Parkrun pioneer honoured for his work in city

Tom Williams set up the fourth oldest Parkrun in the world in Leeds

The man who introduced Parkrun to the north of England is to receive an honorary doctorate.

Tom Williams set up Woodhouse Moor Parkrun in Leeds in 2007, the first event of its kind outside London and only the fourth in the world.

He will receive the award from Leeds Beckett University for "his outstanding contribution to amateur sports".

There are now 11 different Parkruns in locations across Leeds, all run by volunteers.

Mr Williams, 50, went on to become chief operating officer of the Parkrun brand and said the concept's growth had been "amazing".

He was a lecturer in sport and exercise science at the University of Leeds when he started a "time trial" on Woodhouse Moor after reading about what would become the world's first Parkrun in a magazine.

Twenty-two countries now have at least one Parkrun - a free, weekly timed 5km event.

The volunteers at the first Woodhouse Moor event were Mr Williams' students and just 15 people took part. The 815th run was recently held.

'It's surreal'

Mr Williams said: "We had no vision of it being anything other than a few people running around the park.

"It's surreal. In some ways we have not noticed it growing, then every now and then you step back and think 'Oh my God, we are in Japan'."

Asked why he felt the event had become so popular, with 9.7m Parkrunners registered worldwide, Mr Williams said humans "have an innate need to move and to be outside with other people".

"There aren't many opportunities to do that in a way that's really accessible for pretty much everybody and ability doesn't really matter," he added.

Mr Williams, from Cambridge, studied for a Master's degree in sport and exercise science at Leeds Beckett.

He added: "It changed the direction of my career. I don't think I would be where I am if it wasn't for my Master's degree."

He now lives in Harrogate with his wife and two children.

Leeds Beckett University vice chancellor Professor Peter Slee said: “Tom’s contribution to the world of physical activity promotion cannot be understated."

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