Corby Parkrunner celebrates 500th volunteering credit at weekly run

Having served as Corby Parkrun’s co-event director until earlier this year, Matt continues to attend the weekly event as a regular run director and valued member of the core team.

Not only has Matt achieved his 500th volunteering credit, he also scooped up his 50th runners completion token.

He said: “Thank you all for the love shown this morning, thank you to Clare for the kind words at the start, for all those who stayed to cheer me in and my brother Michael and sister-in-law Anna who travelled up to parkrun with us this morning.

"I’ve had a couple of different people mention to me that our numbers make us quite a small parkrun and on reflection I think that makes us somewhat special.

"We have a great parkrun community in Corby, we’re well organised (we even sometimes start on time) and the core team, regular volunteers and runners make it an easy place to volunteer.

"There are not too many places I’d rather be on a Saturday morning. Here’s to whatever comes next, I can’t promise I’ll make V1000 but you never know.”

Like others across the UK and beyond, Corby Parkrun at the West Glebe Recreation Ground is a free, weekly 5k run organised by volunteers.

Corby has held a Parkrun since September 2013, and on August 29 the event will celebrate its 600th event, just shy of 13 years since it began in Corby, and 22 years since the first ever Parkrun was held in Bushy Park, London, then called the Bushy Park Time Trial.

Matt was the final of the 167 people to have crossed the line, having volunteered as a tailwalker and tasked with bringing up the rear to ensure no runner is left behind.

Lisa Crosby, who volunteers at the Corby event, added: “Matt has been a big part of the event for years, even serving as co‑event director until earlier this year.

"He has been committed to supporting the local community and encouraging new runners for over a decade - and his volunteering record really shows the heart of what Parkrun is all about.”