Whatever kind of runner you are, and whatever you’re training for, it’s always great to make parkrun part of your weekly routine if you can. It’s a great start to the weekend and will top up your motivation for running because of the always-excellent atmosphere.

However, fitting parkrun in isn’t always the easiest thing to do for me when marathon training, and not only because of the million activities my kids have lined up every weekend. It’s also because parkrun is 5K, and once I’m deep into marathon training my speed sessions tend to be longer, and they usually take place on a Saturday.

Fortunately my coach Andy Hobdell also loves parkrun and has found a way to include it in long speed sessions—he just makes me run hard before and after it. The parkrun sandwich during marathon training basically involves running two long stints at marathon pace, one before and one after the parkrun itself, which you still run as hard as you can.

Earlier on in my current training block for the London Marathon I did my longest parkrun sandwich session yet, doing 10K at marathon pace before parkrun, followed by 8km afterward, but you can do much shorter versions of the session—I’m doing 5K before and 5K after this weekend, for example.

It’s a great session for testing out how comfortable marathon pace feels, especially after the parkrun when you’ve put a fast 5K into your legs. The recovery time is usually meant to be three to four minutes between each section of the workout, but this is almost impossible to judge correctly for the start of the parkrun because they don’t usually begin at exactly 9am. Then afterward it can take a little longer to get your barcode scanned and say hello to a couple of people before heading off to run again.

The logistics of this session can also be tricky, depending on the parkrun—if you run a very hilly course, it might actually be tough to run at marathon pace on it before and after, so you might need to find a different route locally for those sections, or adjust your pace targets. It’s also sometimes nice to get off the parkrun route for the workout section after the run if possible, so you’re not in the way of runners still finishing their parkrun.

If you don’t have a parkrun near you or just hate early mornings, then it’s easy to do this session without a parkrun. Just do the middle 5K hard, or find another race if you want the extra motivation of other people to run with, which certainly always helps when you’re pushing the pace.

Most Christmas traditions are as old as Christmas itself—singing carols, decorating a tree, arguing with family. It takes something special to forge a new tradition, but Christmas Day parkrun has become a cornerstone of 25 December for many people.

Christmas Day and New Year’s Day are the only two days of the year where parkrun stages events outside its normal Saturday morning berth. That means those who have a 100, 250 or even 500 parkrun club T-shirt in their sights can notch two extra parkruns in the space of a week. The rest of us just get the chance to start Christmas Day or the new year in the best way—by running or walking 5K.

I have run parkrun on Christmas Day in the past and the already excellent parkrun atmosphere is even better on the day. Many runners dress up and everyone is in a fantastic, festive mood. As someone with two kids I plan on doing parkrun this year to break up the manic levels of excitement surrounding presents in the morning, and get the older one outside to blow off steam by running around in the park even though she’s not old enough to do the actual parkrun yet.

Not all parkruns have a Christmas and/or New Year’s Day event, however. It’s not easy to get volunteers to put on the event on those days, especially in 2023 when both fall on Mondays, just two days after many of those volunteers have helped put on the normal Saturday parkrun.

To find out if your local parkrun has an event on, head to the Special Events section of the parkrun website. There you can see all the parkruns that have declared one way or the other—a green tick means a special event is on, a red cross means no extra parkrun. Many parkruns don’t decide until late in December, so a blank box means they haven’t made the call yet.

If you’re traveling to see family or friends at Christmas and see that a local parkrun is on then make sure you check the start time, because these vary around the UK depending on how late the sun comes up. If you’re heading to Scotland for Christmas you can expect a 9.30am start, for example, whereas London parkruns routinely set off at 9am.

Brooks has extended and expanded its partnership with parkrun and will now be the global footwear partner of the free weekly 5K running event until 2028. The new partnership will build on the work Brooks has done with parkrun in the UK over the past three years, with the footwear brand focusing on Germany, the Netherlands and the US as its next steps.

It’s good news for parkrunners because the partnership involves Brooks experts attending parkruns to give advice to runners and let them test Brooks products, which include some of the best running shoes available. 

