Sunday 25th June marked a momentous occasion for the Kingsgrove community, as locals came together to witness the launch of the development’s first Junior Parkrun. Organised by Kingsgrove resident Simon Wilkinson and St. Modwen Development Manager Thomas Snell, the event saw an impressive turnout of 89 young participants.
Families from the Wantage and Grove area gathered at the Kingsgrove Woodland Walk to participate in the much-anticipated Junior Parkrun, bustling with excitement and eagerness throughout the run.
The children enjoyed a two-kilometre route along the picturesque Woodland Walk, a newly established green space by St. Modwen as part of their development efforts.
Adding a special touch to the launch event was the Wantage Town FC Under-10s team, who organised a cake and coffee stall to raise funds for the club.
Simon Wilkinson, the driving force behind the Kingsgrove Woodland Junior Parkrun, expressed his gratitude to the community and participants, stating: “We are thrilled with the turnout of 89 runners at our first Parkrun. Thanks to St. Modwen for helping to fund and set up the event, and to all our volunteers for getting it to this point.”
Going forward, the Kingsgrove Woodland Junior Parkrun will take place every Sunday at 9am. Parkrun is a local, community-led event that sees over 1,000 runs happen across the UK each week. To make this exciting experience family-friendly, Junior Parkrun was introduced for children aged 4-14. It’s free to participate, all members need to do is sign up on the Parkrun website.
St. Modwen Development Manager Thomas Snell said, “Thank you to everyone who came along, especially the volunteers who made this all possible. We’re so pleased to bring Junior Parkrun to our neighbourhood and it was great to see the enthusiasm amongst the participants.”
Thanks to the joint efforts of the residents, the organiser and St. Modwen, the event launch was extremely successful and will continue to ensure families and young participants will enjoy the outdoors.
