Over 2,000 children have participated in the Wavertree Park junior parkrun, which has recently marked its 5th anniversary. The event, which consists of a 2km route, has taken place 182 times since it was first introduced in 2019. Participants have completed the course around 15,000 times with the aid of community volunteers who help organise the event every week.
The Wavertree Park junior parkrun is one of four similar events taking place in Liverpool, with two held in Stanley Park and Princes Park over a 5km distance open to all ages, and another 2km junior parkrun for children aged between four to 14 years of age taking place in Croxteth Hall Park. Initially, the two junior events, Wavertree Park and Stanley Park received start-up funding from the Liverpool City Council to encourage young people in the borough to engage in more regular physical activity, with a third soon to start at Norris Green Park.
Liverpool City Council’s Associate Director of Public Health, Melisa Campbell, stated that children need to be active for at least 60 minutes every day to remain healthy. With this in mind, local parkrun events allow families to partake in a safe, friendly, and non-competitive atmosphere, promoting physical fitness and a sense of community.
Mark Finch, a parkrun event ambassador for Merseyside, remarked upon the number of families joining in with the 5th anniversary celebrations and the constant flow of new faces taking part in the event. Meanwhile, Nicky Yates, the Strategic Physical Activity and Sport Development Manager at Liverpool City Council, mentioned that the council is dedicated to creating a fairer, happier and healthier borough and included physical activity strategies as part of this vision. To join or volunteer in a parkrun event, individuals will need to register and bring a unique participant barcode with them
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