There is already a 40-stop parkrun Happy Tour planned in the UK and Ireland, up from 30 in 2022, where people can access the advice and test shoes, and a similar format will come to Germany and the Netherlands.

If you live in the UK or Ireland, keep an eye on the Brooks parkrun page for the chance to register for participating parkruns and plug in your shoe size and preferred model so it’s ready and waiting for you on the day.

With that in mind, we thought we’d celebrate the new deal by highlighting the best Brooks running shoes for different parkrunners, so you know which ones to try if given the chance.

Best for… the speed demon: Brooks Hyperion Tempo

Brooks has a full carbon plate running shoe in its range – the Hyperion Elite – but for 5K the lightweight and speedy Hyperion Tempo will do a grand job of helping you fly around the course. If you’re seeking a sub-20min time, give the Tempo a go.

Read more in our Brooks Hyperion Tempo review

Best for… the puddle-splasher: Brooks Ghost 15

Parkruns are about having fun and running as a community, so if you embrace that spirit to run your event every week in all weather, you need a workhorse of a shoe. The Ghost 15 is one of the most popular shoes on the planet for a reason, offering a reliable, protective ride and a durable design.

Read more in our Brooks Ghost 15 review

Best for… the long-distance runner: Brooks Glycerin 20

If parkrun is just part of your Saturday run, because 5K is simply not a long enough run to get you out of bed, you need a comfortable cruiser like the Glycerin 20. It’s one of the best cushioned shoes and a go-to option for runners when comfort is the key.

Read more in our Brooks Glycerin 20 review

Best for… the off-roader: Brooks Cascadia 16

If your parkrun eschews the asphalt in favour of more rugged ground, then the Cascadia trail-running shoe will provide the grip you need. It’s also not a bad option in the winter for any parkrun, since many take place on all-weather park paths that get slippery in the cold and wet.

The life-affirming success of parkrun stems from its inclusivity. The weekly events are local and friendly to all comers, whether you plan on thrashing out a PB or walking your first 5K, as we found out when we spoke to four recent converts before parkrun’s International Women’s Day initiative. Every parkrun event has a tail walker, one of the team of volunteers that make parkrun possible, who shepherds the participants home.

The fact that the name of the event uses “run” rather than “walk”, however, may obscure the fact that every week thousands of people walk parkrun. Parkrun’s own research revealed that “some people feel that if they walk at parkrun they will hold others up, slow them down, will be on their own, or will not be welcomed”. But this isn’t the case.

As parkrun celebrates 18 years this October, it is making a push to increase the number of people walking each week by introducing the parkwalk campaign. Walking is a fantastic way to spend your time, and it’ll do everyone’s physical and mental state the world of good. “Walking can help you manage or prevent health conditions, enhance your mood, boost fitness and bring you into contact with some amazing places and people,” says parkrun’s launch blog.

If you’re someone who has never taken part in a parkrun then this October is the perfect time to give it a try. If you’re an experienced parkrunner it’s a great month to invite a friend and walk with them, or even volunteer to support any new faces at your local event.

To support parkwalk in October and beyond, a new volunteer role has been created – parkwalker. It’s in addition to the tail walker, and is designed to be another friendly face in the pack of walkers.

Then in the first two weekends of November, Walk with Joe (yes, Joe Wicks) encourages people to turn up in fancy dress, connect with their community and raise money for BBC Children in Need’s Spotacular campaign.

“I’m a massive advocate of moving the body to help the mind,” says Wicks, “and walking and talking with family and friends has always been really important to me.” What more encouragement do you need?  

Find your local parkun

More about parkrun

• What Is Parkrun And Why Does Everyone Love It?
• Study: Taking Part In Parkrun Makes You Happier

If you’ve ever attended a parkrun you will know that every Saturday morning event is special, with all sorts of people coming together to walk, jog or run 5K.

This weekend’s event is set to be extra special, as it will be a celebration of International Women’s Day, which falls a few days later on Tuesday 8th March.

