FELL Foot parkrun stalwart John Nettleton made it a double celebration on Saturday at the lakeside running event.

John, volunteering as he always does when not running, was presented with a card to mark his 90th birthday.

It was also the fourth anniversary of the parkrun at the National Trust site.

John (MBE) is a former director of Brockhole Outdoor Centre, Brockhole, fell runner, author on Lake District subjects and activity holiday leader.

He recently completed 100 stints as a volunteer at the weekly 5k event, and has run the event 85 times, notching a personal best time of 33.30 a couple of years ago.

John was born in North Yorkshire in 1928, and went to a grammar school in Carlisle, before going on to study at Durham University after doing his national service.

One of John's first experiences of the Lake District fells was climbing Scafell Pike in 1943, after which he became a keen fell walker and runner, taking part in the 1st Lake District Mountain Trial when it started up in 1952. In 1969, he got what he describes as his dream job at the National Park Visitor's centre.

Marking John’s achievements as a volunteer last month, run director Ron Eadington said: “John is a perfect example of what parkrun is all about.”

Another award was made, the annual event director’s shield for the best contribution to Fell Foot parkrun over the past year. This time it went to regular volunteers Kate, Andy, Will and Ned Brayshaw.

Photos:

John Nettleton