A Parkrun event had a record-breaking turnout when a celebrity fitness coach took part.
Joe Wicks visited Ferry Meadows Parkrun in Peterborough as part of a tour of events across England and Scotland.
More than 1,200 runners and walkers descended on the park on Saturday, more than double the event’s average attendance.
Wicks, who is also known as The Body Coach, became a household name during the pandemic when he livestreamed PE lessons to hundreds of thousands of people each morning.
“I like knowing that there’s a family that might never come to Parkrun who are here today,” he told the BBC before the starting klaxon was sounded.
“That, for me, is a win.”
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Co-event director Gary Parr said more than 130 first-timers came to Ferry Meadows on Saturday, about 100 more than on a typical week.
He said Wicks promised before the run he would stay in the park until everyone who wanted to meet him had done so, “and he was true to his word”.
Carly Vine, a personal trainer from nearby Whittlesey, met Wicks on Saturday and thanked him for inspiring her to build her business during lockdown.
She said he was “lovely, charming, and encouraging”.