Parkrun has partnered with This Girl Can to encourage as many women and girls as possible to join in the fun, and hopefully put in place a new Saturday tradition where they attend parkrun as a matter of course. There really are few better ways to start the weekend.

If the idea of travelling 5K by foot seems daunting, we’re here to tell you that parkruns are fun, sociable affairs and no-one has to push themselves harder than they’d like. You can walk, jog or run, or even volunteer to help organise if you want to get the lie of the land first.

To help ease any nerves – whether that’s you or someone you plan to ask along – we asked four women who all recently joined parkrun about their experiences and their advice for first-timers. Our parkrun explainer will also help you understand how it all works.

Your Speed Doesn’t Matter 

Jess Harcourt has just joined parkrun in Preston. She says that despite being a “slow runner”, everyone is encouraging.

“I wondered if the faster people would look down on someone like me, but that’s not the case. They were cheering us slower ones on.

“When faster people lapped me or had finished and were walking back to their cars, they were still encouraging everyone to keep going and applauding them. It was such a feelgood, positive community.

“Even if you walk the whole thing, it’s still only an hour and it felt so good to start my weekend with something so positive – it filled me with energy without taking too much out of the weekend.”

You Won’t Feel Out Of Place 

Shivani Vara has recently started attending the Richmond parkrun to prepare herself for marathon training. She says that completing a run at 9am makes you feel ready to conquer the rest of your day.

“There are so many people from all backgrounds, from friends to solo runners, runners with dogs and even a pram!”

You’re Never Alone

Even if you head to a parkrun solo, you’ll be surrounded by friendly like-minded people, says Fiona Brennan, who runs the Worcester parkrun with her seven-year-old daughter.

“Everyone I’ve met has been incredibly friendly. There are marshals around every course so you’ll always have someone cheering you on. And most parkruns have a Facebook group so if you are going alone, leave a message on the group and someone will say hello on the day.”

It’s All About Community

Jess Green runs the Highbury Fields parkrun in north London. She had to be dragged there by a friend the first time because nerves got the better of her. However, these nerves quickly dissipated. 

“The best thing for new runners is that every single week, the hosts at parkrun describe the course and how it works, so you never have to identify yourself as a newbie to understand the plan.

“There are loads of people walk-running and the people who walk the route will always be behind you.

“The volunteers are giving up their time to facilitate something – it immediately adds a sense of community because they’re clearly community-minded people. If you’re hot and carrying your jacket, they’ll come grab it from you, for example.”

Find your nearest parkrun

For many runners, the world won’t have returned to normal until they can spend every Saturday morning at their local parkrun. The Guardian reports they will be able to do just that from 26th June, as long as the government lifts all restrictions on the 21st as planned.

The hugely popular free 5K runs that take place across the country were put on ice in 2020 as part of the restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. An original return date of 5th June was set in April, but that was pushed back until 26th June because parkrun faced difficulties getting permission from local councils and landowners for the events’ safe return.

While hundreds of landowners did give permission, parkrun decided that if it couldn’t secure enough events to ensure that the ones that did go ahead wouldn’t be overcrowded, it would not run any events at all.

There are 587 events across England, and parkrun required around 90% of landowners to provide permission. As of the 4th, only 434 (74%) had given their permission for parkrun to return, and parkrun set a deadline of 11th June to make a decision on the 26th June return in order to give volunteers enough time to organise the events.

See related :

• What Is Parkrun And Why Does Everyone Love It?
• Taking Part In Parkrun Makes You Happier
• The Parkrun World Record Holder On How To Improve Your Time

Until yesterday, the date of the 26th looked unlikely as well, but public pressure and the support of politicians like London mayor Sadiq Khan, and cabinet ministers Robert Jenrick and Oliver Dowden helped tipped the balance. The Guardian reports that parkrun expects to announce that it will return as planned. As of Friday morning, 506 out of 589 councils and landowners had granted permission.

While no formal announcement has been made, parkrun did rather tip its hand by tweeting “Tomorrow is going to be a good day” on 10th June, sending runners into a frenzy of excitement at the likely return of the event.

