Double Olympic gold medallist Dame Kelly Holmes was among a significant gathering at Bushy Park, west London, on Saturday morning to commemorate the one millionth parkrun event. The landmark occasion saw participants, including parkrun founder Paul Sinton-Hewitt and parkrun Global chief executive Elizabeth Duggan, celebrating the enduring popularity of the free, timed 5km runs.
The inaugural event, originally known as the Bushy Park Time Trial, was held at the same location nearly 22 years ago in October 2004, attracting just 13 runners and five volunteers. Since then, parkrun has experienced a remarkable surge in participation, now hosting over 2,800 events across 23 countries, offering 5km runs every Saturday and 2km junior parkruns on Sundays.
Dame Kelly Holmes, a two-time Olympic champion in the 800m and 1500m at Athens 2004, joined the runners wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with "Celebrating 1m". Participants queued in finish funnels to record their times on a bright morning in the capital, with many holding cards that read "thanks a million" to express gratitude for the community initiative.
Paul Sinton-Hewitt, 65, reflected on the organisation's unexpected growth, stating that reaching a million events was "never in the plan." He added, "Nobody ever thought we would get to a million. But of course now the next million’s going to come so much quicker." Sinton-Hewitt, who plans to retire from the organisation in approximately a year, highlighted the "extraordinary" numbers and the simplicity, inclusivity, and free nature of parkrun as key to its success.
Parkrun Global chief executive Elizabeth Duggan described hitting one million events as "phenomenal." She outlined the charity's ambitious future plans, including expanding to 30 countries by 2030 and increasing global weekly participation from approximately half a million to three-quarters of a million by the same year. The King also acknowledged parkrun's impact earlier this year by attending the Sandringham parkrun in Norfolk as a spectator.