How parkrun reached its millionth event

The millionth parkrun took place on Saturday at Bushy Park in west London, acting as a celebration of the community cohesion and public health benefit that the charity has been aiming to achieve across the past two decades. Those in attendance included former Olympic champion Dame Kelly Holmes, as well as thousands of locals and parkrun fanatics alike.

The free weekly 5km event, founded by Paul-Sinton Hewitt, began in Bushy Park, Teddington, in October 2004 with five volunteers and a small group of 13 runners. It has since grown into a global fixture of weekend life, operating at 2,800 locations worldwide with more than 12 million people registered, taking place in parks, fields, seafronts and even prisons.

Entirely volunteer-run at a local level, parkruns draw tens of thousands each Saturday who jog, push prams or simply complete the course at their own pace.

United Kingdom, west London

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