Press Release - World Athletics - 6/28/20

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

        World Athletics announces new partnership with parkrun

World Athletics and parkrun Global Limited are delighted to announce a new 
partnership by which they will combine their resources to grow the sport of 
athletics and deliver good health and fitness outcomes for communities 
around the world.

Parkrun's simple concept of offering an opportunity for anyone to 
participate in a free, weekly, organised 5km or 2km run at a local park has 
captured the imagination of communities around the world over the past 16 
years.

From its roots at Bushy Park, Teddington in the United Kingdom in 2004, 
parkrun has expanded to 20 countries in the past 10 years, and now has more 
than three million participants globally.

World Athletics, which has 214 Member Federations, and parkrun will work 
together to encourage people around the world to get moving and keep moving 
by joining a local parkrun.

Parkrun will assist World Athletics to leave community health legacies in 
the host countries of World Athletics Series events by creating a series of 
permanent parkruns in the host cities and countries of world championship 
events, including the World Championships Oregon 2022 and Budapest 2023. To 
that end, World Athletics will facilitate government/city support for these 
events.

World Athletics CEO Jon Ridgeon said parkrun's purpose aligned perfectly 
with the sport's global ambitions for the next four years.

"We have just approved a strategic plan that has the main objective of 
using the power and accessibility of athletics and our athletes to create a 
healthier and fitter world," Ridgeon said.

"One of the ways we are doing this is by developing strong new partnerships 
where our common cause is to get the world moving. We know that many more 
people have taken up running during the lockdowns around the world, which 
makes sense because our sport is the most universal and accessible of all 
sports, and we want to encourage those people to keep up their new fitness 
routines as life returns to a more normal footing after the pandemic. Doing 
a weekly parkrun is an excellent way to stay motivated and find a local 
running community once mass events are possible again.

"We're also determined to leave tangible community legacies in all of our 
future host cities and countries, and there is no better way to do that 
than by helping to improve the health of their citizens."

Parkrun CEO Nick Pearson said both organisations were determined to get 
more people running for their health, fitness and enjoyment.

"This partnership offers parkrun a fantastic platform to demonstrate the 
role, relevance and value of community health and wellbeing initiatives and 
to highlight that sport and physical activity is accessible to all," 
Pearson said. "It is exciting to see this approach embraced by World 
Athletics, and we look forward to working with stakeholders in the host 
countries of World Athletics Series events to support and develop a network 
of parkrun events.

"We believe that finding positive ways to connect grass roots and community 
activity with elite sport has multiple benefits and builds stronger 
sporting foundations and broader engagement. Exercise and physical activity 
is more accessible and sustainable where sports organisations collaborate 
and work towards mutual goals. Encouraging the social and community 
participants to engage with and experience a more competitive sporting 
environment will help to build a stronger sport and expose pathways to more 
sporting opportunities."

Parkrun New Zealand has announced last week that it will be able to resume 
on July 4, with measures in place to allow contact tracing of participants.


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