The London Marathon Foundation is set to continue its partnership with junior parkrun by committing up to £3 million over the next five years to help one million children across the UK take part in fun, inclusive community movement.
Fewer than half of children currently meet the Chief Medical Officer’s recommended 60 minutes of physical activity a day (Sport England’s Active Lives Children and Young People Survey, 2025), missing out on the health, social and educational benefits of being active. This highlights the urgent need for more free, fun and regular opportunities for children and families to be active together.
Since 2023, the London Marathon Foundation has been the leading funder of junior parkrun – free, weekly 2K community events for children aged four to 14 and their families. The original partnership saw £1.19 million awarded over three years to support the growth of junior parkrun across the UK.
During this time, 120 new junior parkruns were established. Participation among children, parents and carers reached record levels, with more than 370,000 additional children taking part, while the number of weekly finishers increased by 78%.
Support from our events company, London Marathon Events, also enabled the development of parkrun primary, connecting around 2,500 primary schools with their local junior parkrun in the first year of the initiative. This has created a pathway to more physical activity for children, building on in-school programmes, including The Daily Mile and TCS Mini London Marathon in schools, and encouraging participation in junior parkrun at weekends.
Nick Bitel, Chief Executive of the London Marathon Foundation, said:
“junior parkrun is a fantastic initiative that has been shown to help children feel happier, healthier and more confident. We’re proud of the impact we’ve had together over the past three years, bringing the benefits of junior parkrun and regular physical activity to hundreds of thousands of children across the UK.
“We look forward to building on our partnership with a further investment of up to £3 million over the next five years. Fun, free and inclusive community activity is essential to supporting the long-term health and wellbeing of the next generation, and together, we want to help more than one million children discover a love of movement, laying the foundations for healthier, happier lives.”
With this new commitment of up to £3 million, junior parkrun now aims to establish a further 200 events, particularly in areas of higher deprivation, while increasing participation from underserved groups and expanding parkrun primary to 5,000 schools. The ambition is to support one million children to take part in junior parkrun, improve their wellbeing and help them feel more connected to their communities.
James Thomas, junior parkrun Impact and Engagement Manager, said:
"We are beyond thrilled to extend our journey with the London Marathon Foundation to build on the incredible work of the partnership so far. We know firsthand how transformative free, regular outdoor activity is for children's health, happiness and overall wellbeing.
"A £3 million commitment over five years allows us to break down barriers to participation, inspire even more schools to sign up as a parkrun primary and ensure thousands more families experience the magic of a Sunday morning at junior parkrun.
"Together, we are bringing physical activity and the power of connection to even more communities across the UK, and we are so excited about what's ahead."
Hear from Southwark Park junior parkrun how their new weekly event is bringing children, families and communities together.
