Runners young and old turned out in force on Saturday morning as King’s Lynn parkrun celebrated its 14th anniversary.
Once again, the event produced some standout performances on the course alongside a big milestone off it.
Leading the way was Ethan Ward (JM15-17), who stormed home as the first finisher in a superb new personal best of 16:32.
Not far behind, the women’s field was led by Libby Sibthorp (JW11-14), making a welcome return as first female finisher in 20:26, with her brother Austin (JM11-14) hot on her heels in another PB of 20:46.
The day’s age-graded honours went to Shaun Mann, whose sharp run earned him an outstanding 89.01% grading.
It was also a bumper morning for improvements, with 56 runners setting personal bests across the 5k course in The Walks.
The celebrations did not stop there.
Several runners reached landmark appearances, including Eleanor Walsh, Bobby Skinner and Trevor Marshall on their 50th runs, Trevor Johns completing his 100th, and Steph Eagling chalking up an impressive 200th parkrun.
Saturday’s turnout saw 381 runners and 32 volunteers gather, with some donning fancy dress to mark the occasion.
Afterwards, the parkrun core team laid on snacks for a well-deserved birthday party.
Since its first run in September 2011 – when just 61 runners and nine volunteers took part – the event has grown enormously.
In 14 years, 14,967 individuals have taken part, clocking up 162,368 finishes and covering a remarkable 811,840 km (504,453 miles).
A further 1,403 people have volunteered, with organisers paying tribute to their commitment and noting that parkrun globally this week celebrated reaching one million unique volunteers.
With visitors from as far as Thailand and first-timers from closer to home in Norwich and Peterborough, the anniversary event captured everything parkrun is about: community, participation and achievement.
It continues every Saturday at 9am in The Walks and is free for all, regardless of age or ability.
