ALMOST 500 runners from across the Isle of Wight gathered at blustery Seaclose Park — some in fancy dress — to celebrate a landmark, the 400th Medina parkrun.
People from all walks of life from the Island turned out to mark the occasion — one many had scoffed at the thought of eight years ago, when athletics coach Ray Scovell introduced it.
Some 487 registered for Saturday morning’s event — one for the serious runner and the not-so-serious runner — who ran, jogged or walked the route along the banks of the River Medina.
It’s a far cry from the first one, which attracted 37 runners.
Ray, 75, who was run director for the first-ever Medina parkrun in 2010, acted as a funnel manager at the finish line for the 400th.
“The beauty of parkrun is it is free and you can run on your own at your own pace, or as a social gathering, where you can run with old friends or make new ones along the way,” said Ray, of Cross Street, Sandown.
“Parkrun has an awesome group of people. It is for the community and run by the community, which is why it works so well.
“Did I ever visualise that so many people would be running on Saturday, eight years after the first? The answer is no.”
Before the 5km run got underway, event director, John Hepworth, made presentations of special T-shirts to 28 volunteers for parkrun last year.
Stalwarts from the very first parkrun were involved in the 400th, including lead cyclist Stephen Duff, who has been paramount to the success of parkruns since, by building courses and having achieved being the first to gain a T-shirt for completing 100 parkruns.
To date, Medina parkrun has more than 4,000 registered participants.
Kevin Fry, a big supporter of Medina parkrun, has completed 341 on the Island — more than any other runner — and 345 in total.
The 50 year old mechanical engineer, of Northwood, said: “A friend got me involved and I just fell in love with it. It’s all about community spirit — an event where I meet lovely people and is something I look forward to each week.
“I can’t imagine Saturday mornings without it and I would love to see it continue to grow.”
The first anniversary of the Medina Junior parkrun will be held at Seaclose on Sunday.
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