Update: parkrun has now confirmed the return in a statement on the parkrun website, which includes a link to a list of the events due to return. 

Now the work begins to stage each event safely, which relies on volunteers. If you’d like to help you can find your local parkrun on the event’s map and email them, or find them on social media and get in touch there.

Considering how many people turned to running during lockdown, it’s been a crying shame that the wonderfully social and welcoming weekly parkrun had to be put on hiatus. The parkrun formula is a 5K beginning at 9am every Saturday at hundreds of locations around the UK. The event is free and can be walked, jogged or run; you can take it seriously, signing up and printing off a barcode so your time logged, or just turn up and enjoy a Saturday morning moving in the open air with others.

Its absence has been keenly felt, but as the COVID-19 situation continues to improve in the UK, parkrun is planning its comeback. Yesterday, an announcement on the parkrun blog revealed that all the landowners where the 589 English parkruns are held have received official requests to allow parkrun to begin again on Saturday 5th June.

While parkrun is committed to returning in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (and worldwide), current restrictions mean there’s no firm date in place for their locations yet.

The letter, which you can read on a public Google document, lays out in detail the evidence parkrun and the government have analysed leading to the conclusion that it’s safe for parkrun to return. That evidence includes a parkrun-commissioned report that modelled the risk of transmission specifically at parkrun events. The two-word takeaway is that parkrun is “very safe”.

Report author Professor Clive Beggs, an expert in the transmission and control of infectious disease, commented: “Our analysis was undertaken using COVID-19 prevalence levels for March 2021, and the results revealed that parkrun events are likely to be very safe. This finding appears to be supported by the evidence from the various road races that have been held around the world during the pandemic, which have been characterised by a noticeable lack of infectious outbreaks. Based on this, it would seem to me that running events are probably already safe in the UK, and getting safer every day as prevalence falls and the vaccine rollout continues.”

See related 

• What Is Parkrun And Why Does Everyone Love It?
• The Parkrun World Record Holder On How To Improve Your Time
• Taking Part In Parkrun Makes You Happier

In an email to signed-up parkrunners, founder Paul Sinton-Hewitt emphasised how important it is for all parkruns to open at once, to avoid the chances of a select few being overrun. Sinton-Hewitt also encouraged everyone to do whatever they can to press landowners to grant permission for parkrun’s return as soon as possible.

Visit parkrun’s event map to find your local event and drop them an email if you’d like to help. You can also often find your local event on your social media network of choice and contact them that way.

Photograph: Bruce Li

In November 2014, when I first got up early on a Saturday morning to try parkrun, there was no shortage of choice. Yet for the first four months I repeatedly went back to Wimbledon Common – not exactly a lazy option (I was starting my weekend running 5K, after all) but not what you’d call adventurous either.

In the six years since, Greater London’s parkrun scene has expanded to 56 courses. Cover all of them and you can proudly tick off the #LonDone achievement – until new ones open up anyway.

As someone who has visited 36 London parkruns and is well on their way to joining the 250 club, I’ve covered enough ground to make some recommendations for runners looking to expand their horizons in the capital. Here are my picks.

Best London Parkrun For A PB: Hackney Marshes

London is home to a number of flat courses so there are plenty of places that can help your chances of a new PB, but the absolute flattest with just eight feet (2.4m) of undulation – according to these elevation rankings – is Hackney Marshes.

That certainly aligns with my experiences there, and it also doesn’t have the multiple lap congestion risk that similarly incline-free parkruns at Fulham and Dulwich have. It does have a small section on grass, though, so after a particularly wet period you might want to chance the honourable mentions below which are 100% Tarmac.

Honourable mentions: Fulham Palace, Dulwich, Burgess

Best London Parkrun For Lovely Views: Ally Pally

If you want good views, you’ll need some elevation, and Ally Pally is certainly good for that. It has two courses – there’s a less grassy one in winter – and both offer excellent vistas of London. If you’re the kind of person who likes to enjoy the scenery, this is well worth the trip – just make sure you’ve done some hill training in preparation.

