Local authorities across Surrey are supporting the return of Parkrun events in the county next month.
Parkruns are community running events typically held in local parks or other open spaces, with permission from the landowners of these spaces required for the events to go ahead.
Parkruns have recently been paused due to Covid-19, but organisers are looking to resume next month from June 5.
Today (21st May) Parkrun UK has announced that it has been forced to delay the planned reopening of 5k events in England on Saturday 5 June.
With more than three million registered parkrunners across England, and around 300,000 people taking part on a typical weekend, opening a small subset of parkruns is not viable.
Parkrun UK will now target Saturday 26 June to resume all 5k events across England. A decision will be made regarding the go ahead for this new date on Friday 11 June.
Some Junior Parkruns are already happening, with Woking’s Junior event restarting this weekend.
District and Borough councils across Surrey have been working with the Parkrun organisers to agree on locations and get the events ready to go. Surrey County Council’s Public Health and Emergency Planning teams are supporting in this, to ensure any Parkrun is held safely and adheres to national coronavirus restrictions.
Last Saturday (15 May), Kempton Park in Surrey hosted a ‘Reunion 5k’ event, as part of a Government trial on the return of mass participation events.
Leader of Surrey County Council, Tim Oliver, took part in the Reunion 5k event. He said: “It was wonderful to have a taster of these events coming back and here in Surrey we want to encourage everybody to get outdoors and keep fit. Events like Parkrun are the perfect way to do just that, while at the same time socialising and meeting friends and neighbours. I’m looking forward to seeing all our Parkruns return, and maybe even new events spring up in future.”
Ruth Hutchinson, Surrey’s Director of Public Health said: “We are hopeful that all Parkruns across Surrey will resume as both the Junior and Adult Parkrun events are such a wonderful initiative to improve health and wellbeing across our communities.
“We are still monitoring public health data closely and working with local councils as well as the DCMS and government to make sure mass participation events can return safely, and last weekend’s Reunion 5k event at Kempton Park will feed into that knowledge. I’m happy that, with all the work carried out by Parkrun organisers and their commitment to safety, we should see all their events return next month.”
In order to aid the permission process, organisers should review and strongly consider the following:
The latest from Surrey’s District and Borough councils is:
Elmbridge: Working with Parkrun to ensure all correct risk assessments etc are in place with the hope of giving them the go ahead for the Parkrun at Brooklands Community Park, Weybridge.
Epsom & Ewell: The Nonsuch Park Parkrun has been given approval to return on Saturday 5 June. There can be up to 1,000 people taking part.
Guildford: Guildford Parkrun has been given permission to restart in Stoke Park on 5 June 2021.
Mole Valley: Denbies have given permission for Mole Valley Parkrun to return on their estate
Reigate & Banstead: Parkrun has permission to return at both Reigate Priory Park and Banstead Woods, subject to them completing the Surrey-wide events checklist and it meeting the environmental Health team’s approval.
Runnymede: The council has approved the safe restart of Homewood Parkrun. Cllr Nick Prescot, Leader of Runnymede Borough Council and Chair of the Surrey Leaders Group, said: “There’s nothing like a run in the fresh air to invigorate the body and mind, and I’m pleased local people will be able to start using Ottershaw Memorial Fields for the Homewood Parkrun.
“Credit goes to the volunteer organisers for making it happen again, please do look them up online if you want to take part.”
Spelthorne: Junior Parkrun in Laleham Park has already restarted and is going well.
Surrey Heath: The council has approved the safe restart of Frimley Lodge Parkrun. Surrey Heath Portfolio Holder for Places & Strategy, Cllr Rebecca Jennings-Evans, said: “We are pleased to confirm that Surrey Heath Borough Council has approved the safe restart of Frimley Lodge parkrun.
“We’ve enjoyed hosting this popular local event at the park for more than a decade, and are very supportive of the event, with its positive physical and mental health benefits – and the related social aspects of the run of course!
“We’re looking forward to the first parkrun back at Frimley Lodge, hopefully at the start of June.”
Tandridge: “While we don’t have any park runs planned in our district at the moment, we’re really pleased to see them returning across Surrey and we look forward to hosting them in the future.”
Waverley: “Waverley Borough Council encourages residents to undertake outdoor exercise as this is great for maintaining positive mental health. We will happily consider any application to hold a Parkrun and are planning our own events, beginning later this summer.”
Woking: Woking Junior Parkrun is scheduled to recommence this Sunday (23 May) and the main Woking Parkrun event on Saturday 5 June.
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