'My parkrun friends.' A qualitative study of social experiences of men at parkrun in Ireland

Social support is a well-established determinant of mental wellbeing. Community initiatives, which combine a purposeful activity with social connection, may be appropriate to promote the mental wellbeing of middle-aged men in Ireland - a group at risk of poor mental wellbeing due to social isolation. parkrun offers free, weekly, 5 km run or walk events in 22 countries. This study aims to explore the social experience of parkrun participation for middle-aged men in Ireland and considers how social connections made at parkrun relate to mental wellbeing.

Online semi-structured interviews were conducted in 2022/23 with 39 men aged 45-64 years, who run, walk or volunteer at parkrun in Ireland, recruited purposively in rural and urban communities. Men with a range of parkrun experience gave interviews lasting a mean of 32 minutes. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim.

Reflexive thematic analysis resulted in three themes and ten subthemes. The men described parkrun as offering a welcoming and supportive environment (Theme 1). Men at parkrun could choose the level of social connections, building strong or weak social ties to provide social support and improve mental wellbeing (Theme 2). Social engagement with parkrun evolved following repeated participation (Theme 3).

The results suggest that parkrun is a suitable community initiative for middle-aged men at risk of poor mental wellbeing due to social isolation. Social connections were developed after repeated participation in parkrun and these connections improved subjective mental wellbeing. The findings from this study could be used to design new initiatives for mental health promotion.