parkrun Expansion in Tasmania

• Encouraging physical activity, volunteering and community connections for people of all ages and abilities.

Designed to be for all ages and abilities, parkrun is operated by local volunteers in local communities.  Participants get together with friends and family on a Saturday morning and enjoy a 5 km walk or run, after which they join in a social coffee together – which has the additional impact of supporting local businesses.

Six months after receiving the grant funding for two events, parkrun has expanded significantly to encompass 14 events at different locations across the state, with nearly 1400 people a week engaging in the initiative.

Increased event numbers combined with organic growth have led to a 66 per cent increase in direct participation, and a 96 per cent increase in volunteer participation across the state.

The increase in direct participation is particularly pleasing given that several of the newly launched events are in very small communities where numbers are not expected to be high (for example Geeveston and Wynyard).

parkrun has partnered closely with local councils in the establishment and ongoing development of the parkrun events, and in most cases, councils have been exceptionally supportive, waiving land usage fees, providing storage space, funding equipment purchases and providing permanent course signage.

The program aims to launch Junior parkruns in the future and ‘parkrun Practice’ which links in GPs with local parkruns to ‘prescribe’ the activity to patients who would benefit from parkrun participation – whether it be walking, running, volunteering, being outside, joining the parkrun community to socialise after the event, or simply to provide people with a reason to get out of the house on a Saturday morning.

Links:

• parkrun website
• Montrose Foreshore parkrun
• Wynyard Foreshore parkrun
• Whitemark Wharf parkrun on Flinders Island
• State of Public Health 2018 (includes Grant stories)

image: parkrun Inc’s parkrun program is a free, weekly event that encourages physical activity, volunteering and community connectedness.