Back in action since early January following a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Broadmeadow Junior Parkrun is all about encouraging young people to get active in a sociable environment.

The Junior Parkrun is a free 2km event for junior runners of all standards, which takes place every Sunday at 9.30am, meeting at the Lakeland Forum, Broadmeadow, Enniskillen.

Parkrun Ambassador for the area is Bryony May, and the Junior Parkrun event is co-directed by Maggie Hamilton and Declan Coyle, who oversee safeguarding and the rota.

They are ably assisted by Run Directors Marta Lauze, Diane Bell, Maura McCabe and Colleen McCusker, who take it in turns each week to run the event.

Speaking to The Impartial Reporter, Maggie noted the aims of the Junior Parkrun. She said: “I think, especially now at the minute given the past couple of years, getting young people back out in the community and back out socialising with one another is so important, and it’s really nice that they can do it in such a pretty environment, where it’s held at the at the Forum.

“It also promotes their overall well-being and their health,” she added, noting that the young people can walk, run or jog and parents can do it with them.

“It’s about promoting that all-round wellbeing, getting out into the environment and being among their peers.

“For that age group, from [ages] four to 14 is really important [to get out and socialising together] because they’ve missed out on so much.”

The Junior Parkrun is free, but participants are required to register for each run prior to the event.

Maggie explained: “All you have to do is register online and then they get their own barcodes and at the end of each run it’s scanned, and that saves all their details so they know how [far] they’ve done and after certain amounts of runs or walks they’ve taken part in, they get a milestone band.”

Although the event starts at 9.30am every Sunday, Maggie encourages those participating to arrive 10 minutes early, and prior to the run, a warm-up exercise is held.

The Junior Parkrun is a non-competitive event, with only the participant knowing their own times.

“They get their times emailed to them or their parents, whoever oversees their account, so they’re able to see their own progress,” said Maggie.

Alongside the directors, Junior Parkrun requires the help of other volunteers to make the event possible.

Outlining the importance of volunteers, Maggie said: “We’d really like parents to get involved and volunteer because we can’t do it without volunteers each week.

“We need 14 volunteers each week for it to successfully run, to keep it safe for all the young people as well,” she said, going on to explain what is required of volunteers: “It can just be as simple as marshalling, standing and encouraging the children, making sure they are going on the right route up to timekeeping or a ‘tail walker’, who comes and makes sure all the children have finished safely.”

To register a young person for the Broadmeadow Junior Parkrun, see www.parkrun.org.uk/broadmeadow-juniors.