Of my honourable mentions, the views at Gladstone and Hampstead Heath come courtesy of hills, but if you prefer pretty scenery on the flat, then you can’t beat Kingston’s route alongside the Thames.

Honourable mentions: Kingston, Gladstone, Hampstead Heath

Closest London Parkrun To A Tube Or DLR station: Highbury Fields

I’ll be honest: I haven’t got a trundle wheel out and measured the distance from ticket barrier to start line, but a number are certainly on my go-to list when I’ve got up late and have to rely on TfL.

Highbury Fields is probably the closest, just a three-minute walk from Highbury & Islington station – which is handy if your warm-up jog needs to become a warm-up sprint thanks to poor timekeeping. Be warned, though: it’s not the most interesting of courses and involves a pretty tedious five laps that go around, rather than in, the park.

Honourable mentions: Clapham Common, Southwark, Victoria Dock

Busiest London Parkrun: Bushy

Is it any surprise that the original parkrun is also the busiest? Bushy parkrun began all the way back in 2004 and usually hits at least 1,200 runners even in the coldest months. Case in point: 2,545 people started Christmas Day 2019 by running it. The resulting atmosphere makes it a must-visit even if it doesn’t become a regular stop on your parkrun tour.

The overcrowding doesn’t make it great for a PB and neither does its muddy nature. That said, if you ever find yourself tempted to stop and walk, attending Bushy is a good way to ensure you don’t. When I went, it was so busy that I felt like I was on a running conveyor belt from start to finish. I was pretty hungover that morning but there simply wasn’t an easy way to let my aching limbs beat me and I set a pretty respectable time as a result.

Honourable mentions: Clapham Common, Finsbury, Tooting Common

Quietest London Parkrun: Beckton

If you’re thinking you’ll need to head to Zone 6 for a bit of peace and quiet, you’re in for a pleasant surprise. Beckton parkrun is in the shadow of London City Airport, just east of Canning Town and easily walkable from the Royal Albert DLR station, and yet, at the time of writing, the number of runners has only broken the three-figure barrier on three occasions. A turnout of fewer than 50 is the norm.

To put it another way, on the last run there, you could have achieved a podium finish with a time of 21min 20sec, and come first with a time of 20min 37sec. But even distinctly average runners like me are guaranteed a respectable top-30 finish, making it a fine choice for parkrunning tourists.

Honourable mentions: Wormwood Scrubs, Pymmes, Bethlem Royal Hospital

Toughest London Parkrun: Lloyd

If you fancy a challenge, then in London they don’t come tougher than Lloyd Park in Croydon. It’s undulating throughout, but there’s a particularly sharp hill 1.5km into the course, which you have to face twice over the duration of the two-lapper.

It’s also a cross-country-style run, with muddy woodland making those uphills all the less pleasant. You probably won’t be setting a PB here, but you’ll certainly be proud of yourself when you stumble over the finish line.

Honourable mentions: Hilly Fields, Crystal Palace, Roundshaw Downs

Hilliest London Parkrun: Hilly Fields

With 253 feet (77m) of elevation, Hilly Fields is nothing if not appropriately named. That said, it’s not far ahead of Crystal Palace (250ft/76m), Gladstone (244ft/74m) and Lloyd Park (239ft/73m) in the wider scheme of things.

If you fancy going slightly beyond London, as I did one one particularly empty Saturday then the one on the Mole Valley Vineyard in Dorking is an absolute beast with 289ft (88m) of elevation. Let’s just say I’ve never seen so many people stopping to walk within the first kilometre before. The last 2km are downhill all the way, though, so you can make up some time.

Honourable mentions: Crystal Palace, Gladstone, Lloyd

There are all sorts of reasons to make heading down to your local parkrun a regular part of your Saturday mornings. The nationwide 5K events are all free and have a truly welcoming atmosphere, where people get together to start the weekend in the best possible way – by running loops of a local park and then having a chat afterwards.

