This Saturday parkrun is celebrating 20 years since Paul Sinton-Hewitt held the first free and friendly 5k in Bushy Park, London. From 13 runners and five volunteers, parkrun has grown to a global community of more than ten million people, in 23 countries, at more than 2,500 locations. Of the 420 UK parkruns, 22 are held across Sussex, with an additional 13 junior parkruns held on Sundays.
One dedicated regular is lifelong Brighton resident, Terry Avey, who will be completing his 510th on Saturday. The lifelong runner attended his first ever parkrun at Preston Park in 2013, the same year he achieved his swift parkrun personal best (PB): 19 minutes 51 at Hove. At 73, Terry still runs every Saturday and his PB this year is 24 minutes 18.
He said: “It’s never a race, it’s a run but you run it against yourself. If you get a PB, it’s a personal achievement – it’s not about beating anyone. When you’ve done the run, you socialise, have a cup of coffee and meet people.
When you get home you have a shower and you feel good. It fills your day. “I know it’s far-fetched but I’m very positive and I’d love to reach 1000.
It’s about each small step.” Terry recently celebrated a major parkrun milestone (Image: Supplied) Nancy Platts, former Brighton and Hove City Council leader, is an event ambassador who has been involved with parkrun since 2015. She completed her first parkrun at the first-ever Hove Promenade parkrun which has swelled from around 150 to 750 runner.
