A big community hug - The New Year Day Special, Burgess parkrun #295 - 01/01/26
- aqasanu
- Jan 9
- 3 min read
I strolled into Burgess Park with some feelings of anxiety and apprehension, because on the previous Tuesday, whilst walking home from work, through the park, I’d had my phone snatched and been knocked to the floor. The anger and frustration it had conjured up had been quite overwhelming, and my shoulder was still sore. However, I was determined not let the incident ruin my end of year or define the beginning of 2026 and attending parkrun turned out to be the perfect antidote and springboard for me.
I’d informed friends and family of my robbery and assault online. The response had been fantastic however, there’s nothing like human-to-human contact. This is my home parkrun where, over 300 events, I’ve made good friends locally, and other friends travelled from afar. Their acknowledgement of the attack and the warmth of their hugs did something that social media likes and emojis can’t replicate.
At 0850, I commenced the new runners welcome, my favourite volunteering duty. I’m always keen to share a bit of the park's history, such as how the course starts where the Grand Surrey Canal once ran. My intention is to encourage people to feel at ease and to drink in the array of wonderful trees and fauna. It was a beautiful morning with the sun’s rays bouncing off the lake. Here were 484 participants and 35 volunteers together to start the year in a connected way, and the aches from the assault melted away.
Parkrun is usually on Saturday, starting at 0900, but each country may nominate 2 special days when events can also go ahead. In the UK, these two days are Christmas Day and New Year's Day, and if you complete them both in the same season e.g. 25/01/2021 and 01/01/22, you achieve the parkrun challenge called ‘Festive Double’ which can be found on the 5k app. This would be my 9th time completing this particular challenge, which has become the perfect way to finish and then start the calendar year, never more so than today.
Parkrun special days also tend to have more levity to them, and I took my own advice to slow down and enjoy the positive energy that parkrun always generates.
After my run, I was talking with friends, hearing about their festive seasons, when out of the blue, I was approached by Louis.
I met Louis back in November 2024 when I was stumbling around looking for Mile End parkrun. Louis guided us to the start, he explained it was his 2nd time, having enjoyed his first parkrun the previous week as an alternative to less healthy lifestyle choices. As our conversation progressed, I shared about the various challenges and a few adventures we’d had. I could see a glistening in his eye.
Fast forward to today and Louis is a transformed man/runner! He completed 38 parkruns in 2025, volunteering 13 times, joined a running club, pushed on to doing 10k’s and half-marathon distances, achieving personal bests at each distance. On joining Wapping Running Club Louis said it had helped him to ‘...make new friendships, also running in groups is more enjoyable and seems easier’. I asked Louis about his goals for 2026 and he said ‘...doing my first marathon distance at The Maverick Bright trails and also a bit optimistic but would like to get 80% for my age grade for 5k (national class) lets see how that goes’.
I asked Louis what his advice would be for anyone thinking about giving running/parkrun a go and he said ‘lace up and get going, you won’t regret it, so many benefits to be had’.
For anyone making New Year’s resolutions, I’d love to hear if you have any running-related ones. And of course, parkrun isn’t just a place for running; walkers and volunteering are very much part of what it’s all about. It’s not just about attending an event, it’s about being part of a community.
Wishing you a very Happy New Year. May it be filled with running, walking, volunteering opportunities and a place to connect.
You can read about how parkrun was created by the founder, Paul Sinton-Hewitt, a care leaver, in his book ‘One Small Step’ The Definitive Account of how a run became a Global Movement by clicking here.
Another great read!