We headed to Par Track Junior parkrun in Cornwall to volunteer. As far as I can tell this is the most south west of all the Junior parkruns. With only nearby Bodmin Juniors and Bude Marshes Juniors further up North in Cornwall.
Par Track, Eastcliffe Road, Par, PL24 2AJ
Read about Junior parkrun on my previous post.
Facilities at Par Track Junior parkrun
- There was free parking for up to 50 cars in a car park near the start/finish. Also there is plenty of road parking nearby. Accessible by bus/train just a short walk from the station. Plus it’s on Cycle Route 2 on the National Cycle Network (Clay Trails to Eden Project).
- Toilets in the pavilion
- Small play-park
- Skate park
- Incredible café – with library
We stayed on a camp site nearby which made it a great base for both the Eden Project parkrun and Par Track Junior parkrun.
Par Track Junior parkrun Course
Offering a unique course, Par Track Junior parkrun is half on an athletics track and half on field. It was one of the reasons it began – an opportunity to give children not in clubs to run on a track. Which may then inspire them to join a club.
Description
A bit like Dudley parkrun it does start and end on the track. Starting on the far side of the track children run all the way around past the start. Next they carry on going until they reach metal building. Here they exit the track and go onto the pitch. Then running around the perimeter of the field twice. Once again returning onto the track. Finishing with just three quarters of the track. Carrying on in the same direction as they would as if they had never come off the track.
Par Track Junior parkrun Results 26th July 2026
With the start of the school summer holidays I guess lots of people go away so there’s changes in the results. With Par Track junior parkrun being one of only 3 in Cornwall I guess it may attract larger numbers during this time.
79 participants
Times ranged between 8 minutes and 25:50.
- 4 children quicker than 9 minutes
- 11 quicker than 10 minutes (a time I would love to get down to!)
- 21 faster than 11 minutes
- 34 faster than 12 minutes (which equates to a 30 minute 5K time)
Of course there are only 4 categories of participants – the fastest in each were:
- JM11-14 – 8:00
- JW10 – 8:56
- JM10 – 8:59
- JW11-14 – 9:52
Our Experience
This was a really well organised and welcoming Junior parkrun. Coming away from this one I said it was my favourite. Not surprising as it is similar to Dudley parkrun as I have mentioned, and I just loved that one too. They even had loads of cow bells for us to use.
So many lovely participants and we are grateful to everyone who thanked us – but it is particularly nice when it just comes from children.
Difficulties
My husband discovered that bar code scanning isn’t always straight forward. However, luckily, everything got sorted out – especially good as one young lady got a PB. It is so important for parents to remember that Junior parkrun is just for children even if they can run (jog, walk) alongside them.
We started our parkrun journey with Junior parkrun after reading about it on Sarah’s blog (MumofThreeWorld). You may also be interested in my previous post about Should children do parkrun?