The latest partner of the IAAF’s landmark new social responsibility programme Athletics for a Better World (ABW) is parkrun.
parkrun, founded a decade ago in 2004, currently has an established presence in nine countries across the world.
It is a simple concept: adults have the chance to run over 5km every Saturday in their local park or, if you’re a child, then 2km every Sunday.
The guiding principle of parkrun is that no one should ever have to pay to go regularly running in their community, and should be able to do so safely and for fun.
parkrun now has over 1.2 million people around the world already registered and is growing by an average of 14,000 each week.
“parkrun is all about inclusiveness and well being. We want as many people as possible to feel part of a real local community brought together by our events, as well as our global parkrun family,” commented parkrun founder Paul Sinton-Hewitt.
“Each week, parkrun introduces more venues across the globe where people can take part in a free, fun filled, 5km run. In so doing, we are delivering social change in all the countries that we operate in.”
“By introducing this partnership, the IAAF and parkrun accept that we have a global responsibility to use the power and reach of athletics to make a positive difference in people´s lives,” he added.
ABW was launched in April 2014 to provide a platform for organisations and people around the world – including IAAF Member Federations, athletics associations, partner organisations, sponsors and athletes – that want to use athletics as a tool for social change.
The aim is for these organisations to be stronger together and benefit from the IAAF’s global reach, marketing channels and sporting credibility.
The IAAF provides leadership so that the various stakeholders can add value to their own work in the four key areas of health, environment, social inclusion and peace; the association between the IAAF and parkrun particularly embraces the first three pillars of the programme.
Speak Your Mind