This post was originally published as the Run Report for Brickfields parkrun, Bath for Saturday June 28th 2025

Back in 2014 when I got my 50th parkrun Milestone T-Shirt I imagined a time in the far future when I get my 500th. It seemed so far off it was like Science Fiction back then. Based on a rough calculation of completing an average of 45 parkruns per year I worked out that I could complete 500 before my 50th birthday.

That plan would have happened if it wasn’t for Covid thwarting 70 weeks of parkrun opportunities. As we entered 2025, my year of turning 50, I worked out that I would do my 500th run just 6 weeks after my birthday. It also nicely coincided with a planned weekend in Bath with friends.

Having already done Bath Skyline earlier in the year I planned to do either Shepton Mallet or Somerdale Pavilion. My excitement grew when I noticed a brand new event pop up at Brickfields Park. It would also link to another obsession of mine, Disused Railways. With that the venue for my 500th run was set. It also set in motion a series of coincidences that would unfold during the day.

On hearing that my 500th would be in Bath, Paul, a colleague and fellow parkrun tourist, decided to also plan a weekend in Bath with his partner around the event. Coincidence #1 was that their hotel was just round the corner from our B&B. We planned to walk to the event together but after a late arrival on the Friday and some complicated logistics we decided to drive separately and meet at the start.

I arrived at 08:30 with my wife and the friends that we were staying with. Shortly ahead of the First Timers Briefing, Paul texted me to say they had parked a mile away and were on their way. That checked out as we also parked a mile away at the stadium. By the time of the start I couldn't see him but figured that he must be at the back of the group and I’d see him on the out-and-back sections. I didn’t see him at all so I thought that something must have gone awry.

On finishing the run I checked my phone to see a message from him at 09:01 to say “it’s Bath Skyline, right?”. I replied with a Facepalm emoji. He’d travelled from Manchester for a weekend away to be at the wrong parkrun. It was all caused by something wrong with his 5k app not showing new events, so Bath Skyline was the only Bath parkrun event that showed up for him.

The situation also meant that I had two 500 Milestone pre-event shoutouts at two different events on the same day. Yet another coincidence was that Paul had unknowingly booked dinner at the same restaurant at the same time as us later in the day.

The final coincidence was having an accidental race to the finish line with Danny Norman, host of the parkrun With Me Now Podcast. I had met Danny once before but too long ago that I didn’t recognise him. What I did notice was a guy in a 500 milestone T-shirt just ahead of me as I closed in on the finish line. My wife was at the line waiting to video my 500th finish and I thought it would be fun to cross the line next to a runner in a 500 shirt. I sped up a bit to slightly overtake him to get both of us in the video. It was only later in the morning when a different friend of mine noticed Danny in the results 1 second behind me.

As well as all the funny coincidences, it was a lovely day for the run. It was a bright, warm summer day with a field of 282 runners and walkers. As a Disused Railway geek I loved the out-and-back on the old Somerset and Dorset Railway line.

First finisher was Harry McMurtrie coming in at 17:19 with a good spread of timings through to just over 1 hour. There were 174 First Timers to Brickfields Park and 32 PBs.

As always, a huge thanks to all of the volunteers who made the event possible. If you’ve not volunteered before or it’s been a while since you last did it, please consider signing up for one of your next events.

Thanks to everyone who helped make my 500th parkrun at Brickfields Park a fun and memorable event. A final special thanks goes to Neil Chapman who took me to my first parkrun on Boxing Day 2012. Saturday mornings have not been the same since.

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