Ipswich’s community runners have helped parkrun break through a new barrier.

More than 300 people braved the cold last Saturday to take part in the parkrun which has now clocked up nearly 44,000 kilometres – the equivalent to running round the equator.

Since its launch in September 2012, there have been a total of 8,000 individual runs in the free weekly community 5km events which have recently switched to Christchurch Park from Chantry Park.

Rory Marriott, Ipswich parkrun’s event director, said: “The distance our participants have managed to cover in such a relatively short space of time is further evidence of how the Ipswich community has fully embraced the parkrun concept and made it the success it is.”

Christchurch Park now hosts the free family-orientated run every Saturday morning, with runners setting off around the picturesque route at 9am.

And next month the runners are going to stand out even more – wearing red clothing to support the British Heart Foundation’s Ramp Up The Red fundraiser.

Ipswich became one of the UK’s official heart towns in 2012 following a joint bid by Ipswich Borough Council and the British Heart Foundation to promote the charity in the town.

Last week the Ipswich Star reported that Suffolk was given a £300,000 grant by Sport England in a bid to improve fitness levels across the county.

Among the projects to benefit from the grant are proposals for four more parkruns.

Are parkrun events the way forward in improving fitness levels? Write to Your Letters, Ipswich Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN.