JUST because the coronavirus lockdown has shut events, it doesn’t mean every group activity has stopped.

Virtual parkrun is taking off in Swindon, with the seventh edition taking place last weekend.

Instead of the mass parkrun gatherings that have become a feature of Saturday mornings, individuals complete a 5k walk, run or jog, any time between 6pm on Fridays to 6pm on Sundays.

“It’s really taken off as a thing,” said Emma Sperring, the event director for Lydiard parkrun.

“And what’s been lovely is we’ve even had new members who hadn’t previously been part of parkrun getting involved.”

A total of 177 people covered the distance over the weekend, each submitting their time through the Swindon Community Running Facebook page – the unofficial Facebook page for Swindon’s two parkruns, at Lydiard Park and Seven Fields Nature Reserve.

“It’s been surprising how many people have engaged with this and wanted it to happen,” added Emma.

“It was quite emotional at the weekend seeing how many people got involved in the virtual run, and seeing people who I’d not heard from in a while posting their runs. Because parkrun is that community, that family and I think there will be some people who will struggle, having that taken away.”

Since the coronavirus outbreak all parkrun events have been cancelled.

To qualify a time for the unofficial virtual parkrun, runners must obey certain rules, including running in isolation and not running either of the normal parkrun routes.

Emma continued: “It’s a really good way for people to keep up their physical health during lockdown and also their mental health in terms of supporting each other and being part of a community, looking out for each other as much as we can during lockdown when people might otherwise be quite isolated.”

Alongside pacers who commit to running the distance to a set time, runners also encourage each other and add their support to each other's time posts as if they were running a real parkrun together.

The event is proving so popular members of the running and volunteering club Swindon GoodGym did a virtual parkrun takeover, volunteering to take on the pacing and marshalling during the weekend’s event. The group are continuing to support those in need, including collecting shopping and prescriptions for people self-isolating and keeping in touch with elderly people they normally visit by phone and letter.

“It’s lovely to see Swindon’s running community coming together, and cheering and supporting people like this,” added Emma. “It’s really important that we don’t let coronavirus stop all these things.”