Parkwalking at parkrun

Think you can’t do parkrun because it’s a run? You won’t be fast enough, you’ll finish last, you’ll let people down, you’ll embarrass yourself?

Wrong.

Walking has always been not only acceptable, but encouraged at parkrun.

My own mum walks it every week and my dad does a mix of walking and running. When they first started in 2016, I must admit there weren’t many walkers. My mum was annoyed because she said people didn’t realise they were a part of parkrun. They could have just been walking in the park rather than actually walking the course and crossing the finish line. But the attitude improved soon after that.

Nationally, the parkrun organisation is very proud that the average finish times are getting slower every year. Because that means that people who were otherwise inactive are taking steps to get active and get outdoors.

A parkrun which takes 1 hour and 15 minutes is every bit as valid and beneficial as one which takes 15 minutes. And at parkrun on any Saturday, anywhere in the country, you will see people who are that fast and that slow.

When I started parkrun, there was a volunteer called the tail runner. It was the tail runner’s ‘job’ to come last. So no participant need worry about coming last, because there was always someone behind them. This role became compulsory at all parkruns in 2017 and, later that year, the name changed to tail walker.

But parkrun wanted to do more to encourage walkers. So it introduced parkwalk this month. It’s all about encouraging even more walkers to take part.

And it’s been a big success. Since the beginning of October, there has been a 69% increase in the number of walkers at parkrun in the UK.

Alongside the idea of parkwalk is a new volunteer role – parkwalker. This is someone who walks somewhere in front of the tail walker, in the midst of the walkers, to chat to them and encourage them. As our parkrun is pretty big, we usually have three parkwalkers.

I like to volunteer at parkrun from time to time, so last week I tried my hand at parkwalker. As someone who has regular walkers in the family, it is something which I really support. It was nice to chat to different people as they walked, although some of them were too fast for me to keep up! And it was nice to enjoy parkrun at a different pace and to see things differently.

Parkwalk month is nearly over, but the concept of parkwalk and the parkwalker volunteer role is here to stay.

If you’ve never tried parkrun before, but like the idea of a parkwalk in a very friendly, supportive community, you can find your nearest parkrun here.