There have been 38 opportunities to parkrun since we launched our ‘parkrun to the Paralympics’ challenge back on Saturday 25th August 2018. This has included a number of cold, wet and windy mornings, plus Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, as well as various clashes with goalball tournaments and training sessions but, despite these factors, a minimum of 25km has been added to the total each time so we have collectively covered 2210km (= 442 parkruns)!
Thirty-six Goalball UK members, from 8 different clubs (Cambridge Dons, Croysutt Warriors, Derbyshire Ducks, Glasgow, Nottinghamshire Sheriffs, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and Winchester) together with Goalball UK staff members and volunteers, have contributed so far. Chris Payne (Derbyshire Ducks) has kept up his amazing record of parkrunning every time!
Geographically, parkruns have been completed in England, Scotland and Wales (but none yet in Northern Ireland). Some Goalball UK members have parkrun at the same course each time whilst others have toured around – Anthony O’Keefe (South Yorkshire) and Steve Cox (Goalball UK Workforce Development Officer) even managed to include parkruns in their respective trips to Florida and New York!
There are still 73 opportunities to parkrun before the start of the Tokyo Paralympics on Tuesday 25th August 2020 so it is not too late to get involved – and now that the better weather has arrived that’s one less excuse why not to!
If you are looking to get fitter, parkrun is a brilliant alternative (or addition) to going to the gym. If you are apprehensive, don’t be, as just like goalball, the parkrun community is very welcoming. The time you finish in is irrelevant, it’s just finishing that’s important and you don’t have to commit to going every week, it’s just whenever you want to.
Remember that you can always encourage your family or friends to go as well and if they don’t want to walk, jog or run, they can volunteer.
For any more information about how to get involved, including if you need any help finding your nearest parkrun or a guide runner, please contact Kathryn Fielding (Tel. 07795 263642 or kathryn@goalballuk.com).
