Delight and proudness as Mildenhall Hub parkrun celebrates 100th event
A parkrun in a Suffolk town which has received more than 2500 participants is celebrating its 100th event.
The Mildenhall Hub parkrun held its first session in June 2022 and has grown from strength to strength ever since.
Following 99 events, participants had either walked, jogged or ran a total of 45,965km.
Co-director of the Mildenhall Hub parkrun Reuben Smith, 43, said: “I’ve been involved since the beginning and it’s great to see how far it’s come because when we began setting this up we didn’t know how it would turn out.
“Now it’s something we’re delighted and immensely proud of and it’s really pleasing to see how strong it is and there’s such a range of abilities and backgrounds as well.
“Parkrun has a very loyal following so we’ve had people from the other side of the country come here which is brilliant.
“It’s important to note some people don’t feel particularly safe or running on their own, so this is a really great space for people to do that.”
Held at 9am every Saturday, the 5k course is run on a combination of grass, permanent paths and trail paths centred around the Mildenhall Hub, with marshals at key sections of the course.
There are an average of 90 runners a week and so far 293 volunteers have helped out, but there is always a need for more.
Participants do not have to run and are encouraged to jog or walk instead if they’d prefer.
Reuben, who is a keen runner and lives in Red Lodge, said: “People assume you have to run the parkrun but that is not true. We have a regular group who walk it and it genuinely is for everybody.
“Doing the event is a way of processing your stresses and I think it’s a great way to start off the weekend.
“It encourages you to get up early, it gives you a boost and the social aspect can be so beneficial as well.
“We will keep doing this as long as we have the volunteers and participants and we really do encourage people to get involved.”
There is also junior parkrun at the hub which starts at 9am every Sunday and is suited for children aged four to 14.
