Parkrun events will not return to England until at least July 24 after the government postponed the lifting of pandemic restrictions, organizers said.

The free 5 km races on Saturday morning were due to resume on Saturday June 5 before problems with access to the race spaces postponed their return to June 26.

Parkrun UK said in a statement on Monday evening: “A tremendous amount of work has been done in recent weeks to ensure that we have permission to return from the vast majority of landowners.

“While this delay is disappointing, we respect the fact that a significant number of these clearances depended on the country’s passage to Stage 4, so we are aiming for a new reopening date of Saturday, July 24.”

Organizers previously said the decision to proceed with events from June 26 was subject to any changes in the roadmap announced by Boris Johnson.

It comes after Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick and Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden wrote to all UK councils last month urging them to allow the resumption of the weekly Parkrun events in their areas.