Watch: Huge turnout for Sheffield’s new junior parkrun at Millhouses Park set up by GP

The debut of Sheffield’s fifth junior Parkrun was a hit, with more than 330 children and parents taking part in the free event last Sunday morning (November 17).

Now, kids aged between four and 14, will be able to enjoy the 2k route at Millhouses Park every Sunday at 9am.

Sheffield GP Mohammed Ahmed set up the Millhouses Junior Parkrun with the help of a £2,000 grant from the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA).

He said he was “ecstatic” with the launch of the event, which came five years after the launch of the Millhouses adult parkrun.

As a dad-of-three, Mohammed, who lives in Millhouses, said he knows all too well the difficulties of getting children out of the house and into a car to make it to a junior parkrun.

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Now, young families from Millhouses, Dore and Totley will only have to travel a short distance to get some fun exercise.

“I was taking my three kids to Graves junior parkrun, but it was difficult taking three young kids there,” Mohammed said. 

“It’s so nice to have this on a Sunday morning. Now we don’t have to travel as far to the other parkruns in Sheffield like Hillsborough or Graves juniors, it’s nice to have one so close by.

“With a medical hat on, being a GP, we’re seeing that children are less active than they used to be. A growing number of children are becoming obese, so it’s important they’re fit and active.

“The whole point is to get kids active and moving, and into good habits from a young age.”

Millhouses junior parkrun is considered a ‘flat’ route, and involves two laps of the park with marshals helping to direct runners.

All Parkrun events are only made possible thanks to volunteers. To find more information about the event, or to find out how you can get involved, please visit: parkrun.org.uk/events/juniorevents/