Miles of smiles at Central Park!

If you go down to Central Park on a Sunday morning, you’ll find far more than a few squirrels and a couple of dog walkers, as Duncan Jackson discovered when he paid a visit recently...

Kids love a good sleep. Especially at the weekend. So, it must be something special that gets dozens of them out of their beds nice and early every Sunday morning, regardless of the weather.

Something special that keeps them fit and active, allows them the opportunity to volunteer and give a bit back to the community, make friends and have lots and lots of fun. And, best of all, it is completely free!

For the last year, Central Park has been the home of this special event – junior parkrun.

It’s hard to have missed the parkrun phenomenon over the last couple of years, with hundreds of thousands of runners taking part in free 5k runs every Saturday morning across the world. And it wasn’t long before children wanted an event of their own!

It’s no exaggeration to say that these events have changed people’s lives putting them on the road to fitness and a healthier lifestyle.

Arguably, the kids’ event on Sunday mornings has the potential to make the most impact. With childhood obesity on the rise, and youngsters spending more and more time on their mobiles and XBoxes inside, anything that can get children out in the fresh air and active must be a good thing.

The philosophy of parkrun is simple - a free timed weekly run to help get people fit and active, and it couldn’t be easier to join the fun.

All children have to do is register online before the event and print off a barcode to bring along on a Sunday morning. When they finish the run, they are given a token, and both of these are scanned to give each runner an individual time.

Although the runs are timed, don’t get the impression that junior parkrun is just for serious runners – that couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s all about fun, and organisers stress that it’s NOT a race.

And while there are some budding Mo Farahs who whizz around the 2km course every Sunday morning, there are loads of children who enjoy walking

Pictures by NITIN PATEL and DIANNE BOOTH Children can run with an adult, or on their own.