parkrun and Specsavers have launched StartLine, an initiative intended to help people with disabilities, including sight and hearing loss, take part in the weekly 5k for the first time. The partners describe the aim as removing both practical and emotional barriers to participation. Accessibility packs will be distributed to 100 parkrun events across the UK later this year, supported by an online StartLine Hub for participants and volunteers.
The packs are practical rather than symbolic. They include high-visibility bibs printed with the words 'Please give me space', step-up boxes so volunteers can be seen and heard during briefings, and large laminated course maps showing the route, start, parking, toilets and facilities. There are A3 whiteboards for presenting event information in accessible ways, and guide tethers for blind and partially sighted participants running with a guide. Accessible information will also be provided ahead of events, so newcomers know what to expect before they arrive.
The initiative is built on research Specsavers carried out in May among 2,000 adults, including people with visual and hearing impairments, mobility issues and those experiencing social isolation. It found that 67% of people with accessibility needs want to be more physically active, and that confidence is the biggest barrier. Nearly half, 49%, said they would like to try parkrun but lack the confidence to go alone. Almost three quarters said feeling welcomed and supported would matter as much to their wellbeing as the exercise itself.
The campaign is fronted by Jodie Ounsley, the first deaf woman to play rugby for England, and a film following three disabled participants at different stages of their parkrun journey. Ounsley's framing goes to the heart of the problem: "Getting to the start line can often feel like the hardest part." Specsavers chief executive John Perkins said uncertainty about sight, hearing, mobility or simply what to expect keeps some people away from an event that is otherwise free and open to all.
More than 300,000 people take part in parkrun events across the UK each week, and the organisation has long presented itself as open to everyone. The research suggests that openness has not yet translated into confidence for many disabled people. One hundred events is a modest share of the UK network, so the first phase will work as a test. The measure of success will be whether first-time participation among disabled runners rises at the events that receive packs, and whether the model is then extended across the country.