Parkrun off for second week due to migrating frogs

A parkrun has been cancelled for a second week in a row due to frogs migrating across the course.

Kirkharle Courtyard parkrun, in Northumberland, started last October and event co-director Nick Winslow said they knew the frogs might be an issue in the summer as they migrate every year.

"Normally what happens is the frogs arrive they cross the path they clear off and it's all over in like maybe a week," Winslow said.

However, he said this year the heat was making the whole process take longer as the frogs had slowed down.

"This would have been our 28th event so one of the issues for us is every week we're still kind of learning," Winslow said.

He also said the run had built "a lot of character" with all the briefings read as poems and alpacas from the local campsite coming to greet the runners at the end.

"That's what we do about making it all a little bit, I don't know a little tiny bit crazy, a little bit daft you know, so and I suppose the frogs fit into that," Winslow said.

He said most of the frogs move in the morning to avoid the heat and on Wednesday he stopped counting at 120.

"There were clearly thousands," he said.

"So we're a bit stuck."

According to wildlife charity Froglife, periods of hot weather can lead to increased risk of dehydration and desiccation for all amphibians, so it is normal for them to take shelter in water bodies or cooler habitats and avoid moving.

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