They say absence makes the heart grow fonder and that is the case with Arrow Valley parkrun which reopens on Saturday 24 July after being suspended for 16 months due to Covid-19. There will be a few differences that include a new location and bright pink high-vis vests.

Mass participation events are springing back into action as the country emerges from lockdown and all remaining Covid restrictions are lifted. This applies to parkrun which is limbering up ahead of Saturday where once more, people of all ages will take part in this immensely popular and free weekly 5K enjoying the benefits it brings, both physically and mentally.

Normal service is about to resume; however, the pandemic hasn’t ended and a Covid framework is in place to ensure everyone’s safety whilst enabling them to run or walk 5K in the company of others – the latter something many of us have missed over the last year and a half. People are itching to get back...

What they will notice is that the parkrun starts at a new location - the BMX track on Icknield Street Drive. They complete three laps, remembering to follow marshal advice and give each other sufficient space and, at the finish, show their tokens and barcodes to the scanner held by a volunteer wearing a pink high-vis vest. The Virtual Volunteer app has streamlined this process which is an advantage.

There is detailed information about the event, car parking, the start and finish etc on the Arrow Valley parkrun Facebook page.   

Only two sleeps to go until parkrun...  

Image courtesy of Dylan Gould.