Joggers in Watermead Country Park will now have a helping hand around King Lear’s Lake following the launch of a new marked route at a fun run on Friday evening.

Peter Osborne, Chairman of Leicestershire County Council and a keen long distance runner, officially opened the new marked route, which is the first of its kind in the East Midlands. 

A permanent ‘3-2-1’ marked course, the route allows runners to measure their progress over three different distances. A start and a finish are clearly marked, and a red line follows the route, with markers every 100 metres.

The new route is one of a series of similar marked running routes around the country as part of the ‘Run in England 3-2-1’ project.  Run in England 3-2-1 is a community-based initiative created to deliver fun and safe running activities in parks and open spaces. The project has been commissioned by England Athletics and funded by Sport England.

Peter Osborne said: “I am delighted that the first ‘3-2-1’ route in the East Midlands is here in Leicestershire. Jogging is a great way to keep fit, and what better place to give it a go than Watermead Country Park, on a safe, flat and accessible route around beautiful King Lear’s Lake.”

The new route is available at any time, although organised events will take place in the future including two further 5km and 1 mile ‘King Lear Runs’ on the July 2nd and September 3rd.

To keep up-to-date with what’s happening in Watermead Country Park, visit www.leics.go.uk/watermead  or the park’s facebook page www.facebook.com/watermead.