Weekend lie-ins are a thing of the past for thousands of couch potatoes who’ve been bitten by the parkrun bug, the running and socialising phenomenon. With the launch of its ninth Kent route this weekend, What’s On’s own parkrun convert, Jo Roberts, reports.

Ever wondered, as a runner gracefully passes as you saunter to the corner shop for a Dairy Milk, what the heck motivates them?

If commitment to early-morning jogging is an alien concept that your sedentary self cannot compute, much as you might wish it to, then prepare for the arrival of parkrun.

It is the exercise craze that’s sweeping Kent, with nine parkruns meeting every Saturday morning across the county, including a new one in Canterbury on Saturday, March 15.

A former weekend overeater, I now count myself among this new breed who are up with the larks and pounding the parks (or in my case the seafront, where Whitstable parkrun has the privilege of meeting).

My proportions are not built for speed and this was never truer than when, terrified of humiliation, I took part in my first parkrun six months after giving birth.

Still carrying the baby weight and in some desperation, I had opened my mind to the possibility that exercise might help.

Rumours reached me about a no-pressure run which doubled as a hip and happening meeting place, and so I went along, saw the crowd, got intimidated and jogged straight back home on my own.

The next Saturday I was back with new trainers and running jacket (all the gear but no idea, as my husband loved quipping).

I discovered how it works: you log in to the website, find your local run, sign up online and print out a unique-to-you barcode. You then turn up at the run ahead of its 9am start on any given Saturday, come rain or shine, and simply join in the free-to-enter 5k run.

At the end (no matter whether that’s 20 minutes later with the athletes or close to an hour with the likes of, well, me) you will still be greeted by cheerful volunteers who will scan your barcode and send you an email telling you what time you did and how that compares to other runners in your age range.

But you can check your emails later – now we get to the best part where you head to the nearest cafe for a chinwag with the other runners and a breakfast that you’ve burnt off enough calories to justify.

Weekend lie-ins are a thing of the past for thousands of couch potatoes who’ve been bitten by the parkrun bug, the running and socialising phenomenon. With the launch of its ninth Kent route this weekend, What’s On’s own parkrun convert, Jo Roberts, reports.

WHERE IS MY LOCAL PARKRUN?

All parkruns are 5k and take place at 9am every Saturday. There are also all free.

Ashford - Victoria Park, Jemmet Road

Canterbury - The Pavilion, Parkwood Road, University of Kent

Maidstone - Lock Lane, Sandling

Margate - Palm Bay, Cliftonville

Medway - Great Limes Heritage Park, Brompton Road, Gillingham

Pegwell Bay - Pegwell Bay Country Park, Sandwich Road, Ramsgate

Shorne Woods - Shorne Woods Country Park, Brewers Road, Gravesend

Tonbridge - Tonbridge Juddians Rugby Club, The Slade

Whitstable - Seafront promenade, Tankerton

Routes coming soon in Folkestone and Tunbridge Wells

More info at www.parkrun.org.uk