The parkrun Practice Podcast

Prevention is everywhere in health policy, but what does it actually take to make it happen?

About this episode

Healthcare policy increasingly talks about shifting from treating ill health to preventing it. But turning that ambition into reality is much more complicated.

In this episode, Jess is joined by Dr Kay Brennan and Active Devon directors Gareth and Hannah to explore where initiatives like parkrun practice fit within the wider prevention agenda.

Episode chapters

00:00 – Is parkrun practice a prevention strategy fit for the future?

01:39 – Meet Kay, Gareth and Hannah

03:15 – What does prevention actually mean?

06:54 – From physical activity projects to whole-system change

08:20 – What gets in the way of prevention?

10:42 – Place, deprivation and who gets reached

13:35 – What are the ‘baby steps’ towards a preventative system?

17:16 – Moving beyond ‘pilotitis’

18:51 – Could volunteering be a prevention intervention too?

22:38 – The prevention paradox: how do you measure something that didn't happen?

23:32 – Measuring more than participation

26:47 – Can we put a value on prevention?

30:37 – Prevention, inequality and the long game

34:07 – Where is the investment in prevention?

38:35 – What should policymakers understand about prevention?

Meet our guests

Dr Kay Brennan is a Sport and Exercise Medicine specialist working across the NHS and military.

Hannah is a Director at Active Devon and leads its work with communities.

Gareth is a Director at Active Devon and strategic lead for Health and Wellbeing.

Mentioned in this episode

NHS prevention agenda and 10-Year Health Plan – Discussed throughout the episode in relation to the ambition to move healthcare from a predominantly reactive model towards prevention

Active Devon – The Active Partnership for Devon, working across communities and systems to support physical activity and tackle inequalities

Sport England – Discussed in relation to national physical activity strategy, investment in priority places and approaches to understanding the social value of sport and physical activity

The Marmot Review – Discussed by Gareth in relation to health inequalities, the social determinants of health and the importance of taking a long-term approach to prevention

National Evaluation and Learning Partnership (NELP) – Highlighted by Hannah as a collaboration exploring how place-based physical activity and its social outcomes can be evaluated differently

The Zebra Collective – Mentioned in relation to place-based work in Plymouth and discussions around social class, deprivation and access to opportunities

Live Longer Better – Discussed in relation to healthy ageing, purpose, connection and physical activity

parkrun volunteering – Explored as a potential route to social connection, purpose and wellbeing, including for people who may not initially want or be able to participate by walking or running

Research behind the podcast

The parkrun Practice Podcast is based on research led by the University of Exeter exploring how the parkrun Practice Initiative is implemented within primary care.

Through interviews with people working in GP practices, the research explored experiences of adopting and delivering the initiative, what helps or hinders implementation, and how parkrun Practice could be strengthened in the future.

The research and podcast have been supported by the NIHR School for Primary Care Research (SPCR) Enablement Fund.

Credits and acknowledgements

Host: Jess Marshall, University of Exeter

With thanks to our guests Dr Kay Brennan, Gareth and Hannah, and to the members of our stakeholder and patient advisory groups who helped us interpret the research findings and shape the conversations explored throughout the series.

This podcast was developed as part of research undertaken at the University of Exeter, University of Keele and University of Dundee, and supported by the NIHR School for Primary Care Research (SPCR) Enablement Fund.

Long-term conditions, perceptions of risk and the assumptions that might be stopping people from moving more.

About this episode

Is parkrun really for everyone? Our research with GP practices uncovered uncertainty about whether parkrun is appropriate for people living with long-term health conditions, older adults, people who don't see themselves as runners, and those who may be perceived as being at greater risk from physical activity.

In this episode, Jess is joined by Katy and Andrew, who bring lived experience of managing long-term health conditions alongside their involvement in parkrun, patient advocacy and physical activity.

Episode chapters

00:00 – Who is parkrun really for?

01:47 – Meet Katy and Andrew

04:18 – Does parkrun feel like it's for people with long-term conditions?

08:22 – What happens when you're diagnosed with a long-term condition?

13:20 – From blanket advice to personalised conversations

15:30 – Why might healthcare professionals be hesitant?

19:11 – What are the barriers from the patient's perspective?

24:44 – What if physical activity isn't the first ‘sell’?

26:19 – Can parkrun help reduce health inequalities?

29:17 – Bringing movement into routine healthcare

31:21 – What should healthcare professionals understand about movement and long-term conditions?

Meet our guests

Katy lives with rheumatoid arthritis and is a keen parkrun participant. She volunteers with Inflammatory Arthritis UK, where she advocates for people living with inflammatory arthritis, and co-hosts a podcast exploring the realities of day-to-day life with the condition.

