After months of planning, another Dorset town has successfully launched its first Junior Parkrun.
The Great Field in Dorchester launched the first junior running event at the end of July after the successful launch of Parkrun at the same location in October 2021.
Astounded by how many ‘little smiling faces’ they have already welcomed - 55 in the first week - the event will now run every Sunday morning.
Tom Edmonds, Co-Event Director, said: “it was so fantastic to see the event finally launch after 8 months of planning, fundraising and liaison with parkrun HQ. This event will bring so much happiness into our community and encourage our youngsters, and their families, to get out and get active on a Sunday morning.”
Read more: Dorset Council to install more CCTV in Weymouth to make women feel safer
Junior Parkruns take place all over the UK, South Africa and Australia at 9:00 on Sunday mornings and it is now nearing 400 individual events, with most being in the UK.
Dorchester is the latest in line of Junior Parkruns in Dorset with events also running in Weymouth and Lyme Regis at Cobb Gate – which launched in February this year. Other locations include Moors Valley, which has been running the longest, Upton House juniors and Slades juniors in Bournemouth, which attracts large groups of children.
Tom added: “We’re over the moon to be able to bring such a great community event to Dorchester and to add another great attraction to The Great Field, alongside the new adventure playground and the amazing PiP café.”
Read more: Chesil Beach revealed as one of UK's top dog beaches
Junior parkrun is a 2km run (not a race) and is open to children aged 4-14 who are welcome to run, walk, jog, hop, skip or jump the course and receive an official time, completely free of charge. All they need to do is register on parkrun.com beforehand and bring along their barcode.
The event is not just for children though, Tom added: “We are super excited to be able to offer volunteering opportunities every week to anybody in our community, and if anybody would like to get involved with helping at this event I’d encourage them to contact them on thegreatfieldjuniors@parkrun.com. All of the roles are straightforward, and we can explain anything that isn’t clear.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here