Telford parkrun celebrates 11 years

Around 566 runners took part in the weekly 5k run through Telford Town Park on Saturday for the event's 11th birthday.

Over those 11 years, 460 events have taken place with 1,818 volunteers have chipped in. 28,338 personal bests have been made and 1,091 running groups have joined in.

On Saturday, February 16, 2013, around 150 people laced up for the inaugural run after months of organisation from Chris Richards and Kim Fawke.

"We were told it would never catch on, but they got that wrong," said Kim, who still directs many of the runs.

"It's grown and grown - we've not got a lot of regulars, it's a massive community event."

Looking back on the event's history, Kim paid tribute to Telford running royalty Jim Hussey who died aged 85 last year.

Jim had taken part in over 300 parkruns became known for his relentless encouragement to other runners.

Perched on a tree stump off to the side of the route's busiest junction, dressed in a high-vis jacket, he would bellow "Come on, young man/lady!" or "All the way!"

During one of his birthday celebrations, Jim hired a truck to hand out birthday cake - with Kim saying she'd never seen anything like it.

In 2017, the events fourth birthday celebration were joined by couple Robert Price and Sarah Burke who were days away from their wedding. The pair had met at the parkrun two years prior.

Telford parkrun is a 5k run every Saturday morning starting at 9am at Telford Town Park.

People of all ages and abilities are welcome.

Runners can register for free at parkrun.org.uk/telford/ to get a barcode to bring to the run.