Not only did the events grow exponentially, but by year three, over 100,000 participants were taking part, and said they were likely to stick with parkrun and physical activity long into the future.
And according to a 2018 survey, the events have helped make running a part of peoples’ lifestyles, with 59% of parents (67,000 children) saying their child now has an improved attitude to physical activity.
In addition, the majority of parents felt their child is more active than when they started participating at junior parkrun. And 60% of parents (61,000) said they felt more part of their local community.
There is also a strong volunteering element to junior parkrun – and 31% of parents of volunteers said their child now makes friends more easily.
Looking back on the progress made over the three years, Rowan Ardill, Engagement Officer at parkrun said: “The growth of the programme was well over what we were hoping for.
“By promoting junior parkrun in a more targeted way we were able to raise awareness in other areas and other demographics. This was made possible as part of the partnership. We also developed a network of local volunteers who know their communities and are able to inspire people to join. We have never before had Outreach Ambassadors on such a large scale but now we have a growing network. Considering our team is just comprised of 20 people, this figure is amazing.”
He said the organisation is now able to take on a proactive approach to tackling areas of need, rather than a reactive one, adding: “This project helped us proactively identify areas that we can target to launch our events. It helped us take forward some key learnings and has really helped position us in a strong place to develop other participation projects.”
He added: “From the start, we were committed to make these events last forever. Although the project was contained into three years, the impact is massive, and so are the learnings that we have taken.”
Natalie Fitzpatrick, Community, Health & Wellbeing Manager at Warburtons, added: “Families are really important to us and the project was about supporting families and helping every family feel part of their community. We are very proud of the achievements we made during the three years, but also the legacy that the programme will have. It’s very clear that those events will have continued impact in the future. The 101 events still exist and will continue to exist for the families and communities in those areas.”
She added: “There was a lot of support from CAF and the team was heavily involved in terms of validation processes and setting up the partnership in a successful way. CAF’s part was key to the whole thing. There were also governance elements that they helped with as well, so their role was integral in getting the foundations right for a successful collaboration.”