Just three weeks after organisers announced parkrun would be back before the end of October , plans have now changed.

Writing on parkrun's blog, Nick Pearson parkrun global CEO, said: "Since we announced our intent to reopen in England, from an incredibly positive position and with support from DCMS and the deputy chief medical officers, things have changed. Earlier this week, the prime minister suggested that more stringent measures could be in place right through the winter. Understandably, local public health leaders are anxious about groups of people gathering, and, whilst events such as parkrun are exempt from the six person rule, we feel, at this moment in time, that it would be insensitive to push forward with reopening.

"Whilst we reluctantly accept this reality, parkrun's absence will come at a cost. As we head into winter and face the many associated seasonal health issues (both in terms of Covid-19 and other mental and physical illnesses), we believe parkrun has an incredibly important role to play in supporting public health. We also strongly believe that, as existing and emerging evidence suggests, and contrary to popular opinion, that there is little or nominal risk of Covid-19 transmission at outdoor physical activity events such as parkrun. Increasingly, we are seeing outbreaks traced to indoor work and social environments, yet to date there is little if any evidence of outbreaks directly resulting from participation in outdoor physical activity events."

Pearson reiterated parkrun's commitment to reopening parkrun events as soon as possible.

The free timed 5k runs are held at 9am every Saturday at venues around the UK and across the world. There are 16 events in Gloucestershire.

The last events in the UK this year were run on 14th March.