Health experts and your everyday person pounding the pavement - walking or running - can tell you about the great physical benefits and mental well-being from getting on the move.

Running and walking can be a solitary sport, should you want, but it can also tap into something far greater. There can be a real sense of community and it is not that hard to find.

parkrun Australia has now launched two prison events, the first in Her Majesty's Prison Dhurringile (near Shepparton) and a second in Mobilong in South Australia. They run the same time and distance as parkrun events across the nation - five kilometres at 8am every Saturday - with staff and prisoners running, walking and volunteering.

The only key difference is these are closed events to the general public, including numbers of enthusiastic runners who aim to visit as many different parkrun events as they can.

Dhurringile is the first prison parkrun in the southern hemisphere but prisons in the United Kingdom, where the parkrun movement started, have been running events since 2017. Parkrunner inmates in the UK cite improved lifestyle choices, better energy for interaction and engagement in other programs and how, once released, a stronger social and community connection when continuing their parkrun journey.

There are other ways prisoners can exercise. Outdoor organised sport is limited. Country football day release, which was reintroduced in Victoria this season, has sparked controversy.

University of Melbourne researcher David Gallant and parkrun's health and well-bring expert Glen Turner argue one of the most important benefits from prison physical activity programs is reintegration of prisoners into the community. They say failure to get this right, in turn, fails the community.

The key is parkrun is a free 5km run (or walk) not a race. It is about getting out there with others of all ages and abilities - from Olympian Steve Moneghetti to people starting their walking journey for the first time - and, at least for the morning, you feel part of something bigger.

We have a strong parkrun event in Ballarat, averaging 122 people on the move in Victoria Park. A strong band of volunteers work act as course marshalls, timekeepers, non-judgmental tail-walkers and race directors. It is an exercise in building self-confidence for everyone out there.

You can sense why such events could be an important mental health tool, not just in prisons and youth justice centres but in schools, some which already have a form of run club. parkrun has started rolling out junior events and ones aimed for seniors.

We are great in Ballarat at training and turning up for charity runs or bike rides but why wait? It need not be a parkrun. It could be joining a weeknight run club, a walking club or a social organised sport.

The fact prisons are looking to roll-out parkrun should get you thinking about making more of a move and proving to yourself what can be possible.

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