Welcome to this week's newsletter

Welcome to this week's newsletter

Welcome to this week's newsletter

Welcome to this week's newsletter

Welcome to this week's newsletter

In this edition of the parkrun newsletter, the launch of the new Big Bay parkrun in Bloubergstrand has been postponed, runners make their way to Woodlands parkrun to celebrates its inaugral event, our stand at the Two Oceans expo was a hit with runners and we take a look at a new parkrun in the Stellenbosch area.

Two Oceans Expo

parkrun South Africa hosted a stand at the Two Oceans expo from the 27th to 29th of March and it turned out to be one of the most popular stands at the pre-Oceans expo. There was huge interest in parkrun and we received enquiries for parkruns from as far afield as Bloemfontein, Harare, Jeffrey’s Bay and Walvis Bay. We were also able to register new parkrunners and print their barcodes on site. The parkrun stand will definitely be present at the Comrades expo at the end of May this year. Thanks to Gill, Jo-Anne, Chris, Bob and David for their help.

Left to right: Bruce Fordyce, Gill Fordyce, David Ashworth & Bob Norris

Cheers for now,

Bruce (email me)

Everybody wants to parkrun the world

February half term – what do you do? My son Simon & I joined my brother and his family out in South Africa to support his son who was playing in a school cricket tour. The first 4 days were spent in Cape Town.

The last few days Simon & I stayed in Johannesburg. Before we went, I had seen that there were some parkruns there, so I contacted Roodeport parkrun. Their event director, David Ashworth, replied saying it was a fair distance from where we were staying, but that Delta parkrun was closer. On writing to them, I heard back from their event director, the country manager for South Africa, Bruce Fordyce. Unfortunately he would not be there the weekend we ran as he was organising a race in Lesotho, but he would arrange for someone to collect us from our hotel.

That someone was his daughter Cara. parkruns in South Africa start at 8am due to the heat, so she collected us at 7am – not easy to get a 15 year old up to be ready by then! How is a parkrun in South Africa different from one in London? Well not much – it is a timed 5k run organised by a group of cheerful people for a group of cheerful runners. However, as it was already 25C by the time we started, and Johannesburg is at an altitude of 1,700m I took it very easy. Simon started with me but soon eased past and drifted ahead, finishing in 37th position in a time of 26:18. I plodded in at 27:59 for 51st. We also had to share the narrow paths with a few mountain bikers – made a change from the dogs on Wimbledon Common.

After the run, we chatted with a few of the other finishers. Some were focussed on the Comrades marathon, but there I didn’t hear about a lot of other local races – 10km, half-marathon etc that we have locally. We are spoiled in SW London! Afterwards, Cara took us to breakfast with the other regular volunteers including Bruce’s brother-in-law. A massive thank you to the Fordyce family and to all at Delta for making us welcome.

Where the parkruns did differ is that whilst my 51st place in 27:59 was 28% down the field of 181 runners; the following week back at Wimbledon Common, I finished in 91st place out of 285 runners (32%) in a time of 22:55 – some 5 minutes faster. At Delta, the average time for all finishers is 33:30; at Wimbledon it is 25:05 (I love the stats available on the parkrun website).

The week we ran at Delta only 16% were members of clubs; at Wimbledon it was 26%. The Delta % was skewed by many first-timers from a local company that was using parkrun as a team building exercise. Despite that, I think there is considerable scope for local clubs to attract new members, just as the Windmilers have gained many recruits from the local parkrun.

Another difference was the impact that parkrun has had on some of the parks in Johannesburg. This is from the South Africa newsletter in January:

So parkrun is having a positive effect on the local community that stretches far beyond its running / exercise aims.

Looking at the age-graded records at Delta, I was not surprised to see that Bruce held the best time for my age category. However, the VW45-49 best, and the fastest lady overall, at the time of writing, was a certain Zola Budd Pieterse. It didn’t say if she ran it bare-foot.

Colin Harris

Event News

Big Bay parkrun

The launch of the new Big Bay parkrun, the first parkrun to hit Cape Town along Bloubergstrand, has been postponed.

This parkrun launch has been postponed until the 4th May, but the wait will be well worth it as Graeme and Bev Powell have chosen a stunning route along the seafront. Bob Norris (Nahoon Point), David Ashworth (Roodepoort) and I ran the course the morning after the Two Oceans and we all immediately identified this parkrun as a special one. Please join us on the 4th of May for the inaugral event as we bring the joy of parkrun to the Western Cape!

