Parkrun founder awarded honorary degree by Loughborough University

He said, "to be here among all the talent and creativity in Loughborough is a wonderful recognition."

Loughborough University has awarded Parkrun founder Paul Sinton-Hewitt CBE an honorary degree.

Paul launched the Bushy Park Time Trial in 2004 and over time, the event evolved into the Parkrun and has since grown into a global phenomenon with over 130,000 events held annually across 23 countries.

Parkrun now has over 11 million participants registered across its network and deliver 1,000 weekly events in the UK alone.

Paul said: “It’s brilliant. Loughborough is a great university with a strong reputation, not only for sport, science and humanities, but across the world. To be here among all the talent and creativity in Loughborough is a wonderful recognition.

“Growing up in South Africa, sport was part of daily life. It was something you expected to do and running felt natural. I learned early that running helped me manage my moods and helped me feel normal.

“Much later, after suffering trauma, I decided to do something for my friends. I set up a weekly event in my local park, and the real reason was the coffee afterwards. I wanted my friends to meet me, do a little exercise and then go for coffee and it worked. After six months we occupied the whole top floor of that coffee shop until midday every week.

“Now, 21 years later, there are 3,000 events around the world in 23 countries. Half a million people take part every week. We have about 11 million registered participants and hundreds of millions of recorded runs. Fifty thousand volunteers make sure events take place every week. They are the heart of Parkrun.

“There are many lessons people can take from Parkrun. One is that you do not need to wait for perfect conditions to start something. You have the knowledge, the ability, the authority and the skills. You can start now, you don’t need to wait.

“Another lesson is to embrace volunteering. To volunteer is to lead. You may not realise it at first, but volunteering turns you into a leader in your community and that leads to many good outcomes.”