Hailes parkrun proving Sunday morning attraction

December 7, 2025 12:06 pm

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Hailes Quarry Junior Parkrun started in September and the organisers have already enjoyed a record attendance of over 100, a hugely encouraging response.

Ten local primary schools have signed up organisers and organisers hope that others will come on board soon, including those in nearby Juniper Green, Currie and Balerno.

This is, claims event director, Alan Gordon, the only junior park run for juniors aged four to 14 in the west side of Scotland’s Capital, and it goes ahead every Sunday at 9.30am around a flat course with two small gradients.

Runners meet at the children’s playpark in Hailes Quarry Park postcode EH14 2QR and the course is 2000m (2k) long, considered ideal for a run of this type. It has been accurately measured.

The history of the location is interesting. The quarry was active from 1750 to 1900 and 150 men worked there at its peak, extracting 100,000 tonnes of sandstone every year.

The stone became one of the most popular materials for building in Edinburgh’s New Town and it was also used for slabs, paving and cornices then the quarry was then drained and used for domestic and landfill until the 1970’s.

Locals say that an elephant from Edinburgh Zoo is buried there and there is a stone memorial by the side of the one of the paths which legend says was in honour of a hermit who apparently lived there for a spell.

The history of the parkrun is that it was inaugurated on Sunday, September 7, and youngsters run on permanent paths, mostly tarmac, but bosses warn that some sections may accumulate mud, leaves and puddles after rain.

They stress that this is a free, fun event and it was founded by Longstone Community Council, who received a community grant from the City of Edinburgh Council to pay for start-up costs, as well as support from South West Edinburgh 20 Minute Neighbourhoods.

It is organised weekly by over 20 volunteers and all entrants must register on the website. https://www.parkrun.org.uk/register/hailesquarry-juniors/ before they come along for their first event.

The organisation also has a Facebook page and entrants can also register there at https://www.facebook.com/hailesquarryjuniorparkrun/

More competitive children can use the parkrun to test themselves against their own time, and against others, but event directors stress that participation should ultimately be for fun.

The average finishing time, incidentally, is around 14 minutes. I walked the course, around 3,700 steps, in 17 minutes, a brisk walk and a warning, there is an incline just before the finish line. It does not look steep, but after nearly 2K, it does test runners and aging walkers like me.

Adults can accompany children, but their time is not logged. Buggies are allowed, subject to course conditions, but only if the adult pushing the buggy is accompanying a junior park runner.

Dogs are not allowed to accompany walkers, joggers, runners or volunteers at junior parkrun events.

The weather has been kind to the event since it started with only one really bad day which saw heavy rain fall on the competitors, but Alan added: “Resilience is part of this as well as fitness. You can only teach resilience by being resilient.”

The first run attracted 83 children and 34 of them were first time park runners. December has been a good month for the group who welcomed 63 to the event on December 1, the 13^th and a healthy attendance on run No 14.

The series has been supported since its inception by Dr Scott Arthur, MP for Edinburgh South West, who has taken part in over 400 in eight different countries including America, France, Italy, Poland, Denmark and Germany.

Volunteers are always welcome and they can come alone or team up with someone, and you don’t need any experience of parkrun, junior parkrun or of volunteering.

There are a range of roles to choose from, and many of them can be combined with walking or running, and these include setting up the course, scanning people’s barcodes at the finish, or ensuring everyone gets safely round the route as a marshal.

Organisers stress that they never ask anybody to do anything they are not comfortable with.

If you are interested contact [email protected] and schools including Longstone, Canal View, Murrayburn, Sighthill, Stenhouse, Bonaly, Pentland, Currie, Nether Currie and Buckstone already take part.

Alan added: “It is a really fun, inclusive event and you can be assured of a great and welcoming atmosphere. Come and join us.”