New Parkrun event planned for Potternewton Park

Volunteers in Chapeltown are hoping to bring a new Parkrun event to Potternewton Park.

The Mandela Runners are working with the Chapeltown Studio and other community groups to set up a free, timed 5k run on Saturday mornings in the park.

Parkrun is a national initiative which encourages people of all abilities to get active by attending inclusive running events in local parks.

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Participants can run or walk the distance, and children, pushchairs and dogs are welcome. Most Parkruns are marshalled by volunteers from running clubs.

A meeting was held at the Reginald Centre in Chapeltown last week to discuss the plans.

Organiser Michael Kamara from Chapeltown Studio said:

"We’re still in the early stages. We are currently promoting the idea to the local community and so far the response has been brilliant. We are planning more meetings with other communities as well, after which we will move forward with planning the week-to-week operations for the run."

The run will be targeted at families in Chapeltown and Harehills. Currently, the nearest Parkruns are at Roundhay Park and Woodhouse Moor.Potternewton Park was originally the pleasure grounds of Harehills Grove, the mansion which still stands on the site and is now a Sikh centre. Leeds City Council purchased the park from the estate and opened it to the public in 1900. It is now best known as the site for the annual West Indian Carnival, which takes place on August Bank Holiday.