The phenomenon of parkrun is getting thousands of people all across Kent running on a Saturday morning.

Last weekend I tasted parkrun myself for the very first time as I step up my preparations for the Brighton Marathon in April and I was pleasantly surprised to be joined by so many welcoming people at The Great Lines in Gillingham.

Pulling up in the car with snow and rain lashing down, I considered whether I had made a huge mistake running in shorts in the sub zero temperatures.

I couldn’t have been more wrong though. It was nice to see some familiar faces amongst the almost three hundred strong group of people and it wasn’t long before we were issued with our instructions as to where we would be going.

Having pounded the streets of Medway alone for the past few months, it was a great experience to be lined up among a group of people of all ages, from kids to pensioners.

It transpired that over one million people have now registered for parkrun across the country and it dawned on me as it stood on the start line that all across Kent and throughout the land, I wasn’t alone in puffing away in the freezing cold.

If ever running five kilometres can be described as fun, parkrun was as close as it will ever come. Plodding along through the park I was able to appreciate the scenery looking out over Chatham from the vantage point that the Great Lines offers.

A relation has since described running through there as a schoolboy when at the old Upbury Manor, as being one of the least pleasurable experiences of his life, but I can honestly say doing it as part of parkrun was far from that for me.

Two laps around the park and I was back to the finish line, a long way behind the guys and girls that do this at a lot faster rate than my forty year old legs will ever carry me, but that doesn’t matter with parkrun.

Everyone is there doing it for their own reasons and what pleased me most was the encouragement given by fellow runners and the outstanding volunteers that marshall the course – the unsung heros of the day.

Some people were still making their way to the finish line whilst others made a dash for the sanctuary of the cafe for something to warm the cockles, but that’s what parkrun is all about.

It’s a community, a life of its own, something to enjoy and not dread. People turn up as strangers and leave as friends.

I for one will be going back to parkrun as and when I can. This weekend I plan to take in one in Norfolk and would love to sample many of the fantastic courses across Kent in the coming months.

Like me, many of the people taking part in parkruns across Kent are probably doing it to get themselves fit for a bigger run, but what pleases me most, many are just doing it for the love of running.

In the past three months I have lost weight, felt a lot healthier, got a lot fitter, met new people and changed my outlook on life.

It’s around seven weeks until I run the Brighton Marathon and if you feel compelled to support me, please visit my Just Giving page.

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/SteveWolfe