Parkrun celebrates 20 years at Tredegar House in Newport

This weekend it celebrated 20 years since it was first created back in 2004 by founder Paul Sinton-Hewitt in Bushy Park in London decided to run in the park as a way of getting his friends together to be active and social.

Two decades later, it now takes place at 2500 locations across 23 countries with 10 million people registered every weekend. 

In the picturesque setting of Tredegar House, a National Trust property, there will be lots of runners, walkers and volunteers celebrating the anniversary and showcasing the transformational health initiative that parkrun truly is.

As part of the celebrations, Newport's weekly event invited down some VIP guests to join them for the weekly run, including local MP Jessica Morden and CEO of parkrun Russ Jefferys alongside hundreds of regular volunteers and runners. 

The man behind parkrun in Wales, Chris Davies, explained that the parkrun has been ongoing since 2008, where it first began in Cardiff, with 82 now in Wales alone. 

Parkrun in Wales lead Chris Davies (right) with volunteers (Image: NQ) He was also keen to dispel any concerns that parkrun is restricted to those who are particularly fast runners, clarifying: "It's for everyone, and is able to benefit everyone, whether you be a runner, a jogger, or even a walker. That's all fine - parkrun is a fully inclusive event, very sociable, with even people who just want to volunteer.

"Being social is a really big part of what we do here - you'll see people chatting and getting to know each other both on and off the course. 

"Of course, the best thing about parkrun is the coffee afterwards, and maybe a bit of cake! We regularly have people who stick around until around midday just chatting, and that's really lovely to see."

For Chris, his favourite thing about parkrun is watching people enjoying themselves and getting out and getting active. 

He said: "The most touching memories is when you hear of people who are using it to get active for health benefits.

"We have a whole group of walkers who are cancer patients, who come down once a month to take part as it's really great for pre-operation and rehab afterwards. It seems to really help people over the isolation of such a diagnosis and those guys are just truly inspirational."

A number of special guests were in attendance alongside regular volunteers such as carer Ruby Davies (right) (Image: NQ) Chris wasn't the only one feeling inspired at the celebrations, as local politicians Jessica Morden MP and Jayne Bryant MS were both volunteering for the first time and could not praise the runners and other volunteers enough. 

Ms Morden said: "It's such a big anniversary this weekend but it's also a fantastic community thing because its just something for everyone."

Ms Bryant shared this opinion, adding: "It's been amazing to come out and be part of it all - from the runners to the volunteers everyone gets something out of it." 

One of the volunteers, Ruby Davies described it as being "everything to us". 

She explained: "I'm a carer, so this is the one time during the week I get to myself, and I've made so many friends here so it's lovely to have that time to come and spend as part of such a wonderful community thing. 

"I think it's a mark of the strength of parkrun that we're able to celebrate two decades of it."

Owen Young (left) marked the anniversary with his tenth parkrun alongside friend Gavin Facey (Image: NQ) While for some it was their first parkrun, for others, such as running enthusiast Owen Young, it was a milestone in its own right, as he marked his tenth parkrun during the celebrations. 

Four-legged friends were also aplenty, with sisters Cat Braun and Louise Holder running alongside two-year-old Labrador Harri for the first time. 

Sisters Cat Braun and Louise Holder were joined at Newport parkrun by two-year-old pup Harri who completed his first full parkrun (Image: NQ) They joked: "We do come for parkruns regularly together when we can, and it's nice to be able to bring the dog - especially as its his first full 5k and will hopefully tire him out for the afternoon now!" 

Many of the runners at Parkrun's 20th anniversary are also set to participate in Cardiff's Half Marathon on Sunday. 

Newport Parkrun takes place every Saturday at 9am at Tredegar House, and it is free to enter, you just have to register online for your barcode here.