‘I can see why people do it’: Christina’s parkwalk story
Finding ways to manage stress can be difficult. But for Christina, she found community and calmness through weekly walks at parkrun
With her wedding day just five months away, Vitality member and bride-to-be, Christina, has been under some stress.
Her way of managing those stresses? Going for a walk.
“I put on my trainers and I walk it off,” she tells Vitality. “When I’m walking, I just completely switch off.”
This love of walking took Christina, with a little help from one of her bridesmaids, down to her local parkrun, where she could go and walk the course.
Naturally apprehensive on her first visit, Christina assumed that she’d be surrounded by marathon runners, and that walking with them, she might feel out of place.
The reality was very different.
“There was a huge group of people who were there to just parkwalk,” says Christina. “So, as soon as I got there, I thought, I can do this.
“There was a real sense of community, with people from all walks of life.”
Amongst them was a man who was recovering from heart surgery, while one of the parkrunners, donned all in red, was giving words of encouragement to every person who went past her, either running or walking.
“When I reached the finish line, I just felt absolutely amazing, I can really see why people do it,” she adds.
Christina even admits to Googling when the next parkrun would be when she got home.
In between wedding planning, it’s safe to say, her Saturday mornings are now well and truly reserved for walking at parkrun.
You can watch Christina’s story below or see more stories from our members giving parkrun and parkwalk a go via the Vitality YouTube channel.
Have you been inspired by Christina to go for a walk at parkrun? Why not go down to your local event and be part of the biggest ever walking weekend with Vitality and parkwalk on Saturday 26th April.
You can find your local event here.
Vitality members who take part on the day will earn 12 points, instead of eight, when they walk or run and scan their barcode.
If you’re a Vitality member and have not registered for parkrun, you can get started here and follow the instructions to link your Vitality accounts.
Or if you already have a parkrun account, you can sign in to your parkrun profile and link your account with Vitality to start earning activity points for running, walking or volunteering.
Vitality members with health insurance and life insurance plans can earn activity points for running, walking and volunteering at a parkrun event.
Sign into your parkrun profile to link your Vitality account.
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