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22nd February 2022

Join us on Saturday 5 March for our second ever This Girl Can parkrun to celebrate International Women’s Day.

On your marks, get set, run!  

It's time to dust off our running shoes as we team up with parkrun once again to host the second International Women's Day parkrun. 

More than 15,000 of you took part in our first event, back in 2020, as walkers, joggers, runners or volunteers, and we encourage anyone looking for a safe, inclusive and judgement-free experience to sign up for their local parkrun and join us. 

Our next event takes place on Saturday 5 March, where together we’ll embrace the International Women's Day theme, aiming to #BreakTheBias by breaking down the barriers that many women and girls face when trying to take part in physical activity. 

A woman gets ready to run outdoors

With women less likely than men to take part in parkrun events – despite registering for the weekly 5km activity in higher numbers - we know the gender gap in activity levels persists.  

Fear of judgement or not feeling fit enough are two of the reasons behind this – a point not lost on our campaign lead Kate Dale. 

“Getting active for the first time or after a long gap can be daunting,” she said. 

“That is why we’re excited to encourage women and girls to get involved with parkrun to celebrate International Women’s Day, break the bias and tackle the stubborn gender activity gap. 

“This Girl Can breaks down the stereotypes of what women getting active should look like, and champions women and girls getting active in the ways that work for them - without worrying about how good they are or what other people think. 

“Getting down to your local parkrun is a great way of putting the This Girl Can ethos into practice; it’s fun, free and friendly, with women of all ages, backgrounds and abilities getting involved. 

“So, if you’ve been thinking about trying it out for the first time, want to come back or bring a friend along, International Women’s Day parkrun is a great place to start getting active in a way that works for you.” 

Last year, 440,000 women and girls completed 2.4 million parkruns around the world, with nearly 100,000 women and girls volunteering at just under half a million parkrun events. 

Despite these encouraging figures, the female share of parkrun finishers has dropped by about 3% since the pandemic began, with our own research showing that practical barriers such as childcare obligations, as well as concerns such as fear of judgement, have contributed. 

We’re excited to encourage women and girls to get involved with parkrun to celebrate International Women’s Day, break the bias and tackle the stubborn gender activity gap."

Kate Dale

This Girl Can campaign lead

So, with over 1,000 parkruns every weekend in the UK, Chrissie Wellington, Parkrun's global head of health and wellbeing, is hoping to see many new faces this year. 

“Insight, including that generated by Sport England, reveals stark gender differences in physical activity participation and overall health and wellbeing, and that these have been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic,” she said. 

“We are proud that parkrun engages around 120,000 women and girls every single weekend across the world, but we also know that many still face barriers to taking part. 

“These relate to fear of walking or running in public, not wanting to attend an event alone, not knowing what to expect or worries about not being fit enough.  

“We are working really hard, with partners like Sport England, to remove many of these barriers, and make parkrun as accessible as possible to as many people as possible, and IWD parkrun 2022 is an important part of these efforts. 

“We really look forward to marking this important occasion and using it as a platform to celebrate female participation at parkrun and help us impact the lives of many more women and girls in the UK and around the world.” 

Parkrun is for everyone, regardless of age, background, fitness level, or gender, so bring a female friend, colleague, or family member, and celebrate using the hashtags #IWDparkrun and #ThisGirlCan. 

This Girl Can is funded by The National Lottery.

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