NI leads the pack in Parkrun participation

Environment Minister Andrew Muir and Belfast Lord Mayor Micky Murray supported Matt Shields on his 500th Waterworks parkrun

When Matt Shields floated the idea of bringing free weekly park runs to Northern Ireland in 2010, he wasn't met with much enthusiasm.

“They basically said ‘good luck’," he says.

"They didn’t think we could get enough volunteers every weekend and marshall the events, but I had seen its success in London.”

Fast forward 14 years, and Northern Ireland is punching above its weight when it comes to Parkrun participation.

Statistics from Parkrun show that Northern Ireland has the highest level of participation when compared to the rest of the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

Mr Shields, from Lisburn, recently hit a major personal milestone and completed his 500th parkrun at the Waterworks.

He spoke to BBC News NI to mark the occasion, and some other parkrunners shared inspiring stories of how it has helped them - from being a way out of addiction to a way through illness.

The first ever Parkrun event on the island of Ireland, back in 2010, was at the Waterworks in north Belfast.

Since then Mr Shields has set up almost 200 parkruns across Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, with the latter's first event in Malahide in 2012.

Now there are more Parkrun events per capita in Northern Ireland in comparison to anywhere else on these islands.

Matt Shields completed his 500th parkrun at the Waterworks in north Belfast on Saturday

What is parkrun?

Parkrun organises free, weekly, 2km and 5km runs around the world.

All events are run by volunteers and people of every ability are encouraged to take part.

Speaking to BBC News NI, Mr Shields recalls how quickly it began to gain traction.

“Getting a Parkrun started up at the Waterworks has transformed the area.

“There was a lot of anti-social behaviour happening there at the time, but once the community moved in and started utilising the space more, that started to change.

“Once [councils] saw the positive impact that Parkrun was having they were asking us to set up more and more."

There are now about 50,000 regular Parkrun participants in Northern Ireland, with more than 6,000 weekly participants, according to Parkrun records.

In Northern Ireland there is one participant per 285 of the population, in rest of the UK it's one per 347, and in the Republic one in 333.

For further comparison, there is one Parkrun event per 33,000 of Northern Ireland’s population. In the rest of the UK, there is one event per 65,000 of the population.

'It will lift you, lift your mind'

Mark Richards told BBC News NI that Parkrun helped him overcome addiction

For many weekly participants, Parkrun transcends mere physical exercise.

Mark Richards struggled with addiction to prescription medication and strong painkillers for chronic back pain for more than 15 years.

He said that joining Parkrun helped him cope with withdrawals.

“It got to the point where, whether I had a bad back or not, I was taking them... just addicted, and I was taking more and more,” he said.

Mr Richards also had other health problems, including a brain tumour, which was adding to this pain and affecting his mental health.

He recalls when he decided he had to turn a corner.

“It was around Christmas time, my wee boy said to me: ‘daddy I wish you would stop taking those, because you take too many’”.

“And then I just threw them all away, down the drain... and that was it.

“I went down to the chemist, to see if they could offer me anything for the withdrawals.

"Rather than give me more pills, the pharmacist suggested, ‘why don’t you go out for a run? It will lift you, lift your mind.’

“But I had never run before. I couldn’t even run the length of myself," he admitted.

“So whenever I was in pain, having withdrawals, I just got up and out for a run.

Now, Mark has completed more than 100 Parkruns and full marathons, something he said he “would never have dreamed of doing”.

'Baby steps'

Aidan Creamer played Gaelic football for Leitrim GAA before a brain aneurysm caused right-side paralysis

After a life-changing diagnosis or injury, GPs have often prescribed exercise, particularly Parkrun, for its additional emotional and social benefits alongside exercise.

This was the case for Aidan Creamer, who suffered a brain aneurysm in 1998 when he was 26-years-old.

At the time, he was playing Gaelic football for Leitrim GAA.

He described it as a “devastating blow” which left him with right-side paralysis and the inability to communicate.

He knew that the chance to play for his county again was lost.

It took several years of rehab and what he called “baby steps” towards getting the strength and confidence back to participate in sports.

Parkrun provided the opportunity to re-build strength in body and mind for Aidan, who recently completed the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage through Spain, walking almost 300km. He said he used the weekly Parkrun as his "building blocks" towards completing this "life changing achievement".

'Move against cancer'

Ann McBrien and her oncologist Dr Kyle Crawford run at Ormeau Parkrun with the '5k your way' cancer group

5k Your Way is a support group which was set up with the aim of supporting people living with cancer through the power of movement.

Ann McBrien was diagnosed with breast cancer and began treatment in 2013.

In 2019, the cancer became advanced and spread to her lungs in an incurable but treatable form.

Dr Kyle Crawford is Ann's oncologist and has been treating Ann and provides her with additional support by meeting once a month to do Ormeau Parkrun.

Ann said that since she started with the group that she has felt she is "getting back" what she lost after her diagnosis.