Sandringham parkrun to mark the NHS’s 75th birthday with a celebration event on 8 July
Sandringham parkrun will be one of hundreds of ‘parkruns’ around the UK to host a special NHS birthday celebration event on Saturday 8 July.
The initiative, known as ‘parkrun for the NHS,’ recognises the contribution of the NHS to the health of the nation and aims to inspire people to lead healthy, active lifestyles. It was launched with a fanfare last month, and has the backing of health leaders, sports stars and other celebrities, including tennis legend, Sir Andy Murray, Olympic Gold medal winning athlete, Dame Kelly Holmes, decorated Welsh footballer, Helen Ward, TV doctor, Hussain Al-Zubaidi and Oscar winner, James Martin among many others.
Sandringham parkrun is a free physical activity event that takes place every Saturday morning at 0900. It is open to all ages and abilities and is coordinated entirely by local volunteers. Participants can choose to walk, jog, run or volunteer or just come along and watch and join in the fun.
On 8 July, Sandringham parkrun will be encouraging participants to wear blue or NHS/hospital themed fancy dress and have linked up with the Queen Elizabeth Hospital with several members of their staff either volunteering or taking part in the 5k event. QEH will also have a recruitment stand at Sandringham parkrun that morning.
They are encouraging people from across the community to head down and join in the fun, and encourage their friends and family to do so too.
This is the second time parkrun UK and the NHS have worked together in this way. In 2018, for the 70th birthday of the NHS, an incredible UK-wide celebration was held which saw more than 146,000 people getting involved.
As well as celebrating the NHS’s 75th birthday, parkrun will also be promoting its longstanding partnership with the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP). Since it was launched in 2018, 1,700 GP practices across the UK have signed up to the parkrun practice initiative as a way of improving the mental and physical health of staff and patients through their participation in parkrun.
Dame Kelly Holmes, a regular parkrunner who worked as a nursing assistant before going into the British Army and later becoming a full-time athlete, said: “It is fantastic to see that parkrun and junior parkrun events are joining forces with the NHS across the UK to celebrate its 75th anniversary. ‘parkrun for the NHS’ is a great opportunity for people to come together to improve their own health and wellbeing, through activity and social connection, as well as to thank the incredible NHS staff and volunteers across the country. I’d encourage everyone to head down to their local parkrun or junior parkrun event on 8 and 9 July and make this a wonderful 75th celebration to remember!”
Notes
Registration is free on the parkrun website at: http://www.parkrun.org.uk/register/
The Sandringham parkrun website is www.parkrun.org.uk/sandringham