Teddington, Middlesex, UK

Those who like to enjoy Bushy Park at a slightly faster pace than a leisurely walk will be delighted to hear that there are lots of running events coming our way this summer.

FARA Children’s Charity is holding its third annual 5km Fun Run on Sunday 5th September (starts 10am) to raise funds to extend the new FARA St. Michaels Centre in Romania enabling young adults and children with disabilities to receive the specialist education and help they deserve.

The South-West London-based charity raises money for this fantastic cause through its 48 shops and various fund-raising events held each year. Shop staff, family and friends will be taking part in this fun day out and those not running are encouraged to cheer on participants and picnic in the park after the race.

If you would like to take part or for further information call Sacha on 07960 070650 or email sacha.faracharity@yahoo.co.uk to discuss participating and sponsorship.

This year’s 7k Wedding Race will take place on Friday 30th July at 7:30pm in Bushy Park (near Hampton Hill Cricket Club).

This charity race always causes a few double-takes because some participants take the fancy-dress competition as seriously as those chasing their personal best time.

The park often sees the bizarre and delightful sight of brides, grooms, vicars and other wedding-related costumes whizzing by. A children’s 1.5km race is also held at the same time as the main race for those with smaller legs.

Organisers Stragglers are looking for volunteers to help marshal the race – contact Tony at stoak@btinternet.com if you can help out (particularly bicycle owners).

If the thought of even a half an hour run in the park scares you then spare a thought for Jason Arday – a sports lecturer from London who will soon be starting the mammoth challenge of completing 30 marathons in 35 days to raise money for Shelter.

Starting from Monday July 19th, the 24-year-old will test his endurance to the limit by running the London Marathon route every day for 15 days followed by a run from Piccadilly to Teddington and back again for the second part of the challenge.

To follow his progress check out Jasons blog or help him out with this worthy cause via this fund-raising page.

Also don’t forget that parkrun have a weekly 5km in Bushy Park 9am Saturday mornings. The event is kept free by sponsorship and being volunteer driven (helpers are always needed! email BushyHelpers@parkrun.com for more info).

Photo: Lloyd England

The run is as relaxed or competitive as you wish – pace-runners keeping to clearly labelled finishing times can keep you on track with a particular goal in mind, or just bring along the dog for a pleasant walk, run and sniff along the route.

Participants are also welcome to join the post-race coffee at the Pheasantry Cafe. You must register in advance and have your bar-code with you on the day – it’s the only way that the 500+ runners can automatically have their times recorded and accessible online each week.

parkrun Bushy Park also holds a junior 2km race on the first Sunday of each month to get the kids interested in keeping fit – the next is on 1st August 2010.