Exploring the benefits of participation in community-based running and walking events: a cross-sectional survey of parkrun participants

Abstract

Background Whilst the benefits of physical activity for health and wellbeing are recognised, population levels of activity remain low. Significant inequalities exist, with socioeconomically disadvantaged populations being less physically active and less likely to participate in community events. We investigated the perceived benefits from participation in a weekly running/walking event called parkrun by those living in the most socioeconomically deprived areas and doing the least physical activity. Methods A cross-sectional online survey was emailed to 2,318,135 parkrun participants in the UK. Demographic and self-reported data was collected on life satisfaction, happiness, health status, physical activity, motives, and the perceived benefits of parkrun. Motivation, health status and benefits were compared for sub-groups defined by physical activity level at parkrun registration and residential Index of Multiple Deprivation. Results 60,000 completed surveys were received (2.7% of those contacted). Respondents were more recently registered with parkrun (3.1 v. 3.5 years) than the parkrun population and had a higher frequency of parkrun participation (14.5 v. 3.7 parkruns per year). Those inactive at registration and from deprived areas reported lower happiness, lower life satisfaction and poorer health compared to the full sample. They were more likely to want to improve their physical health, rather than get fit or for competition. Of those reporting less than one bout of activity per week at registration, 88% (87% in the most deprived areas) increased their physical activity level and 52% (65% in the most deprived areas) reported improvements to overall health behaviours. When compared to the full sample, a greater proportion of previously inactive respondents from the most deprived areas reported improvements to fitness (92% v. 89%), physical health (90% v. 85%), happiness (84% v. 79%) and mental health (76% v. 69%). Conclusion The least active respondents from the most socioeconomically deprived areas reported increases to their activity levels and benefits to health and wellbeing since participating in parkrun. Whilst the challenge of identifying how community initiatives like parkrun can better engage with underrepresented populations remains, if this can be achieved they could have a critical public health role in addressing inequalities in benefits associated with recreational physical activity.

The health benefits of volunteering at a free, weekly, 5 km event in the UK: A cross-sectional study of volunteers at parkrun

“…Many of the volunteering roles at parkrun involve interacting with people and volunteers volunteered almost five times as often as those who also ran or walked. This suggests that social connections are more frequently enhanced through volunteering at parkrun, which has the potential to bridge and link people across social boundaries and socioeconomic divides [20,24].…”

“…A cross-sectional online survey was emailed to 2,318,135 parkrun registrants in the UK between 29 th October and 3 rd December 2018 and collected using Qualtrics online software [19]. The full survey and methods are outlined by Quirk et al [20]. The web link directed people to an introductory page which contained the participant information sheet and a confirmation box to indicate consent to take part.…”

Improved Endurance Running Performance Following Haskap Berry (Lonicera caerulea L.) Ingestion

“…Nutrients 2022, 14, x FOR PEER REVIEW 3 of 13 determinants of endurance performance [27]. In addition, given the global success of weekly mass participation events like ParkRun [28] and its inclusion in the World Health Organisation's (WHO) Action Plan on Physical Activity, we further employed a 5 km time trial to provide direct application for would-be end users.…”

Motivation to Improve Mental Wellbeing via Community Physical Activity Initiatives and the Associated Impacts—A Cross-Sectional Survey of UK parkrun Participants

“…Data were collected using Qualtrics software ( , accessed on 29 October 2021). The full survey details and methods are described in earlier publications [ 35 , 36 ]. During the survey, respondents recorded their unique parkrun identification number which was used to match the survey responses with (1) demographic information (gender, date of birth and Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) from the postcode provided at registration) and (2) parkrun participation information (the date of registration with parkrun and the number of completed events).…”

“…The dataset of 60,000 respondents contained 38,072 runners/walkers and 21,928 runners/walkers who also volunteered. Data validation and preparation for statistical analysis were completed using Excel for PC (V16, Microsoft Corporation) and the initial handling and validation of raw data from the survey are described in a previous publication [ 36 ].…”