Bruce Fordyce, the founder of Parkrun, issued a statement today, to inform the broad parkrun public that due to the Corona-virus pandemic, parkrun events are cancelled for the foreseeable future.

“In line with public health advice, we have taken the decision to close all parkrun events across South Africa, Namibia, and Eswatini with immediate effect. Initially, this closure will be in place until the end of March, however this is largely to bring all parkrun countries into the same time frame and we very much expect closures to continue through April at least,” stated Fordyce.

“We know that this message may be a difficult one for you to receive, and many people will be wondering what to do without their regular weekly catch-up. Please rest assured that we are working hard to develop our strategy so that we are able to support the health and happiness of parkrunners around the world during this difficult time.”

Fordyce also emphasised that parkrunners should not arrange group gatherings at parkrun venues whilst events are suspended.