RUNNING enthusiasts in Gwent are celebrating after it was announced parkruns are returning this weekend - after 17 months.

Newport Parkrun announced that they will be returning to Tredegar House on that day for the first time in 17 months. In a message on Twitter they said: “After a 17-month break, the team are delighted to announce that Newport parkrun will be returning, along with other local Welsh events, on Saturday, August 21!

“Dig out your barcode, have tissues at the ready to dab away the happy tears and we’ll see you on the start line.”

There are also parkruns at Severn Bridge, Rogiet, The Riverfront in Newport, Coed-cefn-pwll-du in Machen, Penallta, Cwmbran, Pontypool, Aberbeeg and Parc Bryn Bach in Tredegar. At the time of writing, 80 per cent of the parkruns across Wales have been given permission from landowners to restart following the Welsh Government’s approval.

At the time of writing, Riverfront Newport, Severn Bridge, Aberbeeg, Bryn Bach Park, Rogiet, Cwmbran and Pontypool parkruns were all set to go ahead on Saturday.

Junior parkruns will go ahead from Sunday, August 22.

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There are also some rules and restrictions in place to ensure that all volunteers and runners are kept as safe as possible and to minimise the potential risk of Covid transmission.

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What will happen?

  • All participants must register online and in advance of attending their parkrun.
  • Participants, including volunteers, must provide an email address as part of their registration which if needed will be passed to the test and trace programme.
  • All participants and volunteers should not attend a parkrun event if they or anyone they live with has any of the symptoms of Covid-19 – these include: a high temperature above 37.8 degrees, a new continuous cough, a loss of or change to, their sense of smell or taste.
  • If instructed to self-isolate, participants and volunteers should not attend parkrun until after this period is over.
  • All participants and volunteers must comply with the current guidelines and restrictions set by the Welsh Government both inside and outside the parkrun setting.
  • Parkrun events will be closed immediately in the event of a local lockdown of their area.
  • People who need direct assistance to participate (for example, someone with visual impairment needing a guide), this is permitted.
  • All social distancing guidelines should be followed and unnecessary contact should be minimised.
  • Volunteers must sanitise hands on arrival.
  • One volunteer should assign roles to other volunteers and hand out volunteer bibs and lanyards.
  • Setting out and collecting of equipment should be done in line with guidelines.
  • Briefings for first timers should be held for no longer than two minutes and in an area with enough space to distance.
  • Junior parkrun events must hold warmups and space must be provided.
  • First aid kits should be used by respecting local social distancing requirements if needed.
  • Start lines should maximise the available space, pre-event briefings should last no more than two minutes and runners should be taken to the start line as close as possible to the start time.
  • Participants should not spit anywhere on the course, high-five anyone or engage in any non-essential contact.
  • Finish lines should be in as open an area as possible and can be moved if required. They should be widened if possible to maximise space.
  • Finish tokens should be given out at the end of the finish funnel and not the beginning.
  • Scanners should be spaced out and far away from the finish funnel.
  • Barcode scanning should not be carried out on event barcode scanners but on the volunteers own mobile using the parkrun Virtual Volunteer app.
  • Scanning of barcodes and finish tokens should be entirely contactless and at a distance.
  • Finish tokens must be washed after each event before sorting or quarantined for 72 hours. Same goes for volunteer bibs and lanyards.
  • Sharing of equipment must be avoided where possible.