Subscribe to trusted local news
In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.
- Subscription costs less than £1 a week with an annual plan.
Already a subscriber? Log in here.
21
May 2021
Parkrun delays restarting 5k runs by three weeks
Runners in the Harrogate district will have to wait a little longer to get back to parkrun after the charity announced it is delaying its resumption of the weekly free 5k runs by another three weeks.
Although Harrogate Borough Council has given permission for the Saturday morning events to start on June 5 on the Stray, in Conyngham Hall in Knaresborough and the National Trust greenlit its return to Fountains Abbey, not all landowners across the country have agreed.
Parkrun organisers confirmed that more than 250 permissions have been granted but this was below the "critical mass" it wanted to reach to avoid overwhelming the smaller number of events that could go ahead.
Pre-covid there were 589 locations hosting parkruns in England. All events are run by volunteers.
The charity has set June 26 as the new date to resume all its 5k events across the country collectively and hopes many more landowners will grant permission by that time.
It will make another decision regarding the go-ahead for this new date on Friday June 11.
Nick Pearson, parkrun's global CEO, said:
Read more:
- Public Health England monitoring covid variant reported in Yorkshire
- Ill feeling lingers after decision to scrap Oatlands cycling scheme
Harrogate junior parkrun, a 2k run for children aged four to 14, resumed on the Stray on April 12.
https://twitter.com/Harrogatejnrpr/status/1381317401057370112
A parkrun spokesperson said:
"Operating under a government approved COVID-19 Framework, and with significant success restarting the junior 2k event series, as well as the vital need for people to be active and social outdoors, the time is now right for the return of Saturday morning 5k events."
0