Celebrating Six Months (and Counting) of Wilton Park Junior Parkrun.
By Tahera of Junior Parkrun.
Wilton Park Junior Parkrun is a free, weekly, timed 2k on Sundays 9am at Wilton Park. We rely on the local community to volunteer for just under an hour to put on a safe, fun and welcoming event. Launched in late July 2022, at the time of writing, it’s been 6 months of Junior Parkrun fun at Wilton Park! Kim Leadbeater was there at our launch and enjoyed volunteering: “What a pleasure to volunteer at the first ever Junior Parkrun at Wilton Park in Batley this morning. Kids loved it, adults loved it and it’s great to see the park being used for something positive.”
Junior Parkrun is a run, not a race, for ages 4 to 14 who can run, jog, walk, hop etc. Adults can join with their child, but do not get a time. In order to receive a time, juniors must be registered – it’s free and only takes a few minutes! If you feel that your child(ren) is confident/old enough to take part by themselves, why not volunteer? All you need to do is register for Parkrun and let us know beforehand that you are free to volunteer (or just turn up and we’ll find you a role).
In the past 6 months, we’ve put on just over 20 Wilton Park Junior Parkrun events and engaged well with the local community. We were successful in being invited to pitch for Dewsbury Soup, which is for the whole of the North Kirklees area and that includes Batley! Battler the Bulldog (the Batley Bulldogs mascot) has been to one of our events and Kirkwood Hospice came along to promote their Snow Dog trail. There’s been leafleting at Oakwell Hall Parkrun on one Saturday to reach new volunteers; a measuring wheel borrowed from the model boat club to measure out our winter course; and monthly fancy dress themes. We also collected toys for the first ever Liversedge toy run, which set off from Wilton Park. I think it’s safe to say that we’ve injected a lot of fun into Batley with Wilton Park Junior Parkrun!
Juniors earn participation wristbands for certain milestones. 11 Junior Parkruns (equal to half marathon), 21 (marathon), 50 (ultra-marathon), 100 and 250. It is an inclusive event. Juniors can run, jog, walk or volunteer. They don’t need expensive shoes or a fitness watch! Juniors can volunteer with a parent/carer or at the finish line in sight of a Run Director for safeguarding.
We’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of our volunteers, without whom the past 6 months would not have been possible. Since our launch, there’s been 126 unique volunteers at Wilton Park Junior Parkrun. We’ve also had 154 unique finishers – that’s 154 different people who’ve come along to Wilton park to join the Wilton Park Junior Parkrun. Oh and 1 volunteers meeting!
If you want to stay updated on our activities, you can find us on Facebook and Twitter (details below). The team at Wilton Park Junior Parkrun hope to see you at Wilton Park on Sundays 9am. Just register for Parkrun, bring along your barcode and join the free, family-friendly, fun!
Website: https://www.Parkrun.org.uk/wiltonpark-Juniors/
Email: wiltonparkJuniors@Parkrun.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/WiltonParkJnr
