ECCH’s Lowestoft parkrun marks the 75th birthday of the NHS

East Coast Community Healthcare teamed up with Lowestoft parkrun to celebrate the 75^th anniversary of the NHS.

Around 400 participants ran, jogged or walked the 5km course along the seafront on Saturday, many of them wearing blue to mark the birthday event. ECCH had a team of 23 runners and also supplied bottles of water to everyone as they crossed the finish line.

The NHS and parkrun UK joined forces at events across the country at the weekend to acknowledge the contribution that the NHS makes to the health of the nation and to celebrate all the staff and volunteers, past and present, who have made the NHS what it is.

It was the second time parkrun UK and the NHS have worked together in this way. In 2018, for the 70^th anniversary of the NHS, a UK-wide celebration was held which saw more than 146,000 people taking part as walkers, joggers, runners and volunteers, many of whom had never been to a parkrun before.

ECCH’s Associate Director of Population Health, Nick Wright said: “We are really grateful to Lowestoft parkrun for dedicating their weekly event to the NHS, and I’m delighted that so many colleagues decided to join in. It was great fun and the sun shone down on us. I hope those who took part from ECCH will decide to make it a regular occurrence and encourage others to do the same.”

Lowestoft parkrun’s Rob Fawcett said: “Our celebratory event provided the perfect opportunity to show our gratitude and appreciation to all past and present employees as well as services of the NHS. This was community cohesion at its finest.”