13/06/2026
Thank you to Sam Dooley for today’s fabulous report below.
Lister Park parkrun
Saturday 13 June 2026
This weekend included the milestone of the one millionth parkrun event since it all began in 2004. And the 473 participants that stood, walked, jogged and ran on a damp breezy morning in BD9 were all taking part in the 747th occasion in Lister Park dating back to the first “three, two, one, go!” in April 2010. For some – a dozen in fact – it was their first time around any parkrun course. Evidence that parkrun continues to grow and embrace the community. I hope that Scott Lemon, Ibrahim Unadal, Marie Marin, Finlay McGurk, Adam Brown, Robert Barnes, Muhammad Faizan, Lily Petersen, Helen Chapman, Carlos Tarrobal, Carl Magat, and Andrea Laws all had a great experience, and line up again in the future.
There were some bigger numeric personal milestones amongst the 430 that toed the start and crossed the finish line too: Lilia Jones completed for the 100th time, and no less than four participants achieved the 50 milestone – Callum Wear, Peter Thackray, Nicola Norbury and Mark Griggs. Congratulations to the five of you! And aside from “official milestones” I’m sure John Hinchcliffe was chuffed at clocking up 350, as much as Daniel Matthewman was pleased with his 300th.
The course has had a couple of tweaks over the years, but currently is similar to that first event, with the added bonus of a finish at Cartwright Hall, and the opportunity to gaze on it’s facade as you make your way through the funnel to collect your finish token. The infamous “Teeny Tiny Hill” is encountered for the first time just before you reach 1.5k, and somehow it manages to get longer and steeper on the second lap, and mysteriously longer and steeper again on the third. So pleased that there’s no lap four.
But parkrun isn’t just about numbers and distance, tokens and hills. It’s about community. It’s about the 400+ that stood at the start in the cold and applauded the young man that shared his mental health journey with us. It’s about the conversations you have at the finish with someone that has just shared the same parkrun as you, but maybe not the same experience. It’s about the coffee from Nick’s van, and engaging in chat about marathons, book-clubs, and games of Monopoly. It’s about catching up with friends verbally, even if they left you standing over the 5k. It’s about meeting Naz for the first time, or someone else. It’s about being Healthy and Happy.
Lister Park parkun offers all the above, efficiently served up by a great team.
Gets my vote.
Thank you Sam we’re glad you enjoyed your morning with us 🧡🌳