Andrew works as a Development Manager for Active Together, the Active Partnership for Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland. His work spans physical activity, general practice and secondary care. He has been involved with parkrun for around 16 years and brings his own lived experience of managing ulcerative colitis alongside his professional perspective on physical activity and healthcare.

Mentioned in this episode

parkwalk – An approach within parkrun designed to reinforce that walking at parkrun is welcomed and encouraged

5K Your Way – A community-based initiative supporting people affected by cancer to be active and connect with others at parkrun events

Inflammatory Arthritis UK – The patient organisation Katy volunteers with, supporting and advocating for people living with inflammatory arthritis

Active Together

Physical Activity Clinical Champions – Training discussed by Andrew that aims to increase healthcare professionals' knowledge and confidence around physical activity

Moving Medicine – A resource designed to support healthcare professionals to have conversations about physical activity within routine clinical care

parkrun Health and Inclusion Strategy – Discussed in relation to widening participation and reaching people who are less likely to be physically active

Research behind the podcast

The parkrun Practice Podcast is based on research led by the University of Exeter exploring how the parkrun Practice Initiative is implemented within primary care.

Through interviews with people working in GP practices, the research explored experiences of adopting and delivering the initiative, what helps or hinders implementation, and how parkrun Practice could be strengthened in the future.

The research and podcast have been supported by the NIHR School for Primary Care Research (SPCR) Enablement Fund.

Credits and acknowledgements

Host: Jess Marshall, University of Exeter

With thanks to our guests Katy and Andrew, and to the members of our stakeholder and patient advisory groups who helped us interpret the research findings and shape the conversations explored throughout the series.

This podcast was developed as part of research undertaken at the University of Exeter, University of Keele, and the University of Dundee and supported by the NIHR School for Primary Care Research (SPCR) Enablement Fund.

How did an idea linking GP practices with their local parkrun grow to involve more than 2,000 practices across the UK?

About this episode

In our first episode, Jess is joined by Dr Simon Tobin and Dr Hussain Al-Zubaidi to explore the origins of the parkrun Practice Initiative and what has helped it resonate with primary care.

Episode chapters

00:00 – Introducing the parkrun Practice Podcast

02:40 – Meet Hussain and Simon

04:54 – Where did parkrun Practice come from?

07:18 – From a small idea to more than 2,000 practices

09:27 – What is it about parkrun that works?

12:28 – How do you become a parkrun practice?

14:10 – The toolkit and the challenge of implementation

17:46 – How much does a parkrun practice actually have to do?

18:49 – Try parkrun three different ways

20:21 – The unexpected impact of community connection

23:43 – Healthcare professionals as part of their communities

28:23 – How do you get staff and patients involved?

31:16 – Don't underestimate the waiting-room poster

32:56 – Start small and make it sustainable

Meet our guests

Dr Simon Tobin is a retired GP partner and GP trainer who has been closely involved with the parkrun practice Initiative from its inception. He has been a parkrun Health and Wellbeing Ambassador for eight years and is also an Event Director at his local junior parkrun and Run Director at Southport parkrun.

Dr Hussain Al-Zubaidi is a GP, researcher and advocate for physical activity and prevention in healthcare. He is parkrun’s Health Partnerships Lead, a role focused on strengthening parkrun’s relationships with health and social care and supporting the use of parkrun within approaches such as social prescribing.

Mentioned in this episode

parkrun Practice Initiative – the initiative linking GP practices with their local parkrun events

Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) – partner organisation in the development and delivery of the parkrun Practice Initiative and home to parkrun Practice resources for primary care

parkrun – Free, weekly community events where people can walk, run, volunteer or spectate

Social prescribing – Discussed by Hussain and Simon as part of a broader approach to connecting patients with community opportunities that can support health and wellbeing:

parkrun practice toolkit – Resources for practices including posters, flyers, case studies and messaging templates

Research behind the podcast

The parkrun Practice Podcast is based on research led by the University of Exeter exploring how the initiative is implemented within primary care. Through interviews with people working in GP practices, the research explored experiences of adopting and delivering the initiative, what helps or hinders implementation, and how the en the page, this podcast series puts some of the key themes emerging from the research up for debate, bringing together healthcare professionals, researchers, community leaders and people with lived experience to explore what the findings mean in the real world.

The research and podcast have been supported by the NIHR School for Primary Care Research (SPCR) Enablement Fund.

Credits and acknowledgements

Host: Jess Marshall, University of Exeter

With thanks to our guests Dr Simon Tobin and Dr Hussain Al-Zubaidi, and to the members of our stakeholder and patient advisory groups who helped us interpret the research findings and shape the conversations explored throughout the series.

This podcast was developed as part of research undertaken at the University of Exeter, University of Keele, and the University of Dundee and supported by the NIHR School for Primary Care Research (SPCR) Enablement Fund.