Parkrun is set to return for Christmas Day this year after a two-year absence — fingers crossed
AMID the numerous lockdowns of the pandemic, one silver lining emerged, as many people found the lure to start running, or return to it, irresistible.
Luckily, we are no longer restricted to leaving the house for only “one form of exercise a day”. However, this lockdown period offered people the chance to fall in love with a sport that the hustle and bustle of everyday life often neglects.
I went down to Cardiff parkrun earlier this month and spoke to the day’s run director, Karen Chadwell.
“People missed it when it was gone, I didn’t know what I was going to do with myself,” she laughs.
Parkrun is a free, weekly 5km run, which began in Bushy Park in Teddington in 2004 but has exploded across the globe since. Cardiff’s began in February 2008 with a modest 56 runners.
Fast-forward to March 2020 when lockdown was announced and parkrun, like the rest of the country, came to an abrupt halt. It didn’t restart in Wales until August 2021 and while watching the run, it looks like the post-pandemic buzz is real.
Karen tells me that there are “only” about 500 runners today (including a surprising number of people pushing prams). The record number of finishers at Cardiff parkrun stands at 1,192 runners in February 2018.
Figures have not quite returned to those heady heights yet, but Karen says the December slump is to be expected.
“Christmas and New Year’s Day are always good, and then January is a big month,” she says. The New Year’s resolution runners, I ask? “Yes,” she says knowingly. Apparently not everyone lasts all year.
December 25 will see Blackweir welcome back the Christmas Day parkrun for the first time since 2019, when a staggering 857 runners delayed festivities for a 5km run.
As we talk, volunteers prepare a funnel at the finish line (wide enough for prams) for the runners.
I mention the army of volunteers I had seen marching to their marshalling positions across the route. She explains: “Well, we need about 50 or 60 volunteers each week for it to work. The first people get here about 7.30am and we’re gone by just after 10am.
“It’s a big commitment, but we take it in turns. We’ve managed to recruit a few more run directors as well since returning in August which is good.”
Parkrun has also insisted on a higher ratio of barcode scanners to runners to prevent mixing at the finish.
Tom Morris, 40, and dog Millie, are waiting for his (also pram-pushing) partner to finish. They take it in turns with the dog or the pram and he tells me he’s enjoying parkrun being back.
“I’m glad people have taken to running since the pandemic. It’s outside and low risk, and there’s a nice community feel to this one,” he says.
He mentions he has a parkrun win to his name: “It was an absolute fluke, no one else turned up, I started running and no-one else followed. I’m 40 now, so that won’t happen again!
“The beauty of running is that you can put on a pair of shoes and just go anywhere.”
Meanwhile, the frontrunners are finishing, and I see the first pram-pusher finish, clocking a brisk 18:28. He tells me he’s a 17-minute man at his best, but his baby daughter is occupying his normal training time.
Peter Gillibrand, 25, and his dad, John, who is a vicar, have also seized the opportunity given to them by the pandemic.
“I’ve been running for years and been trying to get my dad to join me. He was never interested though.
“But over lockdown I think it kind of dawned on him, he’s 60, he’s older now, and he’s not getting any younger.
“He gave it a go; he downloaded the Couch to 5k app in April this year during lockdown. I didn’t think he’d stick it out, but he did,” says Peter.
He wasn’t the only one to do so. Data gathered by Public Health England in July this year revealed that the app had been downloaded more than 2.3 million in the UK times since the pandemic began.
Additionally, a global running study including UK data, found that 13% of all runners had started since April 2020, with many, like John, saying Covid influenced their decision to participate.
“He did his first 5k in August in the first parkrun back after lockdown and enjoyed it. He rang me one day in London and said ‘I’ve done a 10k’.
“If you’d told me this time last year, I wouldn’t have believed you, he’s reaping the benefits of it all now. He’s speeding up, and he’s doing the half marathon in March, less than a year after starting.
“I think the Cardiff parkrun is a great initiative. I don’t think my dad would have done it properly without their set up. It’s all about the community feel.
“Parkrun do an amazing job. I’ve done more parkruns with my dad than I thought I ever would.
They run together whenever they’re not working, but the Christmas parkrun is off this year due to John’s responsibilities as a vicar.
“I think there has been a massive resurgence in runners, people who ran prior to lockdown have had a second wind since.”
That was exactly the case for Colin Williams, 56, who hadn’t run for over seven years. He says: “I’m retired from work, so when lockdown came, I knew I would have to start running again or go a little bit mad.”
He joined Les Croupiers Running Club in Cardiff, based at Llandaff Rugby Club: “I’m absolutely loving being part of the club, it’s a great club with some great people. I’ve lost three stone and feel a lot better for that.”
After spotting a group of three second year students, who had all commendably sacrificed their Friday night for an early morning Saturday 5k, I bumped into another volunteer, Terry.
Terry Cavaney, 62, was one of the last volunteers remaining, cycling back along the route looking for a man’s lost car keys.
He tells me: “I volunteer most weeks, I only live a mile away, so I thought I might as well do it.”
Did he miss parkrun’s absence? “I did I suppose, but it had to be done, we didn’t know how bad it was going to get which is understandable then. You only miss these things when they’re gone.
“We try to encourage all different types of people. And that’s the secret of it all, any running, just getting people involved to do it.
“Parkrun’s not bad Covid wise, you can keep your distance. It relieves a lot of the stress at the end of the day.”
- Cardiff parkrun is free to sign up for and always welcomes newcomers, whether you’re running, volunteering, or simply starting a New Year’s resolution.
Photos courtesy of: Mik Lambert, Craig Skidmore and Tom McArdle.
