Active Black Country Coordinator proves #ThisGirlCan for International Women’s Day 2020

Jennifer Oakes, Active Black Country programme co-ordinator made her parkrun debut on Saturday 7 March ahead of International Women’s Day.

To celebrate and encourage female participation on 7 March parkrun events were supported by the This Girl Can campaign created by Sport England.

On 7 March parkrun events all over the world hosted a special celebration of female participation ahead of International Women’s Day. parkrun were keen to see as many women and girls taking part on this day - walking, jogging, running, volunteering or watching.

Jennifer completed the Dell Stadium parkrun at Brierley Hill in 39 mins and 21 seconds. A personal best for her first parkrun. Jennifer had prepared for the parkrun by doing some test runs on the treadmill with the trainers she wore on the day to break them in! Jennifer also took some time to check the local run route to check if it was flat and to ease her pre-run nerves.

Talking about her achievement Jennifer Oakes said:

The atmosphere on the day was really good, there were lots of people and everyone seemed friendly. There was a new runner point where one of the volunteers went through how things worked and gave an outline of the route. It was fantastic to be part of something bigger, knowing that lots of other women across the country were running on because of International Women’s Day and the This Girl Can connection was really inspiring.”

More than 700 parkrun events take place across the UK every Saturday morning, many of which allow buggies and dogs, making it a true family event.

Jennifer Oakes added:

The whole process was so easy - you just register which takes less than 5 minutes then you just need to print your barcode so your name can be linked to your time on the day. It’s that simple! And remember all levels of fitness and experience are welcome, I urge everyone to give it go.”

Find out more about parkrun here: https://www.parkrun.org.uk/

Find out more about keeping active in the Black Country here: https://www.activeblackcountry.co.uk/