Fitness app WithU has announced a three-year partnership agreement with parkrun UK, that hosts and promotes free, community 5k and 2k (for 4-14 year olds) events open to everyone.
The partnership stems from a joint mission to increase accessibility to physical activity to those at every stage of their fitness journey. The ambition is to create a community that encapsulates and encourages fitness enthusiasts of all levels.
Under the terms of the new partnership, launching on April 1st 2022, WithU will become the exclusive digital fitness partner of parkrun in the UK, alongside other household names such as Vitality, Co-op and London Marathon Events.
To elevate the partnership, WithU will create a dedicated range of parkrun content that will be free to access through the WithU app. This will include an extensive selection of running-based workouts, warm-ups and cool-downs, and a parkrun event directory. Brand new content will be added throughout the partnership term and will be accessible to all users of the WithU app.
parkruns are free, weekly, community events hosted at more than 1000 locations in the UK. 5k events take place in parks and open spaces every Saturday morning with 2k junior parkruns for 4-14 year olds being held on Sundays. parkruns provide a positive, welcoming, and inclusive experience where there is no time limit, and no one finishes last. Everyone is welcome to come along, whether they walk, jog, run, volunteer, or spectate – the important thing is just to participate! Since parkrun was founded in 2004, in the UK there have been more than 340,000 different people taking on a volunteer role and more than 2.5 million people have completed an event.
The WithU app is the No1 Audio fitness app trusted globally. It provides immersive, audio-based workouts and personalised programmes led by world-renowned coaches, designed to provide a full-body fitness experience for everyone at any fitness level. New workouts, programmes and collections are added to the app weekly!
““We’re really delighted to welcome WithU to the parkrun family,” says parkrun CEO, Russ Jefferys. “WithU’s training support and programmes are hugely powerful motivational coaching tools that, as part of this partnership, will be made freely available for all parkrun participants. We’re looking forward to working together to find new and creative ways we can support and encourage every park-runner on their journey to a healthier and happier life.”
Steve Clarke, CEO of WithU adds, “I’m a huge fan of parkrun, I’ve been there at 9 am on a Saturday morning many times. It’s a place where everyone is welcome, it doesn’t take much time and it’s free! WithU shares many of the same principles, we want to remove barriers to fitness and give people access to great content and experiences. Much of our content is also now free! Our aim is to complement the existing parkrun experience by providing great content and features that will help you get faster, enjoy the day more or even just turn up for the first time! We can’t wait to get started!”
The WithU app is available to download now – for more information about parkrun go to the parkrun website www.parkrun.org.uk
