predecessor | Bushy Park Time Trial UK Time Trial |
|---|---|
| Formation | 2 October 2004 |
| Founder | Paul Sinton-Hewitt |
| Headquarters | Richmond, London |
| Services | Global provision of weekly, timed 5km running events |
Membership | Total individual runners (October 2019): 6,301,016 |
Key people | Paul Sinton-Hewitt |
Volunteers | Total individual volunteers (September 2019): 515,283 |
| Website | www |
Parkrun was founded by Paul Sinton-Hewitt on 2 October 2004 at Bushy Park in London, England. The event was originally called the Bushy Park Time Trial. It grew into a network of similar events called the UK Time Trials, before adopting the name Parkrun in 2008 and expanding into other countries. The first event outside of the United Kingdom was launched in Zimbabwe in 2007, followed by Denmark in 2009, South Africa and Australia in 2011 and the United States in 2012. Sinton-Hewitt received a CBE for his services to grassroots sport in 2014. By October 2018 over 5 million runners were registered worldwide.
Events take place at a range of general locations including parks, stately homes, forests, rivers, lakes, reservoirs, beaches, promenades, prisons and nature reserves. A Parkrun milestone T-shirt is offered to volunteers and runners who have participated in a number of runs. Runners can travel to and complete any Parkrun; those that travel are termed "parkrun tourists" and can, if they wish, complete challenges.