One less well-known reason is that going to your local parkrun might yield the chance to run with some of the UK’s best athletes. Well, maybe not run with, but at least see at the start before they blaze off into the distance.

Charlotte Arter is the British 10K champion and Welsh half marathon record holder, and uses the Cardiff parkrun as a chance to test her legs from time to time.

“I’m a huge advocate of parkrun,” says Arter. “I think it’s a fantastic organisation and people use it for different purposes. For me it’s a bit of fun and a way to test where I’m at fitness-wise.”

It’s fair to say that Arter was in pretty good shape in January 2019, when she rocked up and ran a world record time for parkrun, finishing the 5K in 15 minutes 50 seconds.

“I had my own record in mind, which was 16:10,” says Arter. “So to run 15:50 was great. I didn’t know until later on it was a record!”

Naturally we couldn’t let a parkrun world record holder out of our sights without asking for some tips on how we could improve our own parkrun PB, even if a world record is slightly beyond us.

See related :

• Running For Beginners: Free Couch To 5K Plan
• 10 Week 5K Training Plan For A Personal Best
• What Is Parkrun And Why Does Everyone Love It?
• Taking Part In Parkrun Makes You Happier
• The Best London Parkruns For PBs, Great Views And More Reasons To Travel On Saturday Morning

“It’s important to make sure you have a bit of variety in your training and you’re not just going out for easy runs,” says Arter. “You’re never going to improve that way. One session a week should be a bit quicker. You can do this during a normal run – do ten one-minute sprints where you’re running at quicker than your 5K pace, with short recoveries. It’s also good to have one slightly longer run a week to build endurance.

“Consistency is also really important. Everyone lives such busy lives working and training, but if you can establish a weekly routine where you’re running regularly that makes a huge difference. People who run for a week, then don’t run for a week or two… that’s when you’re going to struggle.”

We also asked Arter how people should go about pacing a parkrun. Mainly whether you can just go for broke and hope to hold on.

“That’s what I did! I think my coach secretly had it planned,” says Arter. “He told me to follow a group of guys and they went through the first mile ridiculously quick. I was like, ‘How am I going to hold on?’ And then you just kind of do. I’m not saying that’s the tactic for everyone, but you can afford to go out a little bit quicker with a 5K and hopefully you won’t fall to pieces completely in the latter stages.”

Arter also recommends trying a few different strategies with your parkruns – there’s one every week, after all, so it doesn’t matter so much if one or two don’t go to plan.

“I think the more you do, the more you’ll get used to what works for you,” says Arter. “If you’re a regular parkrunner, try different ways of running it. Try going hard and seeing what happens, and try pacing it to run evenly. It depends on the kind of runner you are.”

Charlotte Arter is a Saucony UK athlete and is supporting the launch of the Saucony Ride ISO 2

Buy the women’s Ride ISO 2 from Saucony | Buy men’s from Saucony | £120

Almost two million people in the UK have taken part in a parkrun since it first launched back in 2004 and very few of those people will have a bad word to say about it. Parkrun is pretty much the preeminent example of how exercise can be for everyone and bring everyone together. If you’ve never done one then we heartily recommend you rectify that this coming Saturday. Here’s what you need to know before you show up.

What is parkrun?

A series of free 5K runs hosted in parks around the world, including 587 events in the UK every Saturday morning at 9am. The routes are marked out so you won’t take a wrong turn and they’re also timed (although you can skip this bit if you prefer) so you can see how long it took you to run the distance and where you placed in that day’s field, as well as your all-time best time on the parkrun website. The organisers are keen to point out, however, that despite bearing all the hallmarks of a race, it is not a race. Probably to stop excessively competitive people ruining it for everyone else.

Each of those events is hosted by volunteers and while most are held in city or country parks, that’s not always the case – beaches, lakes and promenades are among the other locations used. The surface you run on varies too, from paved road to muddy trails, and there are both pancake-flat and horrendously hilly parkruns. You can find your local event on the parkrun website, and parkrun tourism – where you find the local parkrun when you’re travelling away from home – is very much encouraged as well. Outside the UK you’ll find the most events in Australia and South Africa but it’s in 20 countries, from Malaysia to Swaziland.

