I did my first parkrun with my Dad (another avid park runner!) in May 2023. After seeing him run, I was inspired to try. Since then it has become a family tradition, with the whole family meeting at a different location each week.

Mum has now started and is walking parkrun every week with my twin sister who usually runs but is heavily pregnant but still commits to at least walking each week.

The community is like no other and this spirit we have experienced all over the UK and internationally. People from all walks of life come together at parkrun, to run, walk, volunteer, spectate or meet for coffee after, each with their own stories and reasons why. It does an incredible job of enhancing wellbeing, combatting loneliness, building communities across generations, and importantly it is free for everyone, with a mission to be ‘free forever for everyone, fuelled by fundraising’.

Parkrun is a huge part of our lives, as well as millions of people all over the world, and I am honoured to be running the London Marathon in its name. A feat which would’ve never been possible if it wasn’t for that first parkrun 5k I did with Dad a few years ago.

It will also be incredibly special to run it with my new niece or nephew watching on the sidelines.

parkrun provides free, weekly opportunities for people to be active and social through the delivery of local community based 5k and 2k events in countries around the world. Committed to breaking down barriers to participation, parkrun events are simple, scalable and open to everyone.