Sarah Sanderson, Curate at Trendlewood Church in Nailsea, set up a junior parkrun for 4-14-year-olds. This 2k run, designed to be positive, welcoming, and inclusive, has swiftly become a popular community event.
Sarah emphasises the community-building aspect of parkrun, “The whole thing about parkrun is that it's community building community. It offers people a reason to come together, encourage and support one another.
Parents often run with their children and as there are lots of opportunities for volunteering, people can join in even if they don’t want to run or walk the 2k.”
Motivated by the lack of families in the church when she first started her curacy, Sarah, an avid runner herself, sought to find a way to connect with them. She said, “This was about connecting with community, connecting with local families and helping the church in the area realise there are families around.
“We wanted to create a space where we could meet families and build relationships. It’s all about being with and doing things with the community. It's taking you outside the church building to go to the community, instead of asking everybody to come to you.”
The team secured £4,000 from the local council to kickstart junior parkrun. Alongside Sarah, church volunteers, including Revd Morey Andrews, and many community volunteers, including students from the local secondary school, collaborate to make the run a weekly success. The initiative extends beyond mere exercise, offering post-run opportunities for participants to gather, chat, enjoy coffee, and share experiences.
Every Sunday at 9am, local and visiting children participate and receive a time and place for their efforts around the course. Throughout the winter, approximately 30-40 children participate each week, and notably, around a third of parents who accompany their youngsters end up running as well. The collaboration involves around 100 individuals, creating a vibrant gathering for half an hour every week. They are looking forward to the warmer weather to attract more families to join in.
Sarah encourages other churches in the area to join this initiative. She advises those in other areas to get involved in their local parkrun by volunteering or participating in order to connect with already established communities. She says, “Get to know the people who are there already. Just be a presence in that place and buildup relationships with people who are already serving.” Setting a new one up is hard work and it is important to remember that the focus is on working with the local community.
While acknowledging the strict guidelines of parkrun, she emphasises the hard work as worthwhile, especially when there isn't a similar local option. “The interaction with families, being present in the community, and representing a Christian presence and building meaningful relationships is a privilege. The positive impact is evident when we visit schools, where the children recognise us from parkrun. It is a brilliant connection between the church and the broader community.”