Why not give Stretford parkrun a try..?

Parkrun started back in 2009, starting out as a 5 kilometre time trial in Bushy Park in south London. There are now over 700 parkruns, and 500 Junior 2 km parkruns each week. Stretford parkrun started in 2016 and takes place in Longford park just off of Ryebank Road in Chorlton. The run starts at 9am every Saturday morning on the track in the stadium next to the car park. Stretford is just 1 of 2 parkruns that start and finish on a running track, and many GB athletes have run here – it’s got a lot of sporting history. We’ve grown into one of the biggest parkruns in the UK, and regularly attract 600 participants. Parkrun is now seen as one of the most important health initiatives in the UK, and we always enjoy  welcoming new runners, walkers and volunteers.

We welcome runners and walkers of all abilities, be that a speedy runner, or someone starting to move and walk more with a number walking our route in an hour. Every event has a tailwalker, so you’ll never be last and walkers are welcome to all parkrun events. Our course is all on paths and the park is totally flat, so a nice easy course to run or walk. 

Fancy a coffee afterwards? Stretford have built a great partnership with CoffeeBelle Urmston, who bring their van every Saturday in the car park from 8:30am. There’s also Caffeine and Co in the park itself from 10am for a sit down coffee and home made cake. Or you can head into Chorlton to one of the many cafes for our post parkrun breakfast. There is parking and bike racks, but lots of local residents use the jog to the park as their warm up for the main run.

We’ve built a wonderful community over the last 7 years, and this helps us with our volunteers. Our event can’t go ahead without a team to marshall the course, scan participants barcodes, and create our finish funnel. We need over 25 people each Saturday, so even if you don’t run, but want to be a part of the community, why not volunteer at parkrun, where you’ll meet lots of lovely people. In a recent survey, 85% of those volunteering with parkrun said it’s positively helped their wellbeing. Stretford parkrun also welcome young people doing their Duke of Edinburgh award volunteering and encourage them to get in touch.

Parkrun is a free event, you just need to get your parkrun profile and barcode to run, walk or volunteer. You can do this at www.parkrun.org.uk/register Just Set Stretford as your home parkrun, and you’ll receive volunteer reminders from us. We’re also on Facebook, Instagram and X so why not give us a follow. James and Dave are the event directors, and they’d love to hear from you, if you’ve got a question, drop them a line at Stretford@parkrun.com 

You’ll wonder what you used to do on a Saturday morning.

Eddie Tuesday 2nd January 2023 – (Image used from James at Stretford Parkrun).