When parkrun is expected to return to South Shields - organisers confirm June date for popular weekly 5k

Bosses behind the mass participation exercise event, which runs hundreds of editions across the UK, have confirmed runners will be welcomed back to the usual course at the Leas, on Saturday, June 26.

South Tyneside Council and the National Trust, which own the land used for the 5km course, have given their blessing for the weekly event to resume. It has not taken place since March 2020.

It had been hoped races would be able to resume next week, on June 5, but national parkrun chiefs decided this would not be viable.

However they now claim they are ‘increasingly optimistic’ they will be in a position to get going once more from June 26.

Nick Pearson, parkrun Global CEO said: “We are incredibly grateful to all of the landowners who have granted events permission to return so far, and for the groundswell of support for parkrun over recent days.

“Although it is disappointing not to be able to return on June 5, we are still optimistic that we can return parkrun events to nearly 600 communities across England very soon.

“We will do everything we can to ensure events restart on June 26.”

A final decision on whether events will restart on Saturday, June 26, is expected to be confirmed by Friday, June 11.

Permission had previously been secured for more than 250 Parkruns to go ahead across England on June 5.

But it was felt this would not provide the ‘critical mass’ needed to ensure everyone wanting to take part is able to without overwhelming the most popular venues.

In South Shields returning runners can expect to find the course as it was the last time they completed it, with no limits on the number of participants.

Parkrun has blamed the three-week delay to restarting events nationally on ‘unnecessary red tape and lengthy internal bureaucracy’.

Despite this, other running events have resumed in South Shields, while the Great North Run is slated to return on September 12.

Visit www.parkrun.org.uk/southshields to find out more about Parkrun South Shields.

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