BLOG – PAUL EVANS

Since the lockdown, most things came to a halt for a while, and that included all group activities.  Exercise was limited to once a day and had to be on your own or with a member of your family, so that put the kibosh on activities such as parkrun and Great Run Local (GRL).

Government guidelines have since eased and we can now run/train in small groups, but with the 2-metre social distancing still in force, it’s hard to see how activities like parkrun and GRL might operate in the near future.

I was recently having a conversation with the event organiser of the Southwold GRL, Jane Samkin, and she was saying how much they all missed the GRL on a Sunday morning and would it ever return and it’s now that these sort of activities are needed more than ever.

So it was then we both agreed, that while we did not have any control over when parkrun or GRL would return, we could try and keep the momentum going and still offer the Southwold GRL runners an alternative in the form of training sessions. These sessions have been really well received and whilst we can only cater for relatively small numbers, in order to conform with NGB guidelines and COVID-19 secure rules, it’s been fantastic to see the impact and difference its making to those taking part.

Until we can return to normal, finding alternative solutions to support and keep people active for both their physical and mental health is so important and running is a great way to achieve this.

Enjoy your running everyone, stay safe and keep moving Suffolk!

Paul Evans
Double Olympian

Paul Evans is one of our Keep Moving Suffolk campaign champions – read more about Paul.