Do they have Parkrun in Australia?

The next in a mini-series of posts about interests and hobbies that we have in the UK that may or may not transport well to Australia is all about Parkrun.

For those that don’t know, parkrun is a free timed weekly run that takes place on Saturday in the UK. Our local Parkrun starts at 9 am as do the majority of Parkruns throughout the UK.

We love parkrun as it’s a hugely positive environment, and also a great opportunity to do a free, timed 5k.

Over the last 2 years, as a family, we’ve been trying to live a more active lifestyle. For the health benefits, and also to spend some quality time together away from the house and the constant lure of screens.

parkrun has provided the opportunity to do just that. Therefore we don’t want to lose it if we move from the UK to Australia.

The pleasing answer to the question is yes! They do have Parkrun in Australia.

The first Australian parkrun was in 2011 at Main Beach on the Gold Coast. Ever since, parkrun in Australia has gone from strength to strength.

At the time of writing, there are 490 parkrun locations in Australia.

Most of the locations seem to be around Sydney and Melbourne. I guess the sheer population sizes are the driving factor here. Simple Supply and demand.

However, it’s great to see at least 1 parkrun location in each of the states and territories of Australia. Northern Territory has the fewest, with only 4 parkrun locations at the time of writing.

Do these things really matter? Some people might wonder why you’d even care about these things.

The way we view it is this; it’s good news that a thing like parkrun exists in Australia in the same way as it does in the UK as it will hopefully smooth the massive transition of moving half the world away.

Some consistencies will deliver comfort. In the same way that driving on the left-hand side of the road will.

Thank you for reading.

Have you made the move to Australia and have something to say about it?

Contact us and we’d love to feature you on the blog.