Every Saturday morning at Netley you’ll find a lively bunch of us gathering for parkrun. For those who don’t know, parkrun is a free, weekly, timed 5k held all over the world. What started in 2004 with just 13 runners in a London park has now grown into a global community of millions.

As parkrun themselves put it, “It’s so much more than a run in the park – it’s a community, an opportunity to be active, socialise, and be part of something bigger.”


Not Just Netley – Tourism Is a Thing!

While Netley is our home event, you’ll often find a little gang of NARs popping up elsewhere. Parkrun “tourism” is exactly what it sounds like: travelling to different events for a change of scenery. Some people even set themselves quirky challenges, like the parkrun alphabet – trying to tick off events starting with each letter (except X… there isn’t one!).

It’s a brilliant excuse for a road trip, a weekend away, or just to explore a new park you’d never otherwise visit. And yes, it’s definitely a thing.


The Best Part? The Coffee Afterwards

Of course, running is only half the fun. The post-parkrun coffee is where the magic happens. At Netley, a group of us always head off to a café afterwards to warm up, chat about the run, swap stories about our latest alphabet letters, and make plans for where we’ll go next.

Parkrun themselves say, “It’s the friendships, the post-run coffee, and the sense of belonging that really keep people coming back.” We couldn’t agree more.


Why We Love It

  • Free and open to everyone – whether you’re walking, jogging, running or volunteering.
  • Community first – parkrun recently removed course records from public view, saying, “We want to avoid anything off-putting and make sure parkrun doesn’t imply it’s a race.”
  • A reason to travel – tourism and silly challenges keep it fresh.
  • Coffee and company – quite possibly the highlight of a Saturday morning.


So if you’ve never tried parkrun before, come along to Netley one Saturday. You’ll spot the NARs easily – we’ll be the noisy lot at the start, the smiley ones around the course, and the happy group with mugs in hand afterwards.