BY now most people know of parkrun, a free, timed weekly run held across the world on Saturday mornings.

But did you know there’s a Junior 2k version for young people aged 4-14 in North Ayrshire?

Jacks Road Junior Parkrun recently celebrated its first birthday at St Matthew’s Academy in Saltcoats, and since the local event began, 225 runners have completed over 1600 runs – that’s 3,200 kilometres.

Junior parkrun is not a race, with participants able to run, walk or jog at their own pace and enjoy the event.

The age range means there’s no pressure to compete and a tailwalker means no one is ever last.

Event director Mark Preston is hoping to promote the event and get many more local children involved.

He said: “We have been working with Active Schools to get the information out to all the local schools, it’s a fantastic event and everyone who takes part really enjoys it and always comes back.”

North Ayrshire Athletics Club and KA Leisure are keen supporters and helped secure the funding to bring junior parkrun to Jacks Road. It’s one of only 12 junior parkrun venues in Scotland and 268 in the UK.

There’s no cost and no pre-booking involved.

All you need to do is pull on you trainers and come along at 9.30am on a Sunday morning.

The run starts at the athletics track near St Matthew’s Academy.

If you want to have your run timed and sent to you to see how you get on every week just register for free at the Parkrun UK website and print off your unique barcode and bring it along.

And for mums and dads, it’s good to know the event is supported by Parkrun UK’s standards for safety and with volunteer marshals across the route your runner is well supported…in every sense!

Check out Jacks Road Junior Parkrun Facebook page for more information or ask your Active Schools contact.