How a run turned into a green space campaign

2010 has been a good year for my running. In fact it has been a fantastic year. I ran my first 10k (Bristol 10k), my eight year old daughter ran her first 5k Race for Life and I'm about to run the Ashton Court 10k this Sunday. I ran half way up Snowdon, ran on some great coast paths and beaches and discovered some wonderful places to run off-road in the city.


But I had no idea my running experiences would lead to me starting a campaign to help save some green spaces.

Now believe me I am not one to stand up in front of a crowd and start waving my arms around in outrage, but I was simply appalled when I heard about a planning consultation by Bristol City Council, proposing to build a large number of houses on some fields and allotments that I run through.

I live in a built up area with serious traffic problems. Not only would this number of houses cause major problems to the local infrastructure, but the traffic on the A4 Bath Rd would simply grind to a halt. Why is the council looking to develop green field sites when there are lots of brown sites left empty?

Anyway to cut a long, long story short, as nobody seemed to be aware of the consultation and as a concerned local resident, I decided to organise a walk to raise awareness regarding the proposals. The walk was a huge success and despite being held in the school holidays and on a week day, there was a great turn out. Even the press turned up. Click here for the article.

It was pretty over whelming. The number of people that joined the walk was amazing. With the help of Friends of Victory Park the campaign is ongoing. Check out the latest news. The consultation ends at the end of the month.

If this story has a happy ending is hard to tell. But it has made me aware that there are some great places to run off-road in cities and people should get out there and start exploring what is on their back door and make the most of it before it is built on. After all there is nothing better than discovering, hidden green spaces that truly inspire you to run.

This whole experience has been life changing. It has made me want to run more, get involved in the local community and help save open green spaces. It also makes you realise that standing up for what you believe really does make a difference.