48 young people and their families take part in the first 'phenonmenal' park run for juniors

The inaugural event, which took place earlier this month, saw 48 runners and their families brave the pouring rain to become part of delivering an Olympic legacy.

The course takes in two laps of Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park, following the Outdoor City Run Route which passes the flame from the World Student Games and also the English Institute of Sport Sheffield, where over 100 athletes are currently training for Tokyo 2020. The finish line is on the 100m track in the centre of the park.

Richard Caborn, project lead for Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park and former Sports Minister, said it had been great to be able to bring the ‘phenomenon’ of parkrun to children.

“Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park junior parkrun was launched to bring the parkrun phenomenon to more children in the city.

“Parkrun has been described as an innovative health intervention with an impact that reaches far beyond our parks and open spaces – I couldn’t agree more and I’m delighted we can offer this to more children across Sheffield.

“There are significant physical and mental health benefits to walking and running, but it’s also great for community spirit, bringing people together, and getting people out to enjoy their local parkland and open spaces.

“We want to encourage youngsters of every ability to take part; from those taking their first steps in running through to those keen to improve their time on a regular basis.

“We’re very excited to have launched our junior parkrun and hopefully this will spark a love for physical activity in youngsters for years to come.”

Junior parkrun is a weekly event for children aged four to 14-years-old who are welcome to walk, jog or run the 2km course.

It is held every Sunday from 9am and all are welcome.

The route is safe and traffic free, and children will be in sight of marshals at all times.

Participants should register in advance to get a barcode which will be used on the day to record times and positions.

The results are uploaded to the parkrun website where keen runners can track their progress each week.

The participants are also invited for a post parkrun coffee in English Institute of Sport Sheffield Café.

The event is led by volunteers who give up their time each week to ensure the junior parkrun can happen.

Volunteer roles include a variety of tasks from event directors and run directors, to time keepers, barcode scanners, tail walkers and marshals.

Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park junior parkrun has been made possible by funding and in-kind contributions from partners and supporters in the local business community including Sheffield International Venues, B. Braun Medical Ltd, Henry Boot Construction, N Prime, BAM Construct UK, Smart Metal Solutions and Accelerate Running Co.

Register for the Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park junior parkrun at www.parkrun.org.uk/register. People who are interested in volunteering and would like to find out more can also visit www.parkrun.org.uk/sheffieldolp-juniors/volunteer. For more information, visit www.parkrun.org.uk/sheffieldolp-juniors. Information about Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park can be found at www.sheffieldolympiclegacypark.co.uk.