As fellow cancer survivors, Eddie Broad (82) and Sue James (74) – pictured above, having fun at Maidstone River Park parkrun on 30 July 2022 – were pioneers of parkwalk. They've been good mates for many years and even have nicknames for each other: 'Fast' Eddie and 'Super' Sue!

The parkwalk thing was officially introduced by parkrun supremo Paul Sinton-Hewitt in this parkrun UK blog in September 2022. Sue and Eddie were among thousands who had already laid the foundations.

Both needed an alternative to running the Saturday morning 5K events for health reasons. Sue was between throat cancer and bowel cancer treatments, having recovered from cervical cancer. Eddie was in the process of kicking prostate cancer where it hurts!

Eddie is a veteran of 200 parkruns, with a best of 25:37 at Maidstone. Sue is 20 parkruns behind Eddie, but edges the speed stakes with her 23:14 at Maidstone.

Eddie now parkwalks 5K in times similar to those he recorded 'back in the day' when racing 10 miles for Invicta East Kent AC. Sue's parkwalk results look like the times she raced 10K some 20 years ago when she was the W55 British Masters Cross Country champion and fourth in the World Masters Cross Country Championships in Austria.

You see, that's the thing about parkwalk. You may never know the reason behind someone's decision to walk rather than run. It may be a physical necessity or merely preference on the day, and that's OK. Sue and Eddie love walking together, putting the world to rights, supporting the faster runners as they criss-cross on the two-way section of their local event.

Sue describes Eddie as her "parkwalk husband" and looks forward to their regular meetings. Meanwhile, her real husband and runABC writer Alan Newman, joins the pair on his post-parkrun warm down to witness their bonhomie and the reciprocal support they receive from fellow parkrun/parkwalk participants and the brilliant parkrun volunteers.

With the support of parkrun partners Vitality under the banner "Let's Walk", parkrun encourages you to bring your friends, family, and colleagues to a parkrun and walk it. On Saturday, 26 April 2025, parkrun aims to celebrate parkwalk with the biggest walking weekend ever.

To find your nearest parkrun/parkwalk click here, and for FAQs, click here.

Photo of 'Fast' Eddie and 'Super' Sue courtesy of Maidstone River Park parkrun