Return of parkrun delayed after government lockdown announcement
Runners, walkers and volunteers are among those who will have to wait a bit longer to return to their normal activities after the Prime Minister announced a delay in easing lockdown measures tonight.
Originally, parkruns were set to return later this month, after organisers announced events will resume.
The free 5km events, which take place at parks and green spaces around the country on Saturday mornings, have been cancelled since March 2020 due to the pandemic.
Last Friday parkrun UK announced it had secured permission from the majority of land owners for events to return on Saturday, June 26.
Preston Council had given permission for a run in Avenham and Miller Parks, Blackpool Council has approved the run in Stanley Park, and the Heritage Trust for the North West has approved the Lytham Hall Parkrun.
In Wigan, runs included Haigh Woodland parkrun and Pennington Flash parkrun, which had been given the green light by the Council.
A statement from Parkrun read: "Following the announcement this evening from the Prime Minister confirming a delay to Step 4 of the Roadmap until Monday 19 July 2021, it is now our intention that 5k events in England will restart on Saturday 24 July.
"A huge amount of work has been done in recent weeks to ensure we have permission to return from the large majority of landowners. Whilst this delay is disappointing, we respect the fact that a significant number of these permissions were contingent on the country moving into Step 4, and we will therefore target a new reopening date of Saturday 24 July."