Wavertree Junior Parkrun celebrates 5th birthday
The Wavertree Park junior parkrun celebrated its 5th birthday on Sunday 2 June. The 2km event has taken place 182 times since its inception in 2019 and has seen over 2000 different juniors finish the event around 15,000 times.
Parkrun is a free, weekly, timed event, where people can run, jog, walk, wheel and push a pram, around the course. The events are organised entirely by enthusiastic community volunteers who create a fun and friendly atmosphere at every event.
In Liverpool, there are two 5km parkrun events held in Princes Park and Croxteth Hall Park, open to all ages and abilities, and two 2km junior events for 4–14-year-olds held in Stanley Park and Wavertree Park – also known as “The Mystery”. Combined, the four events attract an average weekly field of around 1200 park runners. A third junior event for the city is slated to start in Norris Green Park soon.
Both the Wavertree Park and Stanley Park junior Parkrun events received start-up funding from Liverpool City Council to encourage more children to be active more regularly, contributing to the Council’s City Plan for a fairer, happier, and healthier Liverpool for all residents.
Melisa Campbell, Associate Director of Public Health at Liverpool City Council, said: “Children need to be active for at least 60 minutes every day. Local Parkrun events give families the chance to keep fit and healthy in a safe, non-competitive, and friendly event. The events are provided for free by local volunteers, who also reap the wellbeing benefits of volunteering and help to build closer communities.”
Mark Finch, Parkrun event ambassador for Merseyside said: “We are delighted that so many families joined us for the 5th birthday celebrations at the Mystery Park junior Parkrun. It is always good to see new faces taking part, and occasions such as this help to attract new families to the events.”
Nicky Yates, Strategic Physical Activity and Sport Development Manager at Liverpool City Council, said: “Liverpool City Council is committed to building a fairer, happier, healthier city. Our teams have developed a new Physical Activity strategy for the city, and parkrun events are a great example of how our communities support local families to be more active.”
If you wish to join in or volunteer at your local parkrun, please register and bring your unique participant barcode with you.