Alice Holt parkrun held its 500th staging of the popular event.

Alice Holt parkrunners congregated for the 500th time, encouraged to wear the blue of the parkrun 500 t-shirt to celebrate that impressive milestone.

It was also the first running of the new permanent course, which starts with the familiar mile-long loop down the old Brick Lane and back up Bushell Bank. The new course then shimmies its way through the woodland section before turning left down the hill, but instead of turning left at the bottom, runners carry straight on up Dragon Hill. Near the top of this hill, runners turn right down a new section of winding and mostly downhill trail to emerge at the bottom of Brick Lane, continuing up the loop to finish at the usual location.

As Linda Tyler, run director for the day, reminded everyone, such a course does not happen out of the blue. Craig Tate-Grimes, Andy Clegg and Chris Gill researched, measured, risk-assessed and gained permission for the new blue-chip route. The briefing revealed that about a dozen survivors of Alice Holt’s very first parkrun on November 17, 2012, were present.

The briefing also reminded everyone of the ingredient without which no parkrun could go ahead – volunteers. There were 35 required for the new course. After the briefing, the run took place. Ben Dakin, another stalwart of Alice Holt parkrun, made the first three finishers and achieved a new personal best.

Unofficial milestones were achieved by Richard Stubbs (450 parkruns), Paul Blacknell (400), Henry James Sampson (300 and a new personal best of 19.59) and Peter Varnes (200). Of official milestones, a century of parkruns was clocked up by Will Oxley, Anne-Marie Clarke and Cheryl Stafford-Jones. A half-century was completed by Jennifer Carr, Alison Morris, Lucie Wentworth and Laura Burgess. Daniel Rose, Molly Marshall, Alice Hinkley and Nicola Chorley completed their 25th parkrun.

There were more than 500 finishers at the 500th run. There have only ever been more at Alice Holt parkrun once – on New Year’s Day 2020. Runners enjoyed coffee and cake at the cafe afterwards.

By Steve Till