Brooks celebrates 20 years of parkrun with special edition fundraising Ghost 16 shoes

Can you believe it's been 20 years since the first ever parkrun ? I mean, we're fairly sure people were running in parks before October 2, 2004. But that date marks the first official parkrun event in London’s Bushy Park. And Brooks Running is launching a eye-catching new edition of its popular Ghost 16 running shoes to mark the occasion.

If you buy a pair of Brooks x parkrun Ghost 16 shoes, you’ll also be helping to secure the future of the weekly 5km runs worldwide, because Brooks will be donating 15% of the profits from the sale each show back to the parkrun charity .

That first Bushy parkrun back in 2004 was actually called the Bushy Park Time Trial. It grew into a network of similar events called the UK Time Trials, before adopting the name parkrun in 2008 and expanding into other countries (reaching the US in 2012).

There are now parkrun events every Saturday in more than 2,300 locations in 22 countries across the world (although, oddly, not in France ).

“Celebrate the sense of togetherness that’s found at every parkrun and the feel-good vibes that comes from being active, social and outside,” says the blurb on the Brooks site . “So, if you’re ready to find that feeling with us, let’s run there.”

Jim Miles, Director of Marketing for Brooks said: “We’re excited to celebrate the 20th anniversary of parkrun with the limited-edition Brooks x parkrun Ghost 16.

"Parkrun has become a cornerstone of running culture, offering over 1,000 events every single week in the UK with over 150,000 participants per week, for free. They are naturally aligned to Brooks and what we do, making them a perfect strategic partner for us.”

The Brooks x parkrun Ghost 16 will be available to buy from October 1.

• The best trail running shoes 2024: get a grip on winter's trickiest terrain
• The best trail running shorts 2024: for taking on technical terrain