Left to right: Bruce, Bob, David

Delta parkrun

Congratulations to our newest Club-50 member!

Nick Hall finishing his 50th parkrun

Nick Hall who, last Saturday became the 4th South African to earn a red Club 50 shirt. Thanks for your support Nick.

Best wishes,
Delta parkrun team

Modderfontein parkrun

With the onset of winter, it seems inevitable that outdoor exercise, and parkrun, might take a back seat. However, for us at the Modderfontein Reserve parkrun, we believe that outdoor exercise, in a safe park environment, cannot be mimicked in a gym.

Firstly, you run differently, and flex your ankles when running on uneven surfaces. Furthermore you will occasionally run downhill, which tensions muscles differently to running on a flat or uphill and cannot be duplicated on a treadmill. Outdoor exercise also has a tendency to be more strenuous than indoor training. Treadmill runners exert less energy to complete the same distance as those training outdoors, primarily because there is little wind resistance or terrestrial changes indoors.

More importantly there are more overwhelming benefits to running in a park environment. A 2010 study found that even just 5 minutes of exercise in a green space can improve mood and self-esteem. A few smaller studies have found that people have lower blood levels of cortisol, a hormone related to stress, after exerting themselves outside as compared with inside.

While every little bit of exercise counts, most of us could probably afford to do a little bit more. It is recommended that an adult does 2 hours and 30 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio every week, plus 2 or more sessions of strength training. According to the BBC, a 2011 study found that outdoor exercise was associated with greater decreases in tension, confusion, anger and depression when compared to indoor activity.

Taking your workout outside is also a great (and free!) way to soak up some additional Vitamin D. In a study undertaken at the University of Illinois-Champaign it was established that children with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder concentrated better after a 20-minute walk in the park, rather than a walk through the city or neighbourhood streets. It may be especially helpful for people with a few extra kilograms to lose, since overweight people are almost twice as likely not to get enough Vitamin D.

A study last year of older adults found, objectively, that those who exercised outside exercised longer and more often than those working out indoors. In conducting the study, researchers asked men and women over 65 about their exercise habits and then fitted them all with electronic apparatuses that measured their activity levels for a week. The results of the experiment showed that the participants who exercised outside, usually by walking, were significantly more physically active than those who exercised indoors completing, on average, about 30 minutes more exercise each week than those who walked or otherwise exercised indoors.

In winter, it is all too easy to skimp on workouts. Exercising outdoors is a reinforcing behaviour and persons participating in outdoor activities often feel a greater desire to repeat the activity at a later date than they would after a gym workout. Studies haven’t yet established why, physiologically, exercising outside might improve dispositions or inspire greater commitment to an exercise program. There is speculation, however, that exposure to direct sunlight, known to affect mood, plays a role.

Warm regards
Jo & Chris

North Beach parkrun

Hayibo, even Durban has felt the cold this week! The Durban shorts and slops vibe has been ditched for jerseys and extra blankets.

Putting one foot in front of the other every Saturday at 8am for a 5km fix is still top priority for new and old parkrunners. With attendance higher than ever before, we think Durban loves the 8am start even with the cooler temperatures. With over 900 registered parkrunners who have run over 6,815km in the last 6 months we think Durbs likes parkrun. So much so that we just have to add another one. Can it be possible? Yes!!!!

KZN would like to welcome Hillcrest to the party (queue Eye of the Tiger theme music)…with the new Shongweni parkrun starting soon. Sorry Jo’burg and East London, we can’t let you have all the fun. This parkrun will be a contrast to North Beach swopping beach, waves and tanned bodies for lush greenery, beautiful trails, trees, horses and of course fresh air. Be sure to keep updated with all the new parkruns starting up around the country by chatting to the volunteers or checking out the parkrun website.

Well done to all the youngsters who have made it to North Beach parkrun. You will be getting your 10-club T-shirts soon.

We hope to see you at the next parkrun.
Stefan

Roodepoort parkrun

Please diarise the 27th of April. Our parkrun will be celebrating its 1st birthday and we have a host of excitement for parkrunners on that day! Come along for the shoe draw and enjoy Champagne and orange juice as well as cupcakes. adidas will also be paying us special visit! Keep a lookout for more by visiting our facebook page.

