Image by Daniel Reche from Pixabay

Parkrun ongoing in southwest Leipzig

//
Updated: 29 September 2019

Leipzig is a city in constant motion. It seems to gain a new building every six weeks, and with a bit of googling you can find a movement or a campaign for almost everything that will ever cross your mind. It’s earning reputations left, right and centre, and one of them is most definitely its growing fame as a city full of sport and nature. Its many wonderful parks only add to this reputation.

The city’s green spaces are a sanctuary for tired office workers and families-of-four alike. It’s a much-appreciated luxury that Leipzig’s half a million citizens can take to the forest or lakes whenever they feel like it, enjoy a lunch break on the grassy banks of the Elster, or just relax in the sun on a lawn at every available opportunity.

Leipzig city center. (Photo: maeshelle west-davies)
Leipzig park. (Photo: maeshelle west-davies)

It’s in one of these parks that an exciting development is taking place.

Although perhaps underestimated and in no way as central as some of the other parks in town, the Volkspark Kleinzschocher near Schelußig is in every way as varied and as beautiful. It won’t be klein for much longer, though! An event has been launched there which I think will make the park the biggest regular sporting hotspot in the whole city – and which is in every way aimed at the Volk.

Parkrun is a not-for-profit organisation launched in 2004 with the aim of encouraging people to do sport regularly. Volunteers organise a total of 1284 running events across 19 different countries every week. Each event is a 5 km timed run through a park or green area, and takes place every Saturday morning.

The Küchenholz Parkrun, in our very own Volkspark Kleinzschocher, started on 2 December 2017.

It was one of the first three Parkrun events in Germany, which all started together, on that date.

Participation is always free, and those who would like to can sign up online and receive a personal bar code, with which they can then check their time and position later on in the day. After the initial and only online registration, a runner is free to attend as many Parkrun events in as many different countries as he or she desires.

The aim is to provide a regular non-competitive event in which anyone can take part, no matter what his or her previous running experiences or achievements may be.

As the local volunteers for the initiative, we are incredibly proud to be able to be part of launching such an open and accepting sporting event in our city, and to be at the forefront of promoting sport in Leipzig.

The organised 5 km run takes place every Saturday morning at 9, and is set to become one of the most popular regular sporting events in the city. Everybody and anybody is welcome to come and join in, whether to train their fitness, improve their health, spend time outdoors, or get to know other runners.

The starting point is always the Volksbad Kleinzschocher on Küchenholzallee, in Leipzig Kleinzschocher. So if you feel like having a go or would like going for that run you’ve been planning since last New Year, now’s your chance!

By Felicity Parker

Default thumbnail
Previous Story

Podcast: no government, but we can dance

Henrique Galvao
Next Story

Larger than life: the story of Henrique Galvão

Latest from Leipzig tips