Yorkshire runners to take on world’s most northerly Parkrun

Mr Beresford met his Finnish partner when she was doing an exchange year at Huddersfield University, and they decided to move to the city.

He said winter in Oulu could be extreme, with temperatures dropping to -25C (-13F), but it did not put the runners off.

In September temperatures in Oulu can be as low as 5C (41F), but Mr Beresford said at the moment the weather was similar to Huddersfield’s late summer.

“Winter did arrive early last year – we had our first snow in October and it stayed around till April.

“When Parkrun started I don’t think the founders thought about the fact it might spread to extreme weather countries so there was no lower temperature limit.

“We did hold an event at -20C (-4F) but I wouldn’t want to go below -15C (5F) now.

“Although runners here will run in all temperatures, the limit is for people who are standing around.”

At first, the Parkrun was based around the University of Oulu with a core group of students and researchers but it has since grown.

Mr Beresford said they now have 30 to 40 regular runners and the route covered a variety of terrains.

“The environment changes depending on season,” he said.

“We always have at least one run in winter that is in complete darkness.”