05/10/2026
Longrun Meadow parkrun – Event 589
3rd October 2026
Courtesy of Andrew Saunders
🎉 Happy 22nd Birthday, parkrun! 🎉
There was plenty to celebrate at Longrun Meadow parkrun Event 589, as parkrunners around the world came together to mark 22 years of parkrun. What began in Bushy Park in 2004 has grown into a worldwide phenomenon, bringing people together every Saturday morning to run, jog, walk, volunteer and enjoy their local communities.
Longrun Meadow certainly played its part in the celebrations, with 472 people completing the course this week. Among them were 55 first timers, while an impressive 66 runners recorded new Personal Bests. There were also representatives from 45 different clubs taking part.
🏃♂️ The first finishers
Leading the field home among the men was Matthew Speed, followed by Anthony Kitson in second and Laurent Boon third.
Among the women, Agnieszka Phillps was the first female finisher, with Helen Pool taking second and Orla Houlihan completing the top three.
Congratulations to all six on their excellent performances.
🎉 Milestone celebrations
There were some fantastic milestones to celebrate this week.
Congratulations to:
Caitlin Griffin – 50 parkruns
Megan Higginson – 50 parkruns
Chris Rowland – 100 parkruns
Dave Jones – 200 parkruns
Reaching 50 is a fantastic achievement, while joining the 100 and 200 clubs represents a huge amount of commitment and dedication. Well done to all four!
🙌 Thank you to our volunteers
As always, Longrun Meadow parkrun would not be possible without the fantastic volunteers who give up their Saturday morning to make the event happen.
This week's event was made possible by 28 volunteers:
Tarun Solanki, Marcus Albano, David Gibson, Sam White, Jamie Hill, Richard Sansbury, Duncan Moore, Andrew Saunders, Scarlett Burnell, Ben Frowde, Stephanie Smith, Brian Bandyszewski, Vicky Hanna, Andy George, Hilary Lappin-Scott, Jackie Toop, Leo Roche, Alec Burford, Margaret Burford, Lis Ford, Andrew Ford, Bradley Baxter, Rob Trem, William Lappin-Scott, Tom Givens, Matthew Lappin-Scott, Rachel Reeder and Simone Austin.
A huge thank you to every one of you. Whether you're scanning barcodes, marshalling, timing, handing out finish tokens or helping behind the scenes, parkrun simply couldn't happen without volunteers.
If you've never volunteered before, why not give it a go? There are roles to suit everyone, and volunteering is a brilliant way to become even more involved in the Longrun Meadow community.
📊 Longrun Meadow in numbers
Longrun Meadow parkrun first took place on 5th October 2013. Since then:
23,138 participants have completed Longrun Meadow parkrun
181,905 parkruns have been completed
909,525 km have been covered
26,173 Personal Bests have been recorded
1,627 individuals have volunteered
Volunteers have given their time on 12,897 occasions
That's an incredible history — and another Saturday has now been added to it.
A huge well done to everyone who ran, jogged, walked, volunteered, supported others or simply came along to enjoy the atmosphere.
Happy 22nd birthday, parkrun — here's to the next 22 years! 🎂🏃♀️🏃♂️
See you next Saturday at Longrun Meadow!
