Sport / Junior parkrun set to reach starting line later this year
BAIRNS aged between four and 14 are set to get their own personal parkrun through Lerwick under a new project set to launch later this year.
The Clickimin junior parkrun will see youngsters given the chance to run, walk or even skip their way through a 2km course distance.
Currently Bressay offers the only parkrun in Shetland, which is set at 5km – something that some children may struggle to do.
With that in mind Lucy Livingstone and Catriona Barr sought to help Shetland join the burgeoning junior parkrun scene, with hopes the first event could be held in September.
Livingstone started the process of applying for a junior parkrun event some two years ago, with Barr joining the project more recently to help it across the line.
When Shetland News speaks to Barr, her and Livingstone’s young son Nye Morgan are off to the Clickimin to accurately measure out the race course.
She said that she and Livingstone were Bressay parkrun devotees, who realised there were young people missing out on the fun every weekend.
“There were a couple of young people that wanted to do the parkrun but maybe weren’t able to,” Barr said.
“5k was maybe a bit long for them, and sometimes there were families with different ages – some can do the 5k and some can’t.
“We were aware that the 2k was an option that was out there, and saw a couple of years ago started looking at it.”
Bressay parkrun started in 2018, and runs every Saturday at 9am. The junior parkrun would then follow every Sunday, also from 9am.
Barr admitted that it had been a “quite a long process to get it set up”, with the parkrun organisers keen to ensure every event carrying its name is set up “safely and effectively”.
She said they had been gradually going through all the steps over two years to ensure junior parkrun could become a reality.
The event will be open for four to 14 year olds, with Barr keen to stress that it is a fun and not a competitive race.
“It is a timed event, but its not competitive,” she said.
“Parents can come along and volunteer or run alongside their bairns as well. Mam and dad can even run with a pushchair, if they want.
“So it can be a real family event, a great event to get whole families outside and away from screens.”
Bairns can “run a bit, they can walk a bit, they can skip if they want to” – however they want to get enjoyment out of taking part.
Barr said the only thing bairns could not do was cycle or scoot through the course, and dogs are not allowed in junior parkrun for health and safety reasons.
She added that they hoped to engage with Ability Shetland, and to give people who may be older than 14 but who were differently abled the chance to take part as well.
Barr said there were clear benefits from the event, with parkrun statistics showing that 75 per cent of people who took part in junior parkrun feeling happier for having done it.
Around half of bairns who took part in one said they had continued to exercise regularly outside of junior parkrun too.
Junior parkrun – as with every parkrun – requires a number of volunteers each week, and Barr said they had to make sure before announcing the project that they had enough people keen to step up every week.
“The response we’ve had is really great,” she said.
“It’s lots of fun for the volunteers too. It starts at 9am and is done and dusted by 10am, so volunteers can get on with the rest of their day.”
Anyone from the age of 11 and up can volunteer, with the hope that Anderson High School pupils may want to help out – which can count towards Duke of Edinburgh or Saltire awards.
Barr said that the event is “just a lot of fun” and a “really positive experience” for everyone involved.
The team behind the project has had to try to raise £5,000 to get it off the ground, with Shetland Charitable Trust providing a £3,000 grant.
They still have £1,800 left to raise, with any businesses interested in sponsoring the event asked to email catriona.barr@btinternet.com or message Clickimin Junior Park Run on Facebook.
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