Safe running,
David

Root 44 parkrun

Legendary Olympic silver medallist Elana Meyer will be launching a parkrun in Stellenbosch at the Root 44 market. Immediately after running the Big Bay parkrun Bob, David and I joined Elana and her husband Jacques on an easy jog over the parkrun course. This route is another beauty and will be extremely popular as it will be run at the same time as the bustling farm market commences.

Bruce, David and Bob running with Elana Meyer

Bruce Fordyce

Woodlands parkrun

Our Woodlands parkrun had its inaugural run on Saturday. Event director, Staci Katsivalis did a wonderful job at the launch which attracted 56 runners. Staci is famous for being the daughter of Comrades legend Alan Robb and for running all her marathons in sandals! The Woodlands course includes two laps of the nature reserve in which there are small herds of Impala and Springbok and wonderful birdlife.

Woodlands parkrunners enjoying the new route

We encourage SA parkrunners to visit this new event for a variation in their parkrunning weekend and to run amoungst the beautiful wildlife!

Woodlands team

In this edition of the newsletter, Roodepoort parkrun celebrates its first birthday. The scales tip as SA reaches its ten thousandth member! We take a look at the historic significance of Modderfontein Reserve and a Sunrise-on-Sea parkrun member organises a clean-up of their route.

Congratulations to Roodepoort parkrun on celebrating its first birthday on Saturday! Well done to event director David Ashworth and his team, comprising Ann Boniwell, Sonja Ashworth and Trevor Ashworth. Who would have thought a year ago when a small band of 12 runners ran the first Roodepoort parkrun that a year later a group of 77 would be running Roodepoort parkrun consistently. As always thank you to adidas and Blue Label Telecoms for their support on the day. Another Big Thank You to Florida Running Club for supplying the champagne, birthday cake and other refreshments.

Roodepoort parkrun’s birthday

There were far fewer than 77 parkrunners the previous Saturday when countrywide lashing rain reduced parkrunners to a handful all over the country. In fact, at Modderfontein Reserve parkrun there were more volunteers (4) than there were runners (3).

However the message is clear - unless there are dangerous weather conditions - SA parkruns will always go ahead. Such is the enthusiasm for parkruns in South Africa there are always some hardy souls willing to brave the elements.

In May there will be some exciting growth with the launch of three new parkruns. Graeme Powell’s ‘Big Bay parkrun’ in Blouberg Strand will be our first Cape Town parkrun. The following week, Jason Morsink will launch ‘Uvongo parkrun’ and Elana Meyer will launch ‘Root 44’ on 25th May in Stellenbosch.

parkrun SA has registered its 10 thousandth member this month and worldwide parkrun numbers went over ½ a million.

Cheers for now,

Bruce (get in touch)

Event News

Ebotse parkrun

Following on from our new-born Springbuck in February at Ebotse Estate, we have another junior “Springbok” in the making. Dirk Jansen Jnr. is only five and a half years old and by the time you finished reading this article he would have completed his 10th parkrun at Ebotse.

Barely tall enough to reach the elbows of the others. I was astounded that he could run like that. To prevent burnout, his coach, grandparent Dirk Janson Senior, only allows him to run every second week.

Left: Right: Dirk Jansen Jnr. with his Grandparent Dirk Jansen Snr. at Ebotse parkrun

It would be interesting to find out from other parkruns around the world if there is perhaps a younger runner than Dirk. Well done to Dirk Jnr. and Snr!

Torrential rains hit Ebotse on the 20 April and storms affected many other parkruns in South Africa. Well done to the “Four Musketeers” who took up the challenge to face the adverse conditions and still run. Well done Martin Codier, Peter Hawthorne, Iain Morshead and our only lady for the day, Dawn Vollmer.

Till next time,
Gary Jackson

Modderfontein parkrun

History and Nature at Modderfontein Reserve parkrun

The Modderfontein Nature Reserve is the second largest private reserve in Gauteng, covering an area of 275 hectares to include a portion of the Modderfontein Spruit. There are 4 dams (Fish Eagle Dam, John Voelker Dam, Grebe dam and Blue Crane Dam), with a variety of habitats ranging from grasslands, forests, riverine vegetation to wetlands.

