ALL-round sportswomen Teresa Strickland has just completed her 500th parkrun in Harlow.

Bishop’s Stortford resident Teresa achieved the remarkable feat on Saturday morning down at the town park course.

Teresa ran her first parkrun ( a distance of 5k) in Chelmsford on June 15th 2013 and has been a dedicated park runner since then.

She has run Harlow 151 times, Castle Park 52 times and Chelmsford 49 times.

Teresa has also run 150 different park runs from the spiritual home in Bushy Park, across to Cardiff and a short flight to the Netherlands at Zuiderpark in Den Haag.

On Saturday, Teresa was joined by members of the running community to celebrate her achievement.

As is traditional, Teresa also brought cake!

Teresa is a highly respected member of the running community and is known for her positive attitude.

Harlow Junior Parkrun Director Catherine Penketh, who has also run over 500 parkruns, was fulsome in her praise for Teresa.

Catherine said: “Teresa and I started parkrun around the same time, me in late 2012 and her in June 2013 and our paths first crossed at Harlow parkrun in December 2017 and our parkrun journey’s have been similar ever since.

“Teresa has completed 500 parkrun at 151 different locations, while also volunteering an incredible 333 times.

“It was while running together at Castle Park parkrun in 2018 that I managed to convince her to become an Event Director for the upcoming Grange Paddocks junior parkrun.

“Grange Paddocks junior parkrun has now had 277 events and Teresa is still in charge, along with Patricia Poole.

“We have run together at many parkrun locations, including Severn Bridge parkrun in Wales, Bushy parkrun (the home of parkrun) and an incredibly hilly Queen Elizabeth parkrun in the New Forest.

“Our friendship demonstrates that parkrun is about much more than a 5k run or walk on a Saturday morning, it is a true community event that brings people together with similar interests.

“Teresa always has a smile on her face and a positive spirit. She is an inspiration for other runners and I send huge congratulations to her on completing her 500th parkrun and earning the much coveted blue 500 t-shirt!”

Teresa is a multi talented sportswomen and was a stalwart of Bishops Stortford Hockey Club for many years. She still plays cricket for St Margaretsbury Ladies CC.

She told YH: “I just love the whole ethos of parkrun. There’s no pressure. it’s not a race and everyone is so friendly. You will always find someone to chat to”.

Teresa is now entitled to the much coveted blue 500 parkrun t-shirts, which she will no doubt be wearing as she undertakes parkrun 501.