New parkrun for Sunderland as Fulwell Quarry 5k route makes its debut with 150 runners

Scores of runners helped christen the latest addition to Sunderland’s parkrun choices.

The popular, free 5k events have proven a worldwide sensation since parkrun was born in 2004, and have been transformative for many individuals and communities.

Now the new ‘Fulwell Quarry parkun’ has joined Sunderland’s existing Silksworth and Herrington Country Park routes.

The weekly timed races encourage people to take part in physical activity, improve their performance, and take part in a regular social event.

More than 150 amateur and professional runners took part in the new parkrun on Saturday, May 18.

The event came about after Southwick councillor Michael Butler pledged to ‘improve the health of local residents’ when he was elected to represent Labour in the ward in 2019. 

He said: “It has been incredibly challenging organising the parkrun and keeping it under wraps, but it is fantastic to see it finally get over the line and Southwick becoming the latest course to be included in its global roster of courses.

“The parkrun community is very engaged, with runners the world-over desperate to attend inaugural runs, so the global body which oversees it recommended that we kept it quiet and limited numbers, which in itself was a huge challenge, especially given the fact that we had to pull together a team of a dozen volunteers too.

“Add to that securing permission from Sunderland City Council which owns the land, applying for £5,000 in funding from the City Council’s North Area Committee, promoting it and arranging all of the logistics on the day, it really has been the culmination of a real team effort from everyone involved.

“Thankfully, our parkrun ambassador Kerry Barnett and the core group – including Paul Jacques - were a huge help and a few of us were invited along to existing runs in Horden and South Shields to see how they worked and to get a better understanding of how they operate and how best to manage everything on the day.

“I can’t thank all of our partners and volunteers enough for their support. Even Miller & Carter who have given us use of their car park. We really couldn’t have made it all happen without them.”

The pakrun community was founded by Paul Sinton-Hewitt in 2004 at Bushy Park in London and now boasts over 2,300 runs spanning five continents.

Cllr Butler added: “When I stood for election in 2019, I did so on the promise that I would help improve the health of residents and this is a great example of how we’re doing just that.

“Every Saturday, millions of walkers and runners from across the globe take part in Parkruns and now we are giving local residents the opportunity to join in.

“Not only are they a free, fun way to keep fit, but they are also a great way to meet new people and strengthen communities.

“We’re absolutely delighted to have secured this for the local area and would encourage anyone, no matter how advanced a runner they are, to come and join in.”

Parkruns are free to attend and the events are open to people of all ages. No registration is required so runners can simply turn up on the day and participate.

For more information on Sunderland Labour Group, visit: https://sunderlandlabour.co.uk/