Parkrun: The local jog that became a worldwide hit

When a small group of runners gathered on a chilly autumn morning in London 20 years ago, no-one could have realised they were taking part in something that would become an international hit.

Green Day's album American Idiot had just reached number one, Ben Stiller's Dodgeball was showing in cinemas and the first series of Strictly Come Dancing had just finished.

Organiser Paul Sinton-Hewitt enticed the pioneering 13 runners to turn up to what was then known as the Bushy Park Time Trial on 2 October 2004 after injury prevented him from taking part himself.

"It really affects people's lives so that goodness that exists in a park on a Saturday morning extends to the whole week," he says of an event with millions of weekly participants and volunteers.

For the uninitiated, Parkrun sees people of all ages and abilities gather in an outdoor space at 09:00 or 09:30, depending on the location, on Saturdays and run for 5km - or just over three miles.

Shorter 2km runs for children aged four to 14 and their families take place on Sunday mornings.

By Christmas of 2004, the numbers had doubled and by the time of the 2012 Olympics the event had expanded to every London borough.

Last month, Lithuania became the latest country to host a Parkrun, taking the overall tally of nations to 23.

Ireland is the most popular place for Parkrun worldwide - where between 8-9% of the population are ed.

In London, where it all began, there are now nearly 750,000 ed parkrunners (including Greater London) and about 100 events each weekend.

Born in Zimbabwe but raised in South Africa, Mr Sinton-Hewitt was given a CBE for services to grass-roots sport participation in 2014.

Now happily living in rural Sussex, he says "you get absorbed by the community, who make you feel special".

He said: "Almost all the people I know have found that it's really welcoming.

"It's non-competitive. You can run it as hard as you like. You can be as competitive as you like but you're not really competing with other people.

"You're competing against yourself, and as a result, there's this pressure is taken away and it's just fun, right":[]}