Celebrations in the wind, rain and mud - Burgess parkrun #600 - 07/02/26

Today we had wind, rain and mud!

Today was the 600th event at Burgess parkrun, overseen by Callum, today's Run Director, and a 30-person-strong volunteer team to keep everyone safe. 601 brave participants took on the 5k challenge, in what I can only describe as FILTHY conditions. The field included John, Susan, Chris and Anna, all of whom had been at event no.1 13 years ago. 

I had the pleasure of finishing with Anna, one of the 78 Burgess originals. She shared how much the park has changed, the area has changed, the number of people attending is now much higher, but the distance remains the same, and she continues to love it 🙂

Finishing with Anna, one of the Burgess parkrun originals!

The rain wasn’t going to stop the 600th celebrations with cake for Burgess heroes Josna, Minnette and Yoona, who all celebrated their birthdays recently with Stephanie, Heather, Stephanie Burchill the bakers and shop-bought cakes contributed by Burgess Juniors volunteer, Orlagh Raynor.

Parkrunners, Josna, Minnette and Yoona celebrating their birthdays today. Geoffrey Ochieng.

And today was also the actual birthday of one of the ‘sons’ of Burgess, the softly spoken, always smiling Michael Welsh.

Michael is aiming to join the volunteer 100 club this year. Photo credit Burgess parkrun.

Michael first attended back in August 2013 at event no.47 the start of a running story of triumphs and service. I remember the Co-Event Director, Laura, encouraging Michael to get more involved and he’s never looked back. Alongside his many hard-fought running achievements over 10k, half-marathon and 4 marathons, Michael has volunteered 98 times.  

Michael after completing his 300 Goodgym task last year. Photo credit Yianny Loannou, Team Leader at GoodGym Lambeth.

He also consistently participates at the Lambeth branch of GoodGym, where he uses his time to help others.Michael has completed 343 parkruns, with 293 at Burgess. He currently occupies position 12 on the Burgess parkrun ‘Diehards’ leaderboard 🙂 Michael shared that this year he is looking forward to reaching 350 parkruns, his 300th at Burgess, joining the 100 volunteer club and ‘another visit to Scotland to do a parkrun there’.  

Michael is at position no12 on the Burgess 'Diehard' leaderboard.

Burgess parkrun is built on the contributions and stories of people like Michael who get involved, taking the event to this wonderful milestone. Wind or rain, puddles and mud, the heart of Burgess parkrun continues to beat strongly.  

Burgess Big Halfer's runners, supporters, and volunteers. Photo credit Chris-Dee

Next week I’m off to my Nendy (nearest event not done yet) to complete Whitecliffe Lake parkrun by Ebsfleet Valley in Kent. 

Happy running, walking, and volunteering. 

www.horizons.uk

You can read about how parkrun was created by the founder, Paul Sinton-Hewitt, a care leaver, in his book ‘One Small Step’, The Definitive Account of how a run became a Global Movement by clicking here.