The active leisure event parkrun is today celebrating its 20th anniversary. These social events are designed to encourage people to run, jog, or walk a 5-kilometre route on a Saturday morning. Although the events are timed there’s no emphasis on racing and the primary focus is on encouraging people to engage in physical exercise in a non-competitive environment.

The first Scottish parkrun event opened in Pollok Park, Glasgow, in 2008, and there are now 71 different parkrun events across the length and breadth of Scotland. Pollok parkrun is due to celebrate its 750th event later this year and the number of events in Scotland reached 10,000 this summer. In 2024, we are likely to see half a million participations at parkrun events.

Part of the success of parkrun is that the majority of new participants to parkrun events in Scotland return to do parkrun again. The average finishing times at events are getting slower. Fear not, this is not because parkrun is making people less fit, but because more and more relatively unfit participants are attending parkruns in Scotland. Of course, that doesn’t mean you have to be unfit. Scottish Olympian Andy Buchart showed this when he set a parkrun world record at Edinburgh parkrun last year.

The events are for just about everyone. Children can take part from the age of 4 and have their own dedicated events on Sundays. Younger children can be pushed around in buggies. You can participate in a wheelchair, you can run with your dog. Participants often speak about the importance of the social bonds developed with other participants and volunteers while praising the supportive atmosphere at events.

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All parkrun events occur in public spaces such as parks and esplanades. They encourage green exercise where being exposed to nature provides an additional wellbeing benefit. The contribution of active leisure event organisers such as parkrun and JogScotland cannot be understated as sedentary lifestyles have increasingly become the norm, placing additional burdens upon already stretched healthcare systems.

Research we have been conducting at the University of Stirling has revealed factors associated with the likelihood of returning. We have found that people are more likely to return to events with higher proportions of freshwater and woodland along their routes, with the University of Stirling parkrun event being an excellent example of a route with plenty of both. This really emphasises the added benefits of engaging with nature when exercising. Not only does it make you feel better it also encourages you to exercise more.

So, if you are looking to get more active, why not look up where your nearest parkrun event is located and try it? All new participants get a warm welcome and a quick run through of how parkrun operates. Anyone can take part, but you will need to register beforehand on their website to get a time. We also have the bonus of an extra half an hour in bed as parkrun in Scotland occurs at 9:30am, compared to 9am in England and Wales.

Dr Andre Gilburn is an ecologist and a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Natural Sciences at the University of Stirling

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