Junior parkrun kicks off in Uppermill

Athletics

A group of parents, led by James Sheard of Saddleworth Runners, have joined forces with parkrun, a national running initiative, to start the Uppermill junior parkrun, a free weekly 2km timed run for children aged four to 14 years old.  

Junior parkrun is a shorter version of the very popular Saturday 5km parkrun events which take place all over the world.

The set-up costs of the Uppermill event have been funded by Oldham Council / Oldham Community Leisure and parkrun.

After six months of planning and a trial event in April - with the help of Uppermill Scouts, James, and his team of volunteers - held their first event last Sunday in glorious Spring weather.

Starting from the car park at Saddleworth Leisure Centre and Pool, and running along the bridle path past Saddleworth School and back, 50 children took part, with many of the younger children running with a parent.

For 30 of the children it was their very first junior parkrun event, and they were evenly split between boys and girls.

Their times ranged from eight to 21 minutes, but the emphasis is on participation, fun and competing against yourself.

James said: “I was delighted with our first event.

"The children really went for it, and the enthusiasm of our volunteers was particularly impressive, with high-fives and encouraging comments from our marshals all along the course.

"We are running the event every Sunday at 9am, with a short warm-up at 8.55am.

"It is open to all children from four to 14 years old, and we encourage all children to register with parkrun through our website (http://www.parkrun.org.uk/uppermill-juniors).

"To run the events safely we need at least 20 volunteers every week.

"The great thing is, it’s just 45 minutes of volunteering while your child is enjoying a 2km run.

"Better than that, the volunteers say they really enjoy helping and encouraging the children.

"As part of the parkrun ethos many of the volunteers and runners meet up at the Reclamation Rooms Café in nearby Lee Street for a post-run coffee and chat.”