Why is parkrun so great?

The one thing every event across the world has in common is the communal spirit that’s at the core of parkrun. You can run hard and push for a PB, or take it easy with some friends. It’s not about competing with others. Whether it’s your first 5K or your 50th, parkrun is about coming together on a Saturday morning and doing some exercise.

How does parkrun work out my time?

Register on the parkrun website and you’ll get a barcode. Print that out and bring it along (or buy a personalised wristband from parkrun) and it’ll be scanned at the end of your race and matched to your finishing token so your time is posted on the website. You can run without a barcode, but that means you won’t get a time, so don’t do that.

When and where do I get my result?

Results are put up on the event website within a couple of hours of the finish every Saturday and you’ll also get a email detailing your time and position.

How do I volunteer?

An excellent question, because parkrun doesn’t happen without regulars taking the occasional Saturday off running to direct people around the course, set up the route, scan barcodes, brief first-timers or any of the other small jobs that need doing for the event to succeed.

To get involved with volunteering at your local parkrun go to your parkrun profile online and, within the email options section, pick the event you want to opt in on emails from. You can also check the volunteer section of your local parkrun’s website, or just approach any of the team on duty one Saturday morning and ask how you can get involved.

See related 

• Running For Beginners: Free Couch To 5K Plan
• The Best London Parkruns For PBs, Great Views And More Reasons To Travel On Saturday Morning
• Taking Part In Parkrun Makes You Happier

Can kids run?

Parkrun is open to all ages, although children under 11 must run with an adult. There are 233 UK locations that also stage junior parkruns on a Sunday morning. These are two kilometres long and for kids aged four to 14.

Can wheelchair users take part?

People in wheelchairs can also take part in parkrun, although many courses won’t be suitable, so it’s worth getting in touch with the event you’re planning on attending to check.

Can I bring my dog?

You can also run with your dog at many parkruns. Again it’s best to check with the organisers first, and you’re only allowed one dog – you can’t strap yourself to a squad of collies and let them do all the work. Parkrun’s Can I participate with my dog? FAQ page has more information on the subject.

Running is often seen as a solitary pastime, but the community within the sport is often its main draw – whether it’s running with a friend or some colleagues, joining a club or heading down to your local parkrun every weekend.

Research done by Glasgow Caledonian University found that 89% of runners who take part in parkrun feel that it has made them happier. Furthermore, joining in the Saturday morning runs has made them more likely to exercise at other times, with 80% saying parkrun motivated them to work out in the week.

The survey also involved people who use the sports tracking app Strava, finding that 83% were more motivated to exercise because of it. Over 8,000 people who take part in parkruns or use Strava were questioned as part of the research.

Happiness was rated using the respected Oxford Happiness Questionnaire, which scores on a scale of 1 (unhappy) to 6 (extremely happy). Participants in the study had an average score of 4.4 – 0.4 higher than the average across the general population, not a huge surprise to anyone who has ever attended a parkrun. Even on the coldest, wettest Saturdays it’s all smiles.

See related

• The Best London Parkruns For PBs, Great Views And More Reasons To Travel On Saturday Morning
• Eight Essential Tips For Strava Beginners
• Running For Beginners: Free Couch To 5K Plan

As for Strava, its the social networking features can make a real positive difference to your wellbeing because unlike most social media sites and apps, Strava is an overwhelmingly positive place. People give kudos to others for their activities and leave almost exclusively well-intentioned comments underneath. As opposed to pretty much every other form of social media you can think of.

Almost two-thirds (64%) of people surveyed said that Strava had made a positive impact on their self-confidence, and 44% said it had improved their social life. A mere 0.7% of respondents said using Strava had resulted in any negative effects.

Even if you don’t have any intention of joining Strava or dragging yourself out of bed to make the 9am start time for parkrun on a Saturday, there’s something to be taken from the study: exercising with other people is great, and it could well make you happier in general and motivate you to exercise more.

