Why we've moved our 5k five miles down the road
September was a transitional month for our local parkrun event. The free, timed, weekly 5k was established in the spring of 2015, calling the National Trust-owned Hatfield Forest its home. Over the course of two-and-a-half years, attendance gradually grew as more runners, joggers and walkers joined the community at the forest.
September 23 marked the last parkrun to be held there. With popularity of the event increasing, the pressure placed on parking at the venue over the winter months had made the event unsustainable, necessitating a move.
A total of 424 runners, an event record, took part on the final Saturday, supported by a team of 60 volunteers. The final event was a celebration of all that had been achieved by parkrunners at Hatfield Forest since the inaugural event.
In all, the event was enjoyed by 4,511 participants and over 600 volunteers, and 128,655 kilometres (79,946 miles) were run across a plethora of routes designed in conjunction with the National Trust to ensure the sensitivities of the forest were respected.
On Saturday the event made its debut as Castle Park parkrun, held in the middle of Bishop’s Stortford. The parkrun team had been working with local authorities since earlier in the year to secure a new venue.
Without the passion and commitment from East Herts, Bishop’s Stortford and Hertfordshire councils, plus the understanding and working relationship we built with the National Trust, we would have faced a local area losing a parkrun event.
Instead, we can now look forward to a long-term future in the centre of a thriving town, with a fully accessible event to runners, walkers and joggers.
Our new location provides a new challenge for runners and volunteers alike, an exciting time for parkrun as we now form part of the future of the Castle Park transformation project.
For more information on the new event in Stortford, visitparkrun.org.uk/castlepark. Registration is free; all runners need is a printed barcode to participate. The event starts from the bandstand in Sworder’s Field, The Causeway, Saturday mornings at 9am.
