As Parkrun prepares to celebrate its 20th anniversary, researchers have discovered the run club contributes nearly £700,000,000 per year to the UK economy.
Led by Sheffield Hallam University and the University of Sheffield, the study followed newly registered parkrunners for six months.
They found that life satisfaction increased after doing as few as two parkruns, with the greatest increase among those who were least active prior to joining.
Over 45,000 people who have registered for Parkrun in the UK this year identified themselves as completely inactive.
The study, led by Professor Steve Haake from Sheffield Hallam University’s Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre, highlighted that the main cause of the increase in life satisfaction was through improvements to both physical and mental health which in turn led to increased quality of life.
Professor Haake told Metro: ‘Parkrun’s mantra is a healthier, happier planet. My question was, how do you actually measure that?
‘Parkrun seems to impact people wherever they happen to be in their lives. It kind of meets you where you’re at,’ he explained.
If Parkrun ceased to exist, Professor Haake said the impact on the NHS and the UK economy would be ‘substantial’.
He added: ‘Parkrun is head and shoulders above most of the other interventions that you can see in the country relating to sport and physical activity.’
Further analysis showed that every £1 spent on parkrun returned at least £16.70 in benefits to the UK, including £10 in healthcare benefits; making Parkrun, which sees around 200,000 people take part every week, across more than 900 locations in the UK, around three times more valuable than other other initiatives designed to increase physical activity.
Prof Haake said: ‘In the current environment where funding is scarce, our research shows that initiatives like parkrun can be cost-effective.
‘Parkrun overcomes barriers that stop people engaging in physical activity by using methods often seen in psychotherapy – it is at the same time, same place every week and is free to take part.
‘It also promotes strong friendships and more casual relationships, both of which are shown to improve mental health.’
The first ever Parkrun took place with 13 runners and 5 volunteers at Bushy Park in London on Saturday October 2nd, 2004.
It has since grown to a global community of more than ten million people, in 23 countries, at more than 2,500 locations.
Chrissie Wellington, parkrun UK’s Head of Health and Wellbeing said: ‘It is arguably the most impactful physical activity initiative the UK has seen in the last two decades.
‘This weekend will see Parkrun’s 20th anniversary celebrated across the UK and the world, with communities encouraged to come together at their local parkruns in a celebration of the milestone on Saturday 5 October.’
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