Bushy parkrun issues participant plea ahead of event's 20th birthday celebrations

Bushy parkrun organisers have urged participants not to flock to the founding parkrun event on Saturday as the movement celebrates its 20th birthday this weekend.

The free, weekly and timed five-kilometre events first started in West London on October 2, 2004 and there are now more than 2,000 parkrun locations in 22 countries across the globe. In the UK, over three million people have taken part in an event over the past 20 years with more than 150,000 people doing so on average each weekend.

For many parkrun participants, the challenge and experience of taking part at different courses across the country is part of the events’ attraction. This trend has been dubbed as 'parkrun tourism' by the community and is a feature supported by organisers.

parkrun to celebrate its 20th birthday

However, this weekend people are being asked to take part in local events rather than making the pilgrimage to the founding event at Bushy Park to celebrate the 20th anniversary. In a statement shared in September that has been widely circulated this week, parkrun founder Paul Sinton-Hewitt CBE said: "On the 5th October every parkrun throughout the world is asked to celebrate our 20th birthday.

“It’s definitely not about Bushy parkrun. The special thing about parkrun’s DNA is that your home event is the most special place where the real action takes place. Free, forever, community."

‘Mad, brilliant, fun’ - 6,000 people take part in Bushy’s 1000th event

That statement comes after over 6,000 people descended on Bushy Park for the 1000th event at the end of August. Participants travelled from the USA, Poland, the Netherlands and across the UK to celebrate that milestone.

In the weekly report, Bushy parkrun organisers described that morning as 'mad, brilliant, fun'. They wrote: "We have been making contingency plans for event 1000 for months in advance but I think it's fair to say that none of us predicted the numbers that turned up. Maybe three to three and a half thousand was the best guess (except for co-event director Alex who suggested five thousand but who was roundly pooh-poohed).

"We had twelve car park marshals, we had extra toilets hired in, we had extra lanes on the funnel, we had extra marshals everywhere, we had extra clipboards and pens (which turned out to be pivotal) basically we had extra people and things everywhere.

"A good relationship with the Royal Parks is essential for the continued running of our event and Alex and Andy our Event Directors have been in regular contact with them to discuss how we intended to cope with a much bigger influx of visitors than usual."

While that 1000th event was viewed as a triumph and day of community, Bushy parkrun has echoed the calls of Mr Sinton-Hewitt this weekend. On social media, volunteers wrote: "Please support Bushy parkrun by staying local on the 20th birthday.

"We loved having you [for the 1000th event], but we can't do it again. We need to stay friends with the landowners. We need to look after our furry friends [park wildlife]. We love them [volunteers] and we want them to keep coming back. Thank you for your support and understanding."

What is parkrun?

The first ever parkrun at Bushy Park was initially known as the Bushy Park Time Trial where 13 people took part without knowing the well-being movement it would inspire. Fast forward 20 years and parkrun is still a free event run by volunteers.

The five-kilometre events take part in an array of locations across the globe, from parks to along the coast, by rivers, on hills and more. Participants sign up online ahead of attending to receive a famous parkrun barcode, which is scanned by volunteers at the finish line of events.

While many participants do run the five-kilometre event, an ever-growing number of people choose to walk as part of the 'parkwalk' initiative which looks to make parkrun appeal to as many people as possible - the current average finish time across the UK is on its way down, something celebrated by organisers. You can sign up to parkrun here.