Graham celebrates 500th parkrun

Last Saturday marked the ninth anniversary of Glossop parkrun, which saw a fantastic number of runners turn out on a sunny morning at Manor Park. 

But that wasn’t the only milestone that was celebrated on the day, 78-year-old runner Graham Peak took part in what was his 500th parkrun. 

Graham received a terrific reception on the day and was joined by members of his family, many of whom had paid him a surprise visit. 

Graham’s parkrun journey began back in 2009 when he took part for the first time at Bramhall Park, and he has been running in the Glossop parkrun since its inception in 2015. 

Now, 15 years on, Graham still has the same amount of love for parkruns as he did when he started: 

“I don’t work anymore so my days can be quite quiet, but the weekends are a real buzz for me cause of the Glossop parkrun,” the 78-year-old told the Chronicle. 

“My next target is to still be doing parkruns into my 80’s! 

“I saw a poster the other day that said, ‘You don’t stop running because you’re getting old, you get old because you stop running’, and that really resonated with me- I think there’s a lot of sense in that.” 

Not only is the Glossop parkrun a fantastic way of keeping fit, but it also helps to provide for the local community. 

Regular collections for the local foodbank are held at the parkrun, and Saturday saw a record number of donations, which were very much appreciated. 

For more information on how to get involved, just search ‘Glossop parkrun’ on the Parkrun website.