Parkrun Canada

If you’re new to running and looking for a big, supportive community to help you get started, parkrun is your ticket. Every Saturday morning, runners join 5k timed runs held in nearly 40 locations across Canada. Registration is completely free.

Becky Wilkins loves how accessible parkrun is. She started running at parkrun Clover Point in Victoria, B.C. and says, “We have everything from speedy sub-18 minute runners through to walkers taking nearly an hour, it is such a diverse event.” At first, she walked much the route, but in two short months, she met her personal goal to run it all. She’s recently run her 100th parkrun and is now the volunteer coordinator for Clover Point.

Parkrun’s global results system, Virtual Volunteer, plays a big part in the race series’ success. When new runners register, they get a personalized bar code ID to use at any of the weekly 2,057 parkrun events worldwide. After participants complete the run, they can see how they fared in their local event, compare results with others and track how their results improve over time. “The beauty is that it is free, you get your result e-mailed to you and you can track your progress,” Wilkins says.

The social aspect of parkrun plays a central role in its popularity. All newcomers get a brief orientation, runners stay until all participants cross the line and everyone is invited out for a coffee after the event. Many runners also volunteer with local teams to help organize the weekly runs.

Borrey Kim says parkrun has helped him build a local running community in his hometown, Fort McMurray, Alta. He and fellow volunteer Pedzi Mudzingwa helped organize parkrun Snye Point, Canada’s most northerly parkrun. In the warmer months, they see about 50 runners every Saturday. “We’ve been getting people from all sorts of different backgrounds to come out,” says Borrey, who’s seen growth in other local running events as a result.

Visit parkrun.ca for more information about free running events in your community.