A community running event that started in the United Kingdom in 2004 and has now spread across 20 countries launched in a remote Queensland town on Saturday.

Doomadgee parkrun is the first in the world to be held in an Indigenous community and is also the most remote, according to parkrun Australia.

Delighted organisers are calling it a "deadly" turnout, with 43 people completing the five kilometre course.

And in the tradition of 'parkrun tourism', international runners from as far away as England and Borneo were there too.

An enthusiastic young runner enjoying the Doomadgee parkrun launch. ( Facebook: Doomadgee parkrun )

Doomadgee, one of the 10 most disadvantaged communities in Australia, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics data, is 612 kilometres north of Mount Isa.

It has a population of about 1,400, with a median age of 21 and a large majority of residents younger than 14 years.

Sharing the fun of running

The concept behind parkrun (stylised with a small 'p') is to encourage people to run, jog or walk, and volunteer, on Saturday or Sunday mornings, somewhere in the world.

It is entirely free and all that is required is to register online with parkrun, which has almost 4.5 million runners signed up internationally.

Co-director Melissa Gilbert, a Queensland police officer from the Gold Coast, was an active runner herself before being posted to Doomadgee in early December.

Mel Gilbert (L) and Emma Nicholson jump for joy at the Doomadgee parkrun launch. ( Facebook: Doomadgee parkrun )

"I was missing the fact I wasn't going to be able to do parkrun every week and I wanted to share the fun of it with the [town's] people, so I started getting everything organised to start one there," she said.

While she waited for approval, Ms Gilbert started the Doomadgee Deadly Runners and Walkers through the Indigenous Marathon Foundation, with the group meeting twice a week to do some running.

"After a while, I noticed the kids were coming with no shoes and some of them weren't coming because they'd hurt themselves at school or [when] running around in the town with no shoes on," she said.

"So I put an appeal out on the Facebook page and got a massive response.

"We ended up with over 500 pairs of shoes that have been donated by people all over Australia."

The inaugural Doomadgee parkrun saw a good turn out of runners and walkers in the remote township. ( Facebook: Doomadgee parkrun )

Ms Gilbert said she had received a lot of interest from Doomadgee locals about Deadly Runners and recently took four to Uluru for the National Deadly Fun Run Championships.

"Even if they're just walking, it's something they're getting out and doing," she said.

"There's not much on a Saturday in Doomadgee so it's another activity."

Some of those shoes were given away on Saturday to anyone who turned up and who needed them, while others will be donated to other Deadly Runners groups on Mornington Island and Aurukun.

First-hand opportunity to see 'joyful' community

Fellow police officer Emma Nicholson, from Palm Beach on the Gold Coast, is event director of Kirra parkrun, the most south-eastern parkrun in Queensland.

She described travelling all the way to Doomadgee for the parkrun launch as "a crazy moment".

Hundreds of pairs of shoes, some brand new, were donated by Queensland runners. ( Facebook: Doomadgee Deadly Runners and Walkers )

"We hear about working in Aboriginal communities [as a police officer], so I thought it would be a good opportunity to see what's involved," she said.

"It was amazing and dispelled a lot of my misconceptions about what these communities are like.

"I was drawn in by the children and I had so much fun high-fiving and encouraging the kids and engaging with them.

"There were big smiles all around — they were so joyful."

Ms Gilbert and some of the locals get into the parkrun fun. ( Facebook: Doomadgee parkrun )

Ms Nicholson described one little girl eager to run along beside her but who had to stop because the rocks were hurting her feet.

Together they stopped by the start line where the girl picked out a pair of bright pink runners for herself, one of the many pairs donated.

"She was so happy and excited about her new shoes and kept saying 'Miss Em, Miss Em, let's race, let's run more," Ms Nicholson said.

"It made all the stress of getting the shoes here [worthwhile], and thanks to Qantas who waived my excess luggage fee.

"That's what parkrun is going to bring to this community — it'll be an outlet for enthusiasm and running. There are so many fantastic aspects.

"Running is not just about fitness and exercise but also about the social contact.

"It's changed my life and hopefully it will be the start of something fantastic for the community of Doomadgee."