Thousands take part in landmark Bushy Park parkrun

Thousands of people gathered in Bushy Park in south-west London to mark the 1,000th parkrun event.

The "free-for-all" weekly, timed 5km (3.1-mile) events first started at the Teddington park in 2004 and have since spread around the world.

Organisers thanked the "record number" of 128 volunteers for their support marshalling the route of the event.

They said they had an estimated 6,000 finishers.

One runner, Richard Steeden, wrote on Facebook: "Bonkers morning in Bushy Park for Bushy parkrun number 1,000.

"I finished in 3,312 place, and I reckon there may have been as many behind me, I usually finish something around 780th."

• How did Parkrun become a global phenomenon?

The movement was founded by Paul Sinton-Hewitt when 13 runners got together on 2 October 2004.

There are now parkruns in dozens of countries and more than 800 different locations across the UK staging the weekly events with more than two million participants.

Runners or walkers can take part in the 5km events on Saturday mornings, while 2km junior events take place on Sunday mornings.

Events are free and run by volunteers, but also rely on local councils and land owners to enable them be staged.

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