Parkrun Celebrates 200th Race With Spooktacular Costumes
Henley Parkrun marked its 200th event on Saturday morning with a spooktacular Halloween-themed race. Volunteers, and a handful of runners, dressed up in frightening fancy dress for the occasion.
Parkruns are free, weekly, community events that take place around the world. The first ever Henley Parkrun took place on July 1st 2017, with nearly 200 people turning up to test out the course. Since then, thousands of runners have walked, jogged and run the 5k race, which sets off from Tilebarn Close.
Saturday’s Parkrun attracted many of its regular local runners, along with visitors from as far afield as the Lake District and Brighton. After crossing the line, the racers were treated to brownies and chocolate as a celebration of the 200th race milestone.
Adrian Marsh (Co-Event Director for Henley Parkrun) said, “I’m really pleased and proud that Henley Parkrun has reached its 200th event milestone. In doing so, we have become a highlight of every week for many locals who have caught the Parkrun bug, as well as attracting dozens of visitors into the town each Saturday. We’ve overcome a lot of hurdles to reach this point, most significantly of course the pandemic, when all such events across the country had to stop, but we’ve come back stronger than ever!
“I’d like to give a well-deserved shoutout to a number of organisations that have given and continue to give us great support; including Parkrun HQ, Henley Town Council, Henley College and Henley Tennis Club, who very kindly allow us to store our equipment in their shed. Most of all though, the credit for reaching this milestone is really due to our incredible team of volunteers, who turn up week-in, week-out, whatever the weather to make sure that we can run a fun, safe and enjoyable Parkrun each Saturday. Finally I’d like to encourage Herald readers to get involved, why not come along to run/walk/jog or help us out on the volunteering side, to see what all the fuss is about?”
Parkrun takes place every Saturday morning, 9am at Tilebarn Close (with a briefing at 8:50am). Register beforehand at parkrun.com to take part, and then just turn up. It’s completely free, and open to all ages and abilities.
