Chris steps down + Burgess steps up for an Incredible World Breaking Marathon Weekend! - Burgess parkrun #611 - 25/04/26
- aqasanu
- Apr 30
- 3 min read
There was a buzz of appreciation and anticipation in the air. Today was to be Chris’s final shift as Burgess Event Director, a position he has held for 11.5 years, almost a third of his life! His tenure included the reintroduction of parkruns into our Saturday mornings after the lifting of restrictions due to the Covid pandemic and national lockdowns. Rebuilding Burgess parkrun’s beating heart, its warm welcome to runners, volunteers and good relations with local partners are hallmarks of Chris’s tenure. Former and current regulars turned out to say ‘thank you’ and to congratulate Chris on a job well done.
Two ‘Thank you’ keepsake books were presented to Chris at the beginning, which had been filled over previous weeks. Today’s Run Director, Josie, toasted Chris and led the most heart-warming applause for everything he has given to Burgess parkrun. It was a special moment; a great send-off.
We welcomed more tourists than usual as our parkrun is a natural destination for people in town for the London Marathon. People often want a shake-out run/walk before their big day. I found myself walking with Samantha, down from Scotland. Samantha started her parkrun journey in March 2019, a journey that has quite literally taken her all around the world!
Whilst looking forward to her upcoming 42.2k tomorrow, Samantha was keen to enjoy a bit of parkrun tourism. She shared that she’d convinced her mum and husband to participate too, and that they now have their own friendly rivalry. Samantha, her mum and husband are such a great advert for the inclusivity of parkrun. It’s an access point for anyone wanting to get a bit more exercise into their lives and all the health benefits which can flow from it, and for Samantha, it’s been the springboard to running marathons!
With bananas and cake in abundance, the celebratory vibe spread to everyone, as they reminisced about Chris's successful tenure and others talking about their hopes for tomorrow’s marathon, which would include many Burgess regulars.
The fuse had been lit for Marathon Sunday in what turned out to be the most exceptional Marathon in history.
London Marathon is one of the world's six major marathons, and on Sunday, it served up a festival of running and human excellence. It’s an occasion where everyone comes together to show the best of humanity. People cheer for everyone as if they’re family, stories are shared, and laughter is in the air. It’s the biggest party you could attend.
At Burgess parkrun, there had been an attendance record; at the marathon, there was a Guinness World Record for a marathon with 59,830 people finishing. Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa won the women’s race, breaking the women’s world record. Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe won the men’s race, breaking the men’s world record. And both Sawe and Kejelcha ran under 2 hours for the first time in human history!
Kenya’s President, William Ruto has stated that Sawe’s achievement is '...a defining moment in the history of human endurance'.
And for everyone who was at Burgess parkrun, to walk, run, and celebrate Chris’s contribution; to all the marathon finishers and everyone who turned out, cheered, and screamed, thank you for making it such a memorable running weekend.
And don’t just take my word for it, you can click here to see the Messy Happy recap of the day.
Happy running, walking and volunteering.
If you’d like to run the London Marathon, the ballot is now open. Click here.
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.
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