Record-breaking Christmas Day parkrun as hundreds take part in fancy dress and Santa hats

Christmas parkruns were a hit in West Norfolk as hundreds of runners turned out for the occasions.The build-up to Lynn’s Christmas parkrun started on Saturday, December 14 with a run dedicated to raising funds and provisions for the Purfleet Pantry.The collection was led by parkrunner Matty Parker, who had taken it upon himself to run a 5km run every day in December in fancy dress. His attendance at parkrun is part of his mammoth fundraising effort.

With 320 runners taking part, the food collection was well supported with more than seven large crates of provisions being collected.This was followed the subsequent week with a very special Christmas party parkrun, with 291 participants and 29 volunteers.The guest of honour was West Norfolk mayor Cllr Paul Bland, with a fundraising collection being made on this occasion towards his chosen charities – TS Vancouver Sea Cadets and True’s Yard Fisherfolk Museum.

The mayor addressed the large crowd of runners, welcoming all to The Walks, this included a large group of visitors from various parts of the country. He thanked all the volunteers without who the run could not take place and congratulated those who had decided to run in Christmas fancy dress – some of which was very elaborate. Cllr Bland then led the runners to start the run.The festive season for the parkrun then continued with the Christmas Day event, which saw a record crowd of 495 take part, supported by 28 volunteers.

Having only anticipated 300 or so runners attending, seeing so many in The Walks in fancy dress and Santa hats added to the buzzing party atmosphere and was a great start to Christmas Day. Gary Walker, Lynn parkrun’s event director, said: “The build-up to Christmas this year has been very special and seeing so many runners contributing to the charitable collections has been inspiring.“Having the mayor join us for the pre-Christmas party run was also very special and was appreciated by all taking part.

“The Christmas Day parkrun held the biggest surprise of all, our anticipating the usual 300 or so runners taking part.“However, with the crowd quickly growing around the Walks Café I soon realised attendance was going to be much larger and with just under 500 taking part, it was a real recordbreaker for us and a great start to Christmas Day with a fantastic atmosphere.” A post on the King’s Lynn parkrun Facebook page said: “A big thank you to the mayor and in particular the parks team for supporting parkrun and for helping the keep the Walks in the fabulous condition that it is.“Thanks also to the parks team for the sweets and biscuits. A nice addition to all the food that was provided by runners for which we were all grateful.“Well done to all 291 who participated and to the fantastic 29 who volunteered. Thank you all.”On the day there were three new parkrunners as well as 18 first-time visitors. The post also said: “Well done Ben Keeley, first to finish in 17:12 and Cassie Moden, first lady to finish in 19:02. Special mention also to Chris Cann who at last achieved a sub-20 with a PB of 19:57.“Congratulations Allistair Berry on his 50th parkrun, Zoe Fiander, Charlotte Price and Caroline Carter on their 100th parkrun and old friend Grahame Peacock back with us for his 100th. Well done Jean Streeter on her 250th and Jonny Burrell on his brilliant 450th.”Meanwhile, it was also Downham Market Academy parkrun’s first Christmas Day event, with 97 people taking part, supported by nine volunteers.