Where We Going Mummy: Junior parkrun

Catherine Aspinall, a local mum of two lively children and an equally energetic pug, shares her top family day out ideas. With a love for exploring and the outdoors, Catherine and her family are always out and about, having fun adventures in Rochdale & the North West. Follow on Facebook & Instagram @wherewegoingmummy

JUNIOR PARKRUN

• Milnrow Memorial Park junior parkrun starts near the bowling green in Milnrow Memorial Park (with a car park available right in front at OL16 4JF)

• Queen’s Park junior parkrun starts near the fountain in Queen’s Park (with a car park across the road at OL10 4UY)

• Falinge Park junior parkrun will start near the Vintage Worx building (with parking available on surrounding streets, OL12 6JE)

Junior parkrun is a friendly, free 2K run for children aged 4-14, held every Sunday morning at 9am. Junior parkruns take place all over the country, with the Borough of Rochdale already having two well-established events in both Milnrow and Heywood. However, Sunday 7th April will see a third event begin in Falinge Park. We are so lucky to have such great choices close by!

Being partial to a bit of Saturday 5k parkrunning (get yourself over to Watergrove at 9am for a hardcore workout!), I was initially worried that taking my kids along to junior parkrun was simply just fuelling my own addiction… How wrong was I!

The girl may mostly be too lazy to actually run, but she does enjoy donning a hi-vis vest and volunteering, but the boy absolutely LOVES it! I’m not sure if it’s the trying to beat his times each week, seeing his new friends or being awarded wristbands for his achievements, but he now even owns specific ‘running trainers’ and is working towards his ’50 wristband’ which represents an ultra-marathon!

If you so desire you can run alongside your child(ren) if you want some exercise (or if you simply need to drag them up the hills… I speak from experience), but the events are so well marshalled that someone is always on hand in case of any slips or falls and no-one can get lost. This means you can happily just watch from the sidelines or get involved with time-keeping or token sorting.

Now this obviously does not constitute a ‘day out’, as, depending on how speedy your children are, it could be over in like 10 minutes! However, once they have finished the run they are clearly going to spend time playing in the playgrounds, kicking a football around the open spaces and scooting along the paths, rather than going home for a well-earned rest.

Junior parkrun is such a good way to get fit and have fun, but before attending please sign up for your free barcode at www.parkrun.org.uk/register and make sure to bring this along with you, either printed or on a phone or watch. This ensures you get sent an official position and time.

Check out www.parkrun.org.uk/events/juniorevents for more information and keep an eye on each events’ social media pages, as any cancellations will be communicated there.