THE GLOBAL PARKRUN phenomenon shows no sign of slowing down, as thousands of people around the country get out and active later, making the most of their Saturday morning as part of this mass participation event.
The statistics are remarkable; there are now 214,195 parkrun events in 17 countries around the world, with 2.9 million runners taking part in their local one every single week.
In Ireland, there are 88 registered events around the island and those numbers continue to swell on a weekly basis, particularly as spring turns to summer, and word spreads.
Just as they did last week in Cabinteely, hundreds of runners are expected at this morning’s Claremorris parkrun, the allure of a 5k run to kickstart the Bank Holiday weekend only bettered by the chance to run alongside — and even beat — Ireland’s greatest ever athlete.
Seven days after she brought up a century of parkruns, Sonia O’Sullivan is wasting no time in completing her 101st, and the Olympic silver medallist can expect another warm welcome out west, further underlining her enduring popularity at home.
“It was unbelievable,” she says of last week’s crowd in Cabinteely, with 402 runners completing the event and many more out and about to catch a glimpse of O’Sullivan.
“It was a beautiful park and we got there about an hour before the start, which is very early for me. I had seen on social media during the week that there was a bit of build-up but I couldn’t believe the turn out.”
It was a million miles away from the modest beginnings of her introduction to parkrun in London’s Bushy Park 13 years ago, when a handful of runners set off for a group run not knowing how quickly it would become a truly global event.
O’Sullivan had just completed the London marathon in a personal best time of 2:29.01 but as the Cork native entered retirement from professional athletics, little did she know that parkrun would become such a constant in her life.
“It has followed me around the world,” she laughs, alluding to the fact that her 100 runs have been split between Australia and Ireland.
“It has only taken me close to 13 years but it’s brilliant. I knew I’d never stop running but the enjoyment of getting out on a Saturday morning and setting the day up around like-minded people is huge.
“That’s the thing about parkrun — it’s accessible for everyone and each run has a different story and a different memory. You meet so many interesting people along the way, and everyone is just so friendly and welcoming.”
All entries for parkrun are completely free and the attraction for many is that every event starts roughly around the same time every Saturday morning, so no matter where you go in the country or world, there’s likely to be a parkrun near you.
“The beauty of parkrun is that they’re so welcoming and accessible and no matter how fit or unfit you may be on that particular Saturday morning, you’re cheered home and get a real physical and mental boost once you’ve completed the distance and caught up with friends,” O’Sullivan adds.
“For those who have never done a parkrun before I’d encourage you to give it a go.”
Around 10,000 people of every age and ability will take part in their local parkrun this morning, with more than 1,000 volunteers ensuring everything runs smoothly from Bere Island to Ballina to Ballinteer.
Over 190,000 registered participants have run more than 5 million kilometres at parkrun events in Ireland since it started here in at Malahide Castle in November 2012 — and globally, parkrun is the single biggest participation running event with nearly three million registered participants and an average of 165,000 weekly participants.
“Parkrun has been growing at an incredible rate, and the success and beauty of parkrun lies in the simplicity and accessibility of the community-based events.”
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