‘Thank you, Marshal’: How parkrun became a global phenomenon

Sign up to our free Living Well email for advice on living a happier, healthier and longer life Live your life healthier and happier with our free weekly Living Well newsletter Live your life healthier and happier with our free weekly Living Well newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The most common phrase you’ll hear around any parkrun course is “Thank you, Marshal,” as runners vocalise their appreciation for those who’ve facilitated this Saturday morning ritual. It’s a real way of life that’s so positive; I’d say it’s almost impossible to leave a parkrun and not be smiling for the rest of the day.” Jane Thorogood, a 58-year-old retired teacher from Aberystwyth, Wales, found that “volunteering was more fun” than running: “I got to chat to people, see everybody else running.” Having completed 445 parkruns and volunteered 393 times over the past 12 years, she’s set herself the goal of achieving her 500th parkrun and 500th volunteer event in the next 18 months – both on the same day. Her daughter, a regular parkrunner, introduced her mother to the Bushy Park event, where Elizabeth soon became a beloved member of the parkrun team: “Everybody got to know her – people high-fived as they went past her in her wheelchair with her little hi-vis jacket,” recalls Sinton-Hewitt. And though its founder had no idea what he was starting 20 years ago, these days Sinton-Hewitt dreams of nothing short of global domination: “Ideally, I would have it in every single park, in every single place in the world.” Wherever a parkrun pops up next, you’ll be sure to hear some variation of those magic three words as you make your way around the course: “Thank you, Marshal.”