Photograph: Andy Waterman

The very first parkrun was held in early October 2004, when 13 runners got together and tackled 5K around Bushy Park in London. This weekend, when parkrun celebrates its 13th birthday, more than 200,000 runners and volunteers across 1,200 events and 17 countries will be taking part.

Parkrun is now the biggest running event on the planet and the reasons behind that success are plain to see – it’s free, it’s easy to get involved in and it times your 5K effort, plus the encouraging atmosphere at each event keeps runners of all levels coming back for more.

One man who epitomises the good that parkrun does is 38-year-old Des Pratt, a branch manager of a retail company, whose home event is Daventry parkrun in Northamptonshire. After being encouraged to attend his first parkrun in January last year, Pratt has become a regular at the event and a keen runner, which has helped him lose weight and improve his fitness.

Why did you start running?

“I’d been quite large for a number of years,” says Pratt. “I’m 6ft 7in [2m] so I thought it was just a nice spread of weight. I knew I was big but I never thought I was over-the-top big.

“Then I went away on a lads’ weekend, came back and just felt absolutely terrible. It was a lightbulb moment. I said to my wife, ‘That’s it, you’re never going to see me looking like this again’.

“In the space of roughly 42 weeks I lost 9½ stone [60kg] and I’ve maintained it. I did it through Slimming World initially, but a big part of it was running, and in particular parkrun.”

How did you get into parkrun?

“A friend introduced me to it at the end of January last year. He’d been doing parkrun every Saturday,” says Pratt.

“At my first one I was still really overweight and struggling. It took me 42 minutes – I hated it if I’m totally honest. I was sick at the end. I pretty much went home and cried. I thought, ‘If this is what it’s going to take to get myself fit, then forget it, I’m not interested’. But my friend pestered me all week and I went back for the next one, and it got a little bit easier and the time got a little bit quicker. I was enjoying it more and I started making friends there.

“It snowballed from there – I started running in the week on my own, knowing that I had the parkrun on Saturday to go to. At the back end of the year I got my time right down and I started entering other races and doing longer runs with my friends.

“The weight had started coming off and I’d got myself into a nice circle of running further and faster and losing weight, which helped me to run further and faster, and so on.

“This year I managed to get my parkrun personal best down to 23min 51sec. That’s one of the things I love most about parkrun. It’s free and fun – and it is 100% fun – but you’ve also got that timing element there as well so you can pit yourself against yourself.

“You’re not in competition against the other people – it’s competition with yourself, where you can better yourself every week.”

How long did it take to start enjoying running after that tough first week?

“I would say genuinely it was probably only that first week,” says Pratt. “It’s just that initial, ‘Oh my God what am I doing?’

“But even in that first week when I wasn’t enjoying it the people there and the atmosphere of the whole event made it better. I think if it was a hostile environment and people weren’t friendly I probably wouldn’t have gone back the second week.”

Would you encourage runners of all abilities to give parkrun a go?

“Yes. When my friend first told me about it it was a bit daunting, but he explained that everyone’s really friendly and the atmosphere makes it,” says Pratt. “Without trying to be insulting he was saying that there are other people like me there. All I saw in my head was people doing it really quick and then everyone will go ahead and no-one will support me.

“But there are people at Daventry – and I’m sure it’s the same at other events – who stay if they can and help and support, even the people who do it in a quick time. There’s a hill at the finish at Daventry and some go back to help people up the hill. I’ve seen people sacrifice their own run to help others if they’ve fallen over or they’re struggling. It’s just such a great atmosphere.

“I try to encourage as many people as I can to do it. It’s not just the runners – it’s the volunteers and the people who organise it as well. The whole thing is like a family.”

If you’re keen to give parkrun a go, and you live in London, then our pick of the best parkruns in London might help you choose your first run. One tip – it’s probably wise to steer clear of Lloyd parkrun in Croydon if you’re a newbie (even though as Pratt says, you’ll probably get plenty of help).

Find a UK parkrun near you at parkrun.org.uk