{"id":1889,"date":"2020-05-26T13:53:25","date_gmt":"2020-05-26T12:53:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/?p=1889"},"modified":"2026-02-18T08:40:29","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T08:40:29","slug":"what-is-parkrun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/what-is-parkrun\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Parkrun?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Joining your local Parkun is a great way to maintain your general fitness in preparation for any of our outdoor adventures<\/em>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parkrun celebrated it\u2019s 15th birthday on 2nd October 2019 and if you\u2019re a runner you\u2019re probably at your local event most Saturday mornings. But if you\u2019re just starting your running journey you may be wondering what all the fuss is about?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parkrun is a timed 5km run that takes place every Saturday morning and there\u2019s probably one near you. Did I mention that it was free? Yep, you heard right – it\u2019s completely free! It\u2019s a simple idea and enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of people around the world on a weekly basis.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"What
Photo: Niki, Nature Travels.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

It started 15 years ago in Bushy Park, London with just 13 people running and it was a few years before it spread further afield but it now runs events in over twenty countries with the Netherlands joining the gang in 2020! Parkrun is a wonderful event, run by volunteers and has a great, supportive community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Accessible to everyone, it\u2019s important to point out that it\u2019s not a race \u2013 it\u2019s just a run. Sure, you have the speedy people at the front who run around in no time but whether you\u2019re a marathon runner or someone who\u2019s just started out and currently alternating walking & jogging to get round, everyone is welcome!<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"What
Photo: Niki, Nature Travels.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

To join, first, you have to register on their website – see https:\/\/www.parkrun.org.uk\/ This will give you your free barcode which you bring with you to every run. So, you just turn up to the event, arrive a little early so you can listen to the announcements \u2013 this will be any milestone runs, birthdays, tourists and anything to watch out for on the course. Then you just follow everyone else to the start line and start walking\/jogging\/running when the siren sounds \u2013 easy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you get to the end, you\u2019ll queue up in order (this is important so you can get the correct time), you scan your barcode (you can still run if you\u2019ve forgotten it, you just won\u2019t have your time registered and you\u2019ll be very sad!) and then a few hours later you\u2019ll have an email with your time!<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"What
The all-important barcode. Photo: Niki, Nature Travels.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Sometimes, you\u2019ll be chasing a PB (Personal Best), other times you\u2019ve lost your mojo and just want to get around in one piece but however you\u2019re feeling you will be filled with new motivation with everyone cheering each other on!<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"What
Photo: Niki, Nature Travels.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

And, you don\u2019t have to stick to just your local Parkrun, your magic barcode will work at any of the locations so if you\u2019re off on holiday or you just fancy a change, you can Parkrun somewhere new. So, there\u2019s no excuse to miss your Saturday morning run and it\u2019s just a lovely way to start the weekend, safe in the knowledge that you\u2019ve got a run under your belt so you can have that slice of cake! Get down to your local Parkrun next Saturday!<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"What
Photo: Niki, Nature Travels.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Joining your local Parkun is a great way to maintain your general fitness in preparation for any of our outdoor adventures! Parkrun celebrated it\u2019s 15th birthday on 2nd October 2019 and if you\u2019re a runner you\u2019re probably at your local event most Saturday mornings. But if you\u2019re just starting your running journey you may be … What is Parkrun?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1933,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,534],"tags":[544,545,548,546,547],"class_list":["post-1889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-summer","category-trail-running","tag-5km","tag-parkrun","tag-races","tag-training","tag-training-advice"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat is Parkrun? - Nature Travels Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/what-is-parkrun\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What is Parkrun? - Nature Travels Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Joining your local Parkun is a great way to maintain your general fitness in preparation for any of our outdoor adventures! Parkrun celebrated it\u2019s 15th birthday on 2nd October 2019 and if you\u2019re a runner you\u2019re probably at your local event most Saturday mornings. But if you\u2019re just starting your running journey you may be ... What is Parkrun?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/what-is-parkrun\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nature Travels Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/naturetravels\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-05-26T12:53:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-18T08:40:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/what-is-parkrun-featured.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"150\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"naturetravels\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Nature_Travels\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Nature_Travels\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"naturetravels\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/what-is-parkrun\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/what-is-parkrun\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"naturetravels\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/461cd618b8373a0697bcfa2b05917817\"},\"headline\":\"What is Parkrun?\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-05-26T12:53:25+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-18T08:40:29+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/what-is-parkrun\/\"},\"wordCount\":545,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/what-is-parkrun\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/what-is-parkrun-featured.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"5km\",\"parkrun\",\"races\",\"training\",\"training advice\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Summer\",\"Trail Running\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/what-is-parkrun\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/what-is-parkrun\/\",\"name\":\"What is Parkrun? - Nature Travels Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/what-is-parkrun\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/what-is-parkrun\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/what-is-parkrun-featured.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-05-26T12:53:25+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-18T08:40:29+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/what-is-parkrun\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/what-is-parkrun\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/what-is-parkrun\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/what-is-parkrun-featured.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/what-is-parkrun-featured.jpg\",\"width\":200,\"height\":150,\"caption\":\"What is Parkrun? Photo: Niki, Nature Travels.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/what-is-parkrun\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What is Parkrun?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Nature Travels Articles\",\"description\":\"Supplementary trip reports, gear reviews, travel advice and articles on culture and wildlife\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Nature Travels Ltd\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/logo-ntr.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/logo-ntr.png\",\"width\":220,\"height\":53,\"caption\":\"Nature Travels Ltd\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/naturetravels\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/Nature_Travels\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/naturetravelsltd\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/461cd618b8373a0697bcfa2b05917817\",\"name\":\"naturetravels\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7dc867f7b6f7f29c466d926bd479b4caff63a5dd31f3bd3763b261b444b8b128?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7dc867f7b6f7f29c466d926bd479b4caff63a5dd31f3bd3763b261b444b8b128?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7dc867f7b6f7f29c466d926bd479b4caff63a5dd31f3bd3763b261b444b8b128?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"naturetravels\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What is Parkrun? - Nature Travels Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/what-is-parkrun\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"What is Parkrun? - Nature Travels Blog","og_description":"Joining your local Parkun is a great way to maintain your general fitness in preparation for any of our outdoor adventures! Parkrun celebrated it\u2019s 15th birthday on 2nd October 2019 and if you\u2019re a runner you\u2019re probably at your local event most Saturday mornings. But if you\u2019re just starting your running journey you may be ... What is Parkrun?","og_url":"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/what-is-parkrun\/","og_site_name":"Nature Travels Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/naturetravels","article_published_time":"2020-05-26T12:53:25+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-02-18T08:40:29+00:00","og_image":[{"width":200,"height":150,"url":"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/what-is-parkrun-featured.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"naturetravels","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Nature_Travels","twitter_site":"@Nature_Travels","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"naturetravels","Estimated reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/what-is-parkrun\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/what-is-parkrun\/"},"author":{"name":"naturetravels","@id":"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/461cd618b8373a0697bcfa2b05917817"},"headline":"What is Parkrun?","datePublished":"2020-05-26T12:53:25+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-18T08:40:29+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/what-is-parkrun\/"},"wordCount":545,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/what-is-parkrun\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/what-is-parkrun-featured.jpg","keywords":["5km","parkrun","races","training","training advice"],"articleSection":["Summer","Trail Running"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/what-is-parkrun\/","url":"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/what-is-parkrun\/","name":"What is Parkrun? - Nature Travels Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/what-is-parkrun\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/what-is-parkrun\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/what-is-parkrun-featured.jpg","datePublished":"2020-05-26T12:53:25+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-18T08:40:29+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/what-is-parkrun\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/what-is-parkrun\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/what-is-parkrun\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/what-is-parkrun-featured.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/what-is-parkrun-featured.jpg","width":200,"height":150,"caption":"What is Parkrun? Photo: Niki, Nature Travels."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/what-is-parkrun\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What is Parkrun?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/","name":"Nature Travels Articles","description":"Supplementary trip reports, gear reviews, travel advice and articles on culture and wildlife","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/#organization","name":"Nature Travels Ltd","url":"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/logo-ntr.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/logo-ntr.png","width":220,"height":53,"caption":"Nature Travels Ltd"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/naturetravels","https:\/\/x.com\/Nature_Travels","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/naturetravelsltd\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/461cd618b8373a0697bcfa2b05917817","name":"naturetravels","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7dc867f7b6f7f29c466d926bd479b4caff63a5dd31f3bd3763b261b444b8b128?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7dc867f7b6f7f29c466d926bd479b4caff63a5dd31f3bd3763b261b444b8b128?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7dc867f7b6f7f29c466d926bd479b4caff63a5dd31f3bd3763b261b444b8b128?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"naturetravels"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1889"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1889\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4614,"href":"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1889\/revisions\/4614"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1933"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.naturetravels.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}