• A non-profit that facilitates the delivery of free 5k events every Saturday morning in areas of open space.
• Open to walkers, runners, volunteers and supporters of all ages and backgrounds.
• More than 530 locations around Australia every Saturday.
• Every parkrun is coordinated by local volunteers.
• Suitable for the whole family to take part in.
• Practices can link with more than one parkrun in their local area.
• parkruns are held in some correctional facilities and restricted military bases.
• 2k junior parkruns for 4–14-year-olds and their families on Sunday mornings are being rolled out.
• Free, for everyone, forever.

The RACGP and parkrun Australia are delighted to launch the pioneering ‘parkrun practice’ initiative.

Under this initiative, GP practices of all sizes are encouraged to develop close links with their local parkrun events to become ‘parkrun practices’.

Being a parkrun practice helps GPs to:

• Improve the health and wellbeing of practice staff and patients, reducing the need for lifelong medicine
• Support the move towards personalised care and social prescribing
• Strengthen connections with the local community
• Improve staff morale and relationships between staff members and other practices
• To help you have a conversation with your staff, patients, and community to get involved and join in the parkrun fun!

The parkrun practice initiative is a voluntary collaboration between a GP practice and a local parkrun event.

Before registering to be a parkrun practice, we ask that you reach out to your local parkrun or go along to your local parkrun event to introduce yourself and let them know your practice is interested in registering to be a parkrun practice!

Locate your local parkrun here and get in contact! 

Now you are all set to register your practice here. This will only take 5 minutes of your time.

We strongly recommend you reach out to your local parkrun to let them know you are a parkrun practice. parkrun have an amazing community of volunteers who will endeavour to get in contact with you as soon as they can.

Welcome to the parkrun practice family.

Please see resources below to help you have a conversation with your staff, patients, and community to get involved and join in the parkrun fun!

The Australian Physical Activity Guidelines
The Australian Physical Activity Guidelines advise that Australians should undertake at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity or 75 minutes of high intensity activity per week – and just 10 additional minutes can make a clinical difference, reducing the impact of the chronic health conditions.

Social Prescribing Roundtable November 2019
Social prescribing is ‘a means of enabling GPs [general practitioners], nurses and other primary care professionals to refer people to a range of local, non-clinical services’.2 Social prescribing could provide a valuable addition to the existing range of healthcare options in Australia

Reach and Impact of Parkrun – Sydney University
In 2020, a team of academics from Sydney University reviewed the existing research into parkrun. It highlighted that parkrun participants show improvements in, among other things, fitness, total physical activity, and mood.

Social Prescribing Survey – Health Professionals 2019
In 2019 a survey of almost 3,000 Australian-based health professionals revealed the extent to which patients are being signposted to parkrun events around the country, as an alternative to more ‘traditional’ medication or to complement existing treatment. Almost 2,000 of those surveyed (69%) revealed they signposted patients to parkrun in a professional capacity, with 87% of those who didn’t refer patients to parkrun stating that they would consider doing so in the future.

Rapid review of evidence for outdoor transmission of COVID-19
In August 2020, parkrun commissioned the University of Canterbury and Christchurch to carry out a review of available scientific literature relating to outdoor transmission of COVID-19, which further added to the evidence base behind the development of the parkrun COVID-19 Framework.

​Report outdoor transmission PDF

New research shows exceptionally low risk of COVID transmission at outdoor sporting events
A groundbreaking independent report, commissioned by parkrun, has been published, that for the first time, estimates the risk of transmission of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) at parkrun events.

Evidence on the reach and impact of parkrun: a review
A team of academics reviewed existing research highlighting that parkrun participants show improvements in, among other things, fitness, total physical activity, and mood.

Survey of Aussie parkrunners reveals negative impact of social restrictions
As parkrun events gradually reopen across Australia, a survey of more than 1600 Aussie parkrunners has revealed the extent to which social restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic have significantly affected people’s health, happiness and connections to their community.