This morning I volunteered at parkrun Hampstead Heath, helping out as a barcode scanner. It’s a surprisingly easy role, just an app on your phone .but it puts you right at the heart of the event. You meet everyone: from the front-of-the-pack speedsters to those finishing with a big smile at the back, scanning their parkrun ID and position token and sharing a few words as they pass through.

After the weather we’ve had this week, it felt like a gift of a morning. I took Gus along ,he loves anything sociable , and the whole atmosphere was relaxed, friendly, and quietly joyful. I even got chatting to an Austrian woman who’s recently moved to London and is still getting to know the area; she asked me to take a couple of photos for her, which felt very much in the spirit of parkrun.

Before the start, the race director gathered everyone together and spoke about how much parkrun relies on volunteers. Quite soberingly, he mentioned that Victoria Dock parkrun has recently had to close due to a lack of volunteer support. His point was simple: if everyone volunteered once for every ten runs they do, parkrun would never struggle. Even Hampstead Heath — with its 400–500 runners this morning — sometimes finds it hard to fill the roster.

Luckily today, three young women completing their Duke of Edinburgh Award were also helping out, which made a real difference. The whole thing wrapped up quickly, meaning Gus and I were back home by 11am — a dog walk, a social catch-up, and a bit of community contribution all rolled into one.

If you enjoy parkrun, or even if you’ve never done one, I’d really encourage you to take a look at the parkrun website and consider volunteering. It’s easy, welcoming, and genuinely uplifting — and without volunteers, it simply doesn’t happen.