More than 300 adults, children and dogs ran, jogged and walked 5,000 metres across the manor’s grounds to take part in the 500th Parkrun at the historic site. Held weekly – weather permitting – the first event was on January 12, 2013 and since then participants have crossed its finish line close to 140,000 times. Co-event director Tina Filby said: "Our 500th event went very smoothly.
It was a perfect morning, blue skies and no wind; lovely running conditions.” Parkrun, sponsored by Vitality, is a collection of 5,000 metre runs held on Saturday mornings. Since being founded 20 years ago in London, it has developed into a global brand connecting events from Johannesburg in South Africa to the coast of Singapore.
The Wimpole Hall Parkrun is particularly popular, in part due to its setting, but also because of its single loop structure – as opposed to laps – and the route’s eccentricity which includes paths for flocks of sheep and the infamous ‘Hill of Doom’ in the middle. Although on this occasion Colchester was the furthest anyone came from, it has attracted ‘Parkrun tourists’ from the United States and Australia. Tina Filby added: "We’re very, very privileged to be able to run in such a beautiful location.
With the National Trust’s support, we hope it will continue for another 10 or so years.” Watching on for the National Trust, property operations manager Andy Valentine said it was great that people came and enjoyed “some fresh air, some exercise.