Plans in place to get Parkrun up and running again in Inverness
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
RUNNERS in Inverness are awaiting news of when the popular Parkrun sessions will be able to start up again.
The sessions, where more than 100 runners meet every Saturday morning to run 5k courses at Bught Park and Whin Park, have not run since the coronavirus lockdown was introduced back in March.
However, with restrictions being lifted on all sports later in August and September, it is hoped that the running sessions will be able to start again.
Parkrun Global chief operating officer Tom Williams said plans were being developed to reintroduce sessions across the country soon if the virus situation continues to improve across the UK. Looking ahead to the future, he said: “We have developed a comprehensive ‘return to parkrun’ planning document and risk assessment.
“This is the first stage in being able to schedule a return of parkrun events in countries where there remains an underlying level of infection, but where public health guidelines would allow outdoor events to take place.
“In the UK specifically, where we support more than 1000 events and four million parkrunners, the government recently released guidance for the return of mass participation and running events.
This was a significant step forward in facilitating our return, and our planning documents and risk assessments have now been sent to the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.
“While our proposals acknowledge that some alterations will need to be made, we have been careful to ensure that they remain volunteer-friendly. And, while safety will always be our priority, we are committed to maintaining the low barrier event delivery model and the positive element of human interaction.”
