A new chapter for junior parkrun: celebrating a year of impact.

Over the past year, junior parkrun has continued to grow, bringing more children, families and communities together every Sunday morning.

As we look ahead to the next five years, we have even more reason to celebrate. The London Marathon Foundation (LMF) has extended its incredible support of junior parkrun with a new £3 million commitment over the next five years.

This continued partnership between junior parkrun and LMF, with support from London Marathon Events, is helping to transform access to physical activity for children aged 4 to 14, creating more opportunities for children to be active, build confidence and connect with their communities, whatever their background or where they live.

Our latest junior parkrun Impact Report (September 2025 – August 2026) shows just how much has been achieved over the past year, and the difference this investment is making.

Here are some of the highlights:

• 43 new junior parkrun events launched across the UK, including 10 in areas within the lowest deprivation quartile, helping us reach more communities who can benefit most.

• Weekly finishes are up by 28%, with our targeted events seeing an incredible 52% growth compared with this time last year.

• Our outreach team has grown to five Outreach Officers, helping us connect with more children and communities across the UK.

• An average of nearly 10,200 volunteers support junior parkrun events every week, creating welcoming and encouraging spaces for children and their families.

• 34% of children moved out of the inactive or less active category after attending junior parkrun, highlighting the important role our events can play in helping children become more active.

• Around 2,500 primary schools are now registered as a parkrun primary, meaning more than one in 10 primary schools across the UK are connected to the programme.

• Our communications are helping us reach new audiences, with around 23,000 children registering during the four weeks of our Heart radio campaign.

• And over the last year, junior parkrunners crossed the finish line more than 1.5 million times!

And the impact goes beyond the numbers.

One parent told our latest junior parkrun Health and Wellbeing survey:

“It’s magic – the kids love it, it connects us with all the other parents in the area and the volunteers are brilliant. It is a really important part of our Sunday routine, and we are very grateful to have it on our doorstep.”

Since the beginning of our funding partnership with LMF, children and volunteers have come together more than 5.2 million times at junior parkrun.

That’s more than five million moments of movement, encouragement, personal achievement, friendship and connection, and each one is made possible by the incredible people who bring junior parkrun to life every Sunday.

The extension of LMF’s funding means we can now build on everything we’ve achieved together and look towards the next five years with excitement. We’ll continue to grow junior parkrun, reach new communities and create more opportunities for children to discover the joy of being active together.

None of this would be possible without our amazing volunteers, event teams, ambassadors, and the families who turn up every Sunday morning.

Thank you for helping make junior parkrun what it is today and for being part of everything that comes next.