My patients are bemused when I prescribe them this activity, but it works

Depressed. Isolated. Disconnected.

These were the main things my patient, Seamus*, was feeling when he came to me for help in February last year. 

As a GP I see my fair share of patients and treat all manner of physical and mental ailments.

Mostly though, I listen. That’s what helps me get to the root cause of a problem. 

That’s why, when Seamus explained to me that he and his wife had recently separated – leaving him alone and living miles away from his kids – I knew it was unlikely any medication would help in the long run. But I knew something that could.

‘Have you tried parkrun?’ I suggested with a smile. And a confused Seamus shook his head.

Parkrun first launched in 2004 but has since grown to have a huge following across the UK.

Every Saturday at 9am, in public open spaces across the country, a group of volunteers put on a free 5K walk, jog or run. And in my personal opinion, these runs are the perfect prescription for patients – even I’ve benefitted.

My first run in (if you’ll pardon the pun) with the organisation came in 2016. I was 25-years-old, overweight, sedentary, had little work-life balance and was eventually diagnosed with fatty liver disease.

As there is no specific medication to treat this condition (only pills to manage the problems that occur as a result), my only choice was to make healthy lifestyle changes. That’s when a colleague suggested parkrun to me.

Attending my first event at Leamington Spa one Saturday in October 2018 was nerve wracking. I hadn’t run any distance for seven or eight years, and I’d never completed a 5K before, so I was braced for a serious challenge. 

To my surprise, the first 400m felt amazing. The joy of running, jogging and walking alongside others was incredible and I felt myself enjoying it. But then the exhaustion began to set in. 

My legs soon felt heavier, my breathing became laboured and I started to slow down – I even recall being passed by those twice my age and even some pushing buggies.

Had it not been for my wife, who was by my side the whole way, I would have called it quits. But I’m thankful I didn’t, because as I reached the end, there were swarms of people cheering me on as I plodded through the finish funnel.

Soon I’d committed to an event each week, which then encouraged me to start making small changes in other areas of my life. I began eating better, adjusting my work day to move more regularly and slowly it transformed my health. 

I felt healthier and more confident and like a whole new person. Now all I wanted to do was tell more people about it.

So when, in 2018, parkrun launched its ‘Practice Initiative’ – which aimed to foster engagement among both staff and patients of GP surgeries – I was keen to get involved.

I started by leaving the parkrun magazine in the waiting area of my surgery, then I encouraged other members of my practice to ‘take over’ one of the Saturday sessions – meaning everyone from myself to the receptionists filled the volunteer roles.

By doing this at my own surgery I witnessed the benefits for both our patients and community first-hand. My patients had improved menopausal symptoms, diabetic control and those that started attending parkrun with us seemed to be coping better when it came to mental health in general.

And now, I’m the Royal College of GPs physical activity lead, which sees me support other surgeries to become parkrun practices.

Personally, I’d love all GP surgery’s to get involved and I can’t help but wonder how many lives could be helped by prescribing parkrun as a course of treatment.

We already know that physical inactivity contributes to as many deaths as smoking in the UK, yet we are 20% less active than in the 1960s and around 26% of men and 27% of women are classed as sedentary.

Physical activity has been shown to play a significant role in the prevention and management of over 20 chronic illnesses, including: type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, depression and certain cancers – all of which are on the rise. 

As a GP I often see patients who have more than one health problem and, in many cases physical activity can help tackle more than one issue. So why wouldn’t I prescribe it?

It’s also zero cost and has no side effects, unlike medications, so to me, it’s a no brainer really.

We regularly prescribe parkrun at our surgery and have done so to hundreds of patients, including Seamus. 

Even in Seamus’s case, though he was, understandably, perplexed at first, I knew it could be a way to help him connect with the community and that the physical activity itself could help his mood.

Of course, we agreed that if he did not find parkrun helpful, he could come back to me and we could revisit the medication discussion. But he never did. 

Instead, we regularly bump into each other at parkrun events – where we have a catch up. 

And he has since told me that connecting with others in the community has made a real difference to improving his mental health. I second that.

I always feel welcome, well supported and have met incredible people from all walks of life and volunteering is equally rewarding.

Perhaps one of the most rewarding aspects of my work though is seeing patients like Seamus at parkrun and witnessing the joy and the benefits they get from it and the friendships they have formed.

As a nation we need to get more active and with 1,247 events around the UK, there’s plenty of opportunities to get involved. It doesn’t matter if you’re a patient or a practitioner, a runner or not, you will be welcome at parkrun. 

I believe in the benefits, and that anyone can do it. So I guess I’ll see you at the starting line soon?

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing [email protected]. 

Share your views in the comments below.

MORE : I was reunited with my long lost family thanks to Parkrun

MORE : Free and simple lifestyle change can treat lower back pain

MORE : I’m a running world champion but I’m not getting excited about the Olympics yet

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.