At the heart of the Reserve is a small complex of heritage buildings fondly called "Isidleke" which means "the nest". Isidleke comprises of 4 buildings, namely; Dobb’s House, a barn, the shooting tower and an office complex.

The old barn was built in 1896 for Sir Alfred Beit, who was once the owner of a hunting lodge in the area. The only part of the hunting lodge remaining today is the shooting tower. The dam keeper’s house - Dobb’s House, was originally constructed in 1934. In 1991, the office block was built together with ablution facilities catering for up to 100 visitors.

Modderfontein parkrun: Shooting Tower

The barn forms the focus for the finish of Modderfontein Reserve parkrun, close to the western fringe of the Blue Crane Dam.

An attraction of the Reserve has always been the wide variety of birds that can be found. The number of recorded species currently stands at 253. Birds such as the Fish Eagle and Crimson Breasted Shrike are regularly seen in the Reserve, with seasonal visits by the Long Crested Eagle and other interesting birds of prey. A pair of blue cranes have bred here for the last 15 years.

The Reserve has always had small populations of Black-Backed Jackal, Steenbok, Duiker and Genet. The game variety has been boosted with the introduction of Zebra, Black Wildebeest, Red Hartebeest, Blesbok, Reedbuck, and Highveld Springbok. At present, these animals are restricted to an area in the north-west portion of the Reserve.

Eager naturalists walking through the area may also have the privilege of seeing some of the Leguaan that are resident along the Modderfontein Spruit, as well as the Cape Clawless Otter, various Mongooses/Meerkats and Hedgehogs.

This is just some of what we have to offer at Modderfontein parkrun!

We look forward to welcoming eager nature-watching visitors from other parkruns.

Regards
Chris

Roodepoort parkrun

Roodepoort parkrunners were treated to cake, muffins, champagne and fruit juice at our first birthday celebrations on Saturday. Despite the Cradle of Human Kind half marathon taking place on the same day and the RAC 60km Comrades training run the next day, we still welcomed 77 finishers. The field has certainly grown since our inaugral event on 28 April last year, attended by an intimate group of 12 runners!

One of the major sponsors of parkrun South Africa, adidas, joined in the birthday festivities along with their ‘adivan’ to showcase a range of fantastic and highly recommended running shoes.

Thank you to Dunmar Security for their contribution at Roodepoort parkun. Over the past few months their presence on Saturday mornings makes everyone feel at ease parking their cars at the start of the run.

Marlene Boessenkool was drawn as the winner of the Randburg Runner shoe draw this month! Congratulations and enjoy your prize!

The community of parkrunners have come to the party in more ways that one this week, by responding to our appeal for old running shoes. We have collected three large shopping bags of shoes which will be donated to development runners in Soweto. Thank you to everyone for your kind contributions!

Safe running
David

The steps at Nahoon Point parkrun

Sunrise-on-Sea parkrun

The new "Little Brother" of Nahoon Point parkrun has reached its mid-teens with the sixteenth event being run last Saturday. Sunrise-on-Sea parkrun has grown with leaps and bounds after starting with a record breaking 134 runners on January 5th, 2013. Over the past sixteen weeks we were honored to have two comrades winners running the event, namely Shaun Meikeljohn and Bruce Fordyce. James Matson from the U.K. chose our event to run his 100th parkrun and promptly got married that afternoon at one of our beautiful resorts!

Sunrise-on-Sea parkrun has a very dedicated and loyal team of volunteers. Some of whom have not missed an event thus far, come rain or shine. The same goes for the locals from the East Coast. On the 6th of April, one of our volunteers organised a clean up. We cleaned the road and beach that forms part of our route. Well done to Carol, parkrunners and all volunteers. I believe this initiative will take place on a regularly basis in future.

I would like to leave you with the following post from our facebook page that puts the spirit of our parkrun in perspective. Tiamari has run all our events to date and had the following to say.

I was the "sweeper" at the parkrun yesterday. It was rather liberating to run and have to make sure you are the LAST runner to finish! I was stuck behind a lovely older couple, who were lovingly holding hands all the way. So I stopped at every marshal for a chat and then ran furiously to catch up with couple once again. It took me a full hour and five minutes to complete the 5km. We were sopping wet by that time of course as it was raining cats and dogs. I was more tired than the mature couple because of my last desperate sprint to the finishing line to catch up with them after an exceptionally long chat at the water hole. What a marvelous way to start your Saturday morning!

This says it all!

Happy parkrunning,

Regards,
Danie

In this edition of the parkrun newsletter we explore the meaning of parkrun and show the diversity of the first runners home. adidas visits parkruns around the country with their adivan to showcase their product line. The new Uvongo parkrun is off to a great start in KwaZulu Natal as is the first Cape Town parkrun in Bloubergstrand named Big Bay parkrun.

We at parkrun deliberately avoid referring to our Saturday morning runs as races. We prefer to allow every parkrunner to run or walk at the pace they feel most comfortable with and to enjoy their own parkrun experience. So recently I have been nursing a bad knee injury but in the true spirit of parkrun I have found a great deal of enjoyment at parkrun by just jogging along slowly or indeed even walking. Thanks Valerie Maclean for your great company at the back of the field at Roodepoort two weeks ago. It was a wonderful autumn parkrun experience walking along, chatting and being lapped by the huffing and puffing frontrunners.

That said, it has been really interesting to take note of some amazing runs in recent parkrun results. Understanding that everyone who completes a parkrun is a winner, in recent weeks the first to finish have incluced a runner in the 60-65 age category, oldest finisher, a female runner and a junior!

Congratulations “JP” Deris for charging home in 25:20 on the extremely testing Nahoon Point course. 25:20 is a quick time for anyone but for a runner in the 60-65 category that is an extra special run. We expect great things from Ann Boniwell in the Comrades marathon in a week’s time and she underlined her state of readiness by trouncing the whole field at Roodepoort parkrun last Saturday.

Not to be undone our juniors have consistently surprised us at various parkruns around South Africa. 14 year old Kaid Morsink has two great performances at Uvongo parkrun.

Uvongo parkrun was launched a couple of weeks ago in lashing rain. This still didn’t deter some hearty South Coast parkrunners from braving the elements and helping to launch this very scenic parkrun. Well done to Jason and Nicci Morsink and their enthusiastic team of volunteers and thanks to Deputy Mayor Johnny de Wet for his kind words of encouragement.

Left to right: Gill Fordyce, Dep. Mayor Johnny de Wet, Bruce Fordyce, Jason Morsink

Speaking of scenic! The week before the launch of the Uvongo parkrun Graeme and Bev Powell launched the Big Bay parkrun at Bloubergstrand in Cape Town. Cape Town has been crying out for a parkrun and at last it has happened. To add some athletic talent to the occasion, Elana Meyer (Olympic silver medallist) and Ryan Sandes (World Class trail runner) made an appearance and took part in the run. Ryan ran with his dog on a lead. Elana will shortly be joining the parkrun event director family tomorrow as we launch the new Route 44 parkrun in Stellenbosch. Read more about this fantastic parkrun in future newsletters.

Next weekend sees the running of the Comrades ultra-marathon between Durban and Pietermartizburg. Best of luck to those parkrunners taking part in this auspicious event! parkrun will have a stand at the Comrades expo at the International Convention Centre in Durban from Thursday, 30 May to Saturday, 1 June. Please pop in to say hello and encourage all of your running friends to register at the stand.

Cheers for now,

Bruce (get in touch)

Event News

Ebotse parkrun

Some photos from Ebotse parkrun

Modderfontein parkrun

The Modderfontein Reserve parkrun course record was shattered once again this last weekend, not for the first time, nor the second, but for the third time by a parkrunner debuting at Modderfontein Reserve parkrun.

At the Inaugural event the course record was founded by non-other than the “Fordyce Assassin” Anrich Zimmerman, who cruised through the field, pipping country manager Bruce Fordyce by a mere fifteen seconds. Then came along Gustav Roos who after a 25 kilometre training run, to the start of event # 10, trotted out nineteen minutes and twenty seconds making history by being the first to break the twenty-minute mark at the Reserve. Six weeks later, Quintin van Zyl breezed through the field and reset the record to nineteen minutes and two seconds.

Event # 19 saw Modderfontein Reserve’s first sub nineteen minute as Glyn Allen scorched through the field to drop thirty-six seconds from the previous record, finishing in eighteen minute and twenty-six seconds. In the Juniors, Kyle Arendse reached the