Girl completes 250 parkruns before 15th birthday

When Josie runs on Sunday, it will be her 250th junior park run

A schoolgirl is set to complete her 250th junior parkrun ahead of turning 15 when she will only be able to participate in the general category.

Josie, 14, from York, is the first junior parkrunner at the Knavesmire event to achieve the milestone, and is also weeks away from reaching her 100th time volunteering.

The community-led event covers a distance of 2km (1.24 miles) and is open to anyone between the ages of four to 14.

Josie said: "It doesn't matter whether you're running, walking, skipping, jogging - just come down, bring some friends and then it's a lot more fun."

Josie has attended junior parkrun since the age of six, both as a runner and a volunteer, where she regularly leads the group in the warm-up exercises.

Her dad Bill is the Knavesmire junior parkrun director and first got involved to encourage his children to get active.

The volunteer-run event, which takes place every Sunday, attracts on average100 participants per week with the number climbing to nearly 200 in the summer months, he said.

"On the terrible windy, wet days only the really hardcore runners come out - I think we've had a lowest of 13," he explained.

At the start of the year, Josie and her family worked out she could reach her 250 target before her birthday, if she only missed three runs - which meant running in all weathers.

According to Josie, the inspiration to keep showing up even when the rain was pouring was not just to hit her target, but to pay tribute to the volunteers.

"They've had to come out and they're not even running so they're not even warm and they're just cheering you on," she said.

Last year, Josie spoke to BBC Radio York about parkrun's 20th anniversary, describing the event as "amazing" at bringing the community together.

Josie as a "tail" walker for York parkrun

"Anyone can just join, it doesn't matter where you've come from in life, you can just come and have fun," she said.

She added it was "really nice to see everyone's smiles", especially when leading the younger children in the warm-up exercises.

When she turns 15 later this month, Josie will no longer be able to take part in the junior event, but she's already had plenty of practice at the 5km (3.1 miles) version.

She added she's especially looking forward to the Christmas Day and New Year's Day parkrun, as "everyone is cheering and everyone is happy".

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