Teignmouth was plundered by a crew of marauding pirates on Saturday (September 26) as the town’s parkrun celebrated its sixth anniversary.

Pirate and cutlass at Teignmouth Promenade parkrun
Swashbuckling fun at the 6th anniversary of Teignmouth Promenade parkrun (Jo Bowery / MDA)

Around 350 runners tackled the 5km course along the seafront with many donned in pirate costumes to mark the occasion.

Father and daughter pirates run Teignmouth Promenade parkrun
Pirates young and old left the briny deep for the 6th anniversary of Teignmouth Promenade parkrun (Jo Bowery / MDA)

Event director Paul Burgess, who set up Teignmouth’s parkrun, paid tribute to everyone who has contributed to the weekly event. ‘Teignmouth Promenade parkrun has been an amazing success, but we couldn’t have done it without over 600 volunteers, 55,000 runners and over 100,000 people watching,’ he said.

More than 600 volunteers have helped Teignmouth Promenade parkrun reach its 6th anniversary
L-R Paul Burgess, Alison Ford, Adrian Lesley and Geoff Webber were among the volunteer team for the 6th anniversary of Teignmouth Promenade parkrun (Jo Bowery / MDA)

‘I want to say a massive thank-you to all our volunteers and everyone who has been a part of it,’ he added.

Teignmouth Mayor Cate Williams and Teignmouth Promenade parkrun event director Paul Burgess at the event's 6th anniversary pirate run
Teignmouth mayor, councillor Cate Williams, and Teignmouth Promenade parkrun event director, Paul Burgess, thank all the volunteers and runners who have helped the event reach its 6th anniversary (Jo Bowery / MDA)

Martin Wrigley MP paid tribute to the efforts Paul has put into setting up and maintaining Teignmouth’s parkrun. ‘This event is great for the town and Paul has put in a lot of work to keep it going,’ he commented. ‘Congratulations to the volunteers and runners,’ he added.

Martin Wrigley MP and Geoff Pringle in the shark outfit at the Teignmouth Promenade Parkrun 6th birthday.
Martin Wrigley MP and shark Geoff Pringle (Jo Bowery / MDA)

Among the runners at the parkrun’s sixth birthday was Tom Pearce, who was celebrating his 100thparkrun, and Sarah Ransome, who was running her 50th parkrun.

Tom Pearce and nephew Edward Little at Teignmouth Promenade's 6th anniversary
L-R Edward Little with his uncle Tom Pearce, who celebrated his 100th parkrun on the 6th anniversary of Teignmouth Promenade parkrun (Jo Bowery / MDA)

Pirates Katie Mowll and Linda Diggines were keen not to miss out on the party atmosphere. ‘We were here for the first Teignmouth Promenade parkrun so we couldn’t miss the 6th anniversary,’ Linda said.

Katie Mowll and Linda Diggines in pirate dress for the 6th anniversary of Teignmouth Promenade parkrun
L-R Katie Mowll and Linda Diggines are parkrun regulars (Jo Bowery / MDA)

The first Teignmouth Promenade parkrun was held on September 29 2018. Since then, 55,068 runners have completed the course with an average finish time of 30 minutes and 13 seconds.

Teignmouth Promenade's 6th anniversary parkrun fastest pirate
The fastest pirate to finish Teignmouth Promenade's 6th anniversary parkrun (Jo Bowery / MDA)