Some sprints to good health

Small gathering grows into a force for good, promoting togetherness.

When Paul Sinton Hewitt created parkrun, only 13 people turned out at a London park.

Twenty years on, millions jog, run or walk 5km every week.

Come rain or shine, runners from around the world brave the ever-constant gam start to race to the finish line at one of the 2 500 parkruns across 23 countries.

"If someone had said to me 20 years ago that parkrun was going to be such a phenomenon, I would certainly have walked away, saying it was too much for me," Sinton-Hewitt said.

"What began as a small gathering has become a powerful force for good, promoting health, happiness and togetherness."

On Saturday, walkers, runners and volunteers who give up their mornings to point the way, shout encouragement and dutifully clock times, will mark two decades of parkrun.

On the green grass of Hampstead Heath in north London, some 400 people take part every week, arriving just before the start either on their own or as a group, with friends or to meet new ones.

Afterwards, everyone is invited to the park café.