Oswestry to be venue for Shropshire's latest park run

The new venue will be in Henley Woods in eastern Oswestry, an area that will see hundreds of new homes built over the coming decade.

Organisers, who are local runners, say the event, part of parkrun UK, should be up and running later this year.

A trial run was held on a marked out, five-kilometre course at the weekend, with more than 50 people lining up to take part, as well as others stepping in to be marshals.

When the event gets off the ground the organisers say they will be looking for about 20 volunteers to help each week.

Shropshire currently has two parkrun events; at Telford Town Park and the Quarry in Shrewsbury. They are held at 9am each Saturday, attracting several hundred runners.

Ellen Harrison, one of those behind the project said a group of local runners had been working on bringing a park run to Oswestry for some time.

"This has been a long time coming," she said.

Henley Woods has been transformed into a community open space over the past six years and now has footpaths, playgrounds and wildlife areas.

Ellen said: "The run is two laps of a course that includes footpaths and grassy areas. It is all away from any roads. There are some narrow areas but on the whole we had good feedback from those who tested the route for us on Saturday.

"People in Oswestry have a long way to drive to their nearest park run in either Shrewsbury or at Erddig near Wrexham. This will give them the chance to go to one in their own town."

One of the runners, Julian Morgan-Ayres, said: "Maybe I’m slightly biased as this is on my doorstep, but I loved this route and there was a great vibe. The mix of terrain will be a great test for a lot of runners and great training for those looking to get into cross country."

Supporters have already raised £3,000 to ensure the event can join the UK-wide organisation.

"We are so grateful to everyone who has donated money to help us set the park run up," Ellen said.

"They are free events but we had to raise the money to become affiliated. We are also grateful to all those who have helped with finding a venue and who helped on Saturday, as well as all our 'guinea pig' runners."

Anyone who wants to get involved including those who could give up some time to join a rota of helpers for the weekly event can join the Oswestry weekly 5k run Facebook page.