On Saturday 8th July, NHS staff, volunteers and the local community took to the ParkRuns across our county, including Shrewsbury and Oswestry, for special ParkRun events to celebrate the 75th birthday of the NHS. 

Backed by the likes of tennis star, Sir Andy Murray, ParkRuns across the country took part in ‘ParkRun for the NHS’ to celebrate the momentous landmark for the service. 

Runners, joggers, walkers, volunteers and supporters from the NHS across the county joined in, including staff from NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust, Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust and the Robert Jones and Agnus Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital. Some wore blue t-shirts, others scrubs, some chose to wear fancy dress, whilst others donned an NHS neckerchief! 

Niki Jones, Performance Analyst at NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, said: “I was volunteering, handing out finish tokens to the 670-plus people who crossed the finish line at the Quarry ParkRun, Shrewsbury. It was lovely to see how many of them had donned NHS blue or gone even further to show their support for the NHS. I'm always proud to say that I work in the National Health Service.” 

Anyone could get involved with people invited to walk, jog or run 5K at their local ParkRun to celebrate this major milestone in the NHS’s history and acknowledge all the staff and volunteers, past and present, who have made the NHS what it is.  

For more information about ParkRun, visit www.parkrun.org.uk