Newbury joins Parkrun for the NHS – supported by Sir Andy Murray – which celebrated 75 years of the National Health Service

Hundreds of runners turned out to show their appreciation of the NHS at the weekend.

Newbury’s weekly Parkrun hosted a special event on Saturday morning to mark the 75th anniversary of the National Health Service.

A total of 374 people ran, walked or jogged their way around the 5km route at Greenham Common, before crossing the line to the sounds of the Rock Choir.

“Wow, what a morning,” said one of the volunteers at the event, Elaine Broadhurst.

“We had a great event. The Rock Choir was a great surprise for the runners as they crossed the finish line.

“We really considered how almost all of us have been impacted by NHS in our lifetime.

“We had a number of parkrun tourists join us on Saturday and a number came to me afterwards sharing how much they enjoyed the course and especially that it is a single lap which is getting more unusual.”

There were 44 people taking part for the first time and a staggering 33 new personal bests were set on the day.

Before the runners set off there was a short speech by Sue Bennett, who has worked in the NHS and is a regular at the Newbury Parkrun.

“We celebrated 75 years of the NHS in style with a heartfelt brief from Sue Bennett and celebrated each finisher with Rock Choir singing, clapping and cheering everyone in,” added Mrs Broadhurst.

“It was a great atmosphere that even the rain could not dampen.”

There were also extra congratulations to Sue Bennett, Lyndsey Stockwell and David Clyde for reaching their 250 park run milestones.

British tennis star Sir Andy Murray was among the supporters of Parkrun for the NHS too. He said it was a great way to take steps towards a more healthy, active lifestyle.

Mr Murray, who has won three Grand Slam titles and is the 2012 and 2016 Olympic singles champion, said: “The NHS is one of our nation’s greatest institutions and I am honoured to support its 75th birthday.

“Parkrun for the NHS is a great initiative and it’ll be amazing to see thousands of people from across the UK walking, running and volunteering at their local and junior parkrun events to mark this major milestone in the NHS’s history.”