Dame Kelly Holmes joins runners for one millionth parkrun as charity celebrates landmark event
Dame Kelly Holmes joins runners for one millionth parkrun as charity celebrates landmark event
Sam HallSat, June 13, 2026 at 10:05 AM UTC
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Dame Kelly Holmes joined runners for the one millionth parkrun (PA)
Olympic champion Dame Kelly Holmes was among a large turnout at Bushy Park, west London on Saturday morning to celebrate the one millionth parkrun.
Just 13 runners and five volunteers turned up for the first event, also held in the park and then called the Bushy Park Time Trial, nearly 22 years ago, in October 2004.
But the organisation has since exploded in popularity, with over 2,800 event locations in 23 countries, with free, timed 5km runs every Saturday and 2km junior parkruns on Sundays.
The landmark one millionth 5k run saw a large turnout, with 2004 800m and 1500m Olympic gold medallist Holmes - wearing a "Celebrating 1m" t-shirt - joining parkrun founder Paul Sinton-Hewitt and parkrun Global chief executive Elizabeth Duggan, as well as runners holding cards reading "thanks a million".
Runners queued in finish funnels to get their times recorded on a sunny morning in the capital.
Speaking before the charity reached the milestone, Sinton-Hewitt, 65, said a million events was "never in the plan". He added: "Nobody ever thought we would get to a million. But of course now the next million's going to come so much quicker."
Sinton-Hewitt said the "numbers are extraordinary", adding: "There are many people who've been born since we started parkrun who just don't understand a world where parkrun doesn't exist."
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Runners held cards reading 'Thanks a million' (PA)
He said he does not get involved in the day-to-day running of parkrun and is "hoping in a year or so's time to retire from the organisation".
In January, the King attended Sandringham parkrun in Norfolk as a spectator. Sinton-Hewitt, who now lives near Horsham, Sussex, said: "I'd love to meet the King, I'd love to have them involved on a more regular basis.
"But the fact he chose to go down to Sandringham parkrun and to cheer everybody on, that is a huge accolade for parkrun and we're very, very proud of that."
He said the success of parkrun was "clearly down to the simplicity… the fact it is for everybody, inclusivity, the nature of that, the fact that it's free".
The event was held at Bushy Park, where the first parkrun took place in October 2004 (PA)
The first runner to participate in 1,000 parkruns, Darren Wood, reached the milestone last month. He said he is "not running much any more because (the) knees just can't do it" but he still tries to "do the odd walk and quite a lot of volunteering".
Duggan said hitting one million events was "just phenomenal".
She said parkrun has "massive ambitions for the future", including to increase the number of parkrun countries from 23 to 30 by 2030.
"We have about half a million participants every single weekend globally and we believe by 2030 we will be hitting three quarters of a million," Duggan added.
Source: “AOL Sports”
