The second ever This Girl Can parkrun will celebrate International Women’s Day. The first event, back in 2020, saw more than 15,000 additional women and girls taking part as walkers, joggers, runners or volunteers.
The gender gap in activity levels persists, though, with women less likely than men to take part in parkrun events – despite registering for the weekly 5km activity in higher numbers.
This year, on Saturday March 5, This Girl Can and parkrun are joining the International Women’s Day theme and aiming to #BreakTheBias by breaking down the barriers many women and girls face when trying to take part in physical activity. These include fear of judgement or not feeling fit enough, which are two of the key elements the This Girl Can campaign has tried to combat since launching in 2015 .
Regular parkrunners are encouraged to bring a female friend, colleague, or family member along, with everyone invited to join the celebration online using #IWDparkrun and #ThisGirlCan.