A Saturday morning and an early autumn chill hangs in the air. I meander the short distance from the car park with a huge smile on my face. It is almost time for parkrun.

On this particular day, though, I’m not running. Instead, I’m on the volunteer roster. Time to be a “high-vis hero”. Except rather than a cape, I’ll be donning a hot-pink tabard to muck in and do my bit.

For the uninitiated, parkrun might seem like a curious concept: a free community event organised entirely by volunteers that allows people to run, jog or walk, as they choose, around a 5K (3.1 mile) course.

There are currently 834 parkrun locations across the UK, with Scotland playing host to 71 each Saturday, including its newest additions at Crinan Canal and Skinadin on Skye.

The first ever parkrun took place in 2004, an idea coined by Paul Sinton-Hewitt who, while unable to run due to injury, began organising weekly timed events for a few friends at Bushy Park in London.

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Soon other people started showing up asking to take part too. In the two decades since, parkrun has grown into a global phenomenon. And it celebrates its 20th birthday next weekend on October 5.

Everyone has their own parkrun story. Mine is newer than some but already packed with countless joyous memories that have taken me from Dundee to Dumfries and on many other happy adventures in between.

The debut chapter of this journey began in mid-2023 when I made my parkrun debut at Strathclyde Park in Lanarkshire. Instantly, I knew I was part of something special.

How so? Because the words “all human life is here” popped into my head. This truncated quote from the writer Anthony Burgess is a favourite of mine. Turn up at any parkrun, look around the sea of faces and I bet you echo this same sentiment.

There are babies and toddlers being pushed in buggies, teenagers, those in their twenties and thirties, the middle-aged (like me), right through to energetic octogenarians. Oh, and dogs too (as I always say, one of the best bits about parkrun is getting to meet all the dogs).

Yet, arguably what makes it most special, is the legion of dedicated volunteers. They act as marshals, timekeepers, photographers, pacers, set up and pack away equipment, scan barcodes, process results, write reports and update social media.

Everyone takes a turn, with the general rule of thumb being that for every 10 parkruns you participate in, you should do at least one volunteer shift.

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On my latest stint, I was scheduled to be a funnel manager, a role which involves ensuring folk stay in the correct order as they pass through the finish area in a long snaking queue (and hence get the correct time and overall position).

I was then asked if I’d switch to helping out with distributing the finish tokens. A new challenge for me and one I felt slightly nervous about messing up. But I soon realise it’s a lovely job as I get to speak to every single person who crosses the finish line.

In the end, I hand out 439 finish tokens, from the first person home in a little over 15 minutes to the final participant around the hour mark.

All those smiling faces. Some have set personal best times; others are elated to have clocked up another milestone or to have got their weekend off to a brilliant start enjoying a leisurely natter with pals while pootling round the course.

It strikes me that if I hadn’t volunteered and stayed in bed for a Saturday lie-in, I would have missed all this. A beautiful snapshot of humanity.

The same two words pop into my head time and again when I think of parkrun: fortitude and friendship. Hopefully I’ll see you at one soon.

Susan Swarbrick is a columnist and freelance writer who specialises in celebrity interviews, TV content and musings on popular culture. She also loves the outdoors and regularly covers sport. Follow her on X @SusanSwarbrick