THE 14th parkrun took place at Tamar Trails Centre, Woodlands, Gulworthy on Saturday at its usual start time of 9am.

The weather fluctuated, a beautiful cold morning giving way to light rain showers and thick mist coming up from the valley.

There are a total of 442 parkruns around the country that all set off at the same time every week where people come together for fitness and social reasons and often to have an outing with the whole family.

Andy Houghton, a parkrun committee member, told the Times: ‘It’s a good way to let off steam after a stressful week. Every parkrun is five kilometres or just over three miles. As with all parkruns, ours at Tamar Trails was initially funded by community groups and is now ‘free to all’. Whether you are an elite runner or just coming to terms with the idea of jogging, you will be received with the same welcome and given the same congratulations.

‘There was also some funding from Sport England which came in at an opportune time.

‘Results are automatically sent to you after the run and include an age grading which lets you compare how well you have done in comparison to everyone else whatever your age or gender.

‘In theory 100% is the highest number possible. These results can be surprisingly encouraging for the young and old. In the last four weeks at Tamar Trails age gradings have ranged from 28.4% to 77.59%! The longest time being approximately 50 minutes.

‘The average country wide is around 27 minutes. Attendance in January has been 95, 91, 92 and 111 with the overall average over the first 14 runs being 95.

‘There will be few parkruns that are run in a nicer place than ours at the Tamar Trails Centre. The car park can be found by turning right about half way down the hill from Gulworthy to Gunnislake. The turning is almost opposite the Bedford cottages. It’s a great place to have a coffee and cake and of course a natter afterwards in the warmth.’

For more on the information go to www.parkrun.org.uk/register/form

• There is also the 5Kool RuN, organised by Tavistock Athletic Club, which takes place from Tavistock College on the third Saturday of the month. The next one is on February 18. Register from 8.45am for a 9.15am start.

• Another running event open to everybody is the Run in the Park organised by OCRA, which takes place at 9.30am on the first Sunday of every month in Okehampton from the Pavilion in the Park, Simmons Park, There are 2.5 and five kilometre routes.