Parks, participation and the Parkrun ‘move-ment’ in South Africa

ABSTRACT The Parkrun, a community-based, shared leisure-time activity, allows people to come together to run, jog or walk, and interact socially, in park-like surroundings. Although the Parkrun started with only 13 participants in 2004, at Bushy Park, London, United Kingdom, it is now staged in 23 countries across the world, making it is a global ‘social movement’. Growth has been driven by its inclusive policy, notably its focus on attracting people with traditionally low levels of physical activity. Other factors contributing to sustained interest are accessibility, the supportive social environment, the natural setting and the volunteer system. Parkrun offers opportunities beyond fitness: for socializing, creating a vibrant community life and supporting community involvement. All of which instil a sense of place in the participant and make for its popularity. Despite this, the Parkrun movement suffers from academic neglect with most sport literature focussing on mega events. This study seeks to partly address that gap by scrutinizing the four largest Parkrun events in South Africa, with a specific focus on data from 2019 and 2020, incorporating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and allowing the voices of Parkrun participants, as recorded in the relevant blogs, to be heard.