Hopes that parkrun could return in Richmond next month have suffered a fresh blow - and there are fears it may not return until 2021.

Chief operating officer Tom Williams revealed the setback in a live video conference streamed on Friday (September 18).

Earlier this month, after discussions with government and public health officials, parkrun chiefs signalled that their popular 5k runs would resume in October.

But the recent rise in coronavirus cases, plus concerns that many of the landowners, including the Royal Parks, were unwilling to accept this timetable has caused a rethink.

This means the events in Richmond Park, Old Deer Park, Bushy Park – which was the original home of Parkrun – and Crane Park look extremely unlikely to be revived any time soon.

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Mr Williams said: "Today, I'm feeling that with the direction of the travel of the virus in the UK, it looks much less likely that we will be able to achieve a late October re-opening.

"Also, from the responses we have seen so-far from landowners, I think it is unlikely that we will see a level of permissions that is conducive towards returning towards the end of October."

Mr Williams suggested that the organisation would need as much as 95 per cent of its 850 events in England to be able to go ahead, before parkrun would be formally relaunched.

The initial statement of an October return was widely welcomed, including by Sports and Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden.

Mr Dowden wrote on Twitter: "Great news that @parkrunUk is coming back. Outdoor sport is low risk & there will be additional safety measures.

"We've got to get Britain match-fit to beat this virus, and a 5k run at whatever pace you can is great for physical & mental health!"

Such are the turbulent times that we live in, however, that only the next day Prime Minister Boris Johnson briefed that he was banning gatherings of more than six people.

No parkrun until New Year?

A contributor to an online chat and question session linked to Friday's conference said local councils in the north west of England will not allow any parkruns before 2021.

He wrote: "We won't be returning till New Year at least, local council restrictions" and added: "No mass sporting events outside of clubs before Dec 31".

Other councils around the country are expected to follow the same line, while The Royal Parks has told Richmond Nub News it will not allow parkrun events "for the foreseeable future".

Circumstances preventing parkrun return

Global chief executive of parkrun Nick Pearson told the conference: "We are worried about everything, that's the reality of the situation.

"All of the elements – the welfare of our volunteers, the response of broader communities, the permission from landowners….all of those things are things we are worried about and have considered.

"We believe there are elements of the community that have no access to physical activity without Parkrun, really significant tens of thousands of people. Their health is being significantly damaged as a result of us not being around.

"We also think the risk of return, based on evidence rather than speculation, is incredibly low. When we put those things together there really is a compelling case for us to try very hard to bring parkrun back.

"However, there are important caveats. If evidence showed that parkrun was a high risk activity then, no longer, would the benefits outweigh the risks. We would not come back. And if the communities rejected us then equally we would not come back.

"Parkrun is a community event. It we were ran out of town by a mob with pitchforks then it would be a terrible, terrible outcome for an organisation that has proudly positioned itself as being part of the community."

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