Parkrun: Northampton runner, 88, completes 400th event

Bob Emmerson said fellow runners and supporters stood and clapped him as he crossed the finish line

An 88-year-old has become the oldest person to complete 400 Parkruns.

Bob Emmerson crossed the finish line at Northampton Parkrun, after the events in England were restarted following at 16-month pause due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

He said it was a "really pleasant morning that was not too hot or cold" and now wants to get to 500.

"I will just have to take it one week at a time, I can't give it up. If I don't turn up it will be a big event."

The organisers of Northampton Parkrun made a special announcement before Mr Emmerson's 400th run

His wife of 68 years, Thelma Emmerson, 85, said: "I knew he would do it, as he said he would do it.

"I'm so proud of him, for all the races he's run in and for all the ones he's won."

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Mr Emmerson said he did not know his event time, as "I don't really worry about my time".

In his younger days, Mr Emmerson finished the London Marathon in under three hours and ran the London to Brighton Ultra Race.

He ran with his 67-year-old son, who is also called Bob

"If Covid hadn't have happened, I would have been on 470 by now," he said.

"The target is going to be 500 but I will be 90 by that time I think."

Before the run, Mr Emmerson said he had paraphrased John Mills in the 1958 film, Ice Cold in Alex, which includes a famous scene where he downs a pint of lager, which was later turned into an advert.

"[I] said it was 'worth waiting for'," he said.

Michelle Lewis, Northampton Parkrun run director, said Mr Emmerson's run was "the icing on the cake"

"I hope to continue running 21 miles a week, 1,000 miles a year, as my total is now about 115,000 miles."

But for the time being his main priority is to look after his wife, after she fractured a bone in her pelvis a few weeks ago, he added.

Mr Emmerson said he loved the feeling of "freedom" that running gives him