Konnie Huq: ‘Women shouldn’t feel guilty for finding time to exercise’

When it comes to exercise, we can all be a bit mercurial, hitting the gym religiously and then falling off the wagon when something else takes over. And ‘something else’ can be anything from work and home life, to parenting.

But one form of exercise that seems to be uniting the world is parkrun. At 9am every Saturday, thousands line up to take part in a free, marshalled 5k run, walk or stroll in local parks and open spaces.

Parkrun is a hugely popular activity – there are 696 Saturday 5k parkruns in the UK and more than 6.5 million people have registered worldwide. Anyone can register, and it’s free, with no judgement on how fast you run, if you stop for a bit, or even give up halfway.

But while there are more women registered than men, many of them fail to turn up on the day. A new partnership between Sport England’s This Girl Can campaign and parkrun for International Women’s Day follows the discovery that 36% of women who register for parkrun fail to attend on the day.

One woman who is aiming to change that is author, TV presenter and screenwriter Konnie Huq. As part of the new partnership, she is preparing for her own parkrun initiation and encouraging other women to take part too.

Speaking ahead of the event, she confesses that her husband Charlie Brooker finds time for exercise when she doesn’t. “My husband goes running regularly, whereas I do nothing! I am that person, where everything I do, I try to do between 9 and 3, whereas the dads don’t,” says Huq.

Women can end up not giving themselves ‘permission’ to exercise, while their husbands or partners do, Huq adds. “In a partnership, often the onus is on the female to do the childcare and domestic chores. Even if we don’t like to admit it, that’s how it works. All my mum friends, their husbands go for a run or a bike ride and don’t think twice about it, but the women feel guilty. It just shouldn’t be like that.”

She believes women are more prone to put off exercise because of the rest of the things on their life to-do list. It’s not just women who are mums, but all women, she says.

“Lots of the barriers are subtle, it’s institutionalised stuff. We found that the number one issue is fear of judgement. It can be daunting if you’re not a regular gym-goer or haven’t been shown the ropes before. That’s one obstacle, but there’s also confidence – you may have issues over body confidence.”

Huq can relate to those who don’t get round to doing parkrun – she is one of the thousands who have signed up but never made it on a Saturday morning. It’s not just about feeling fit enough, but about feeling like you fit in, too, she says.

“I think physical and mental health come hand in hand. It’s well known that the more you do, the more you want to do, because you’re in that mindset. But mentally, it’s all about routine.”

Take, for example, the time Huq and another mum friend decided that once their children were at school, they’d go to the local park and use the free equipment provided there for a workout. “We got into a habit, but then it was half term or Christmas holidays and before you know it, you’re out of practice,” she confesses.

Parkrun helps with that because you can register and then just turn up. “The fact that anyone can come, if you get a gang of people, it can be a laugh and a social thing,” says Huq. “If you want to get back into sport, you can see how quickly you can do it. It’s whatever you want it to be, really.”

And if you’re feeling like a newbie, she has a revelation for you. “I’ve never done parkrun!” laughs Huq and, referring to that 36% of sign ups, “I’m one of ‘the’ women!”

Sign up to take part in the March 8 parkrun at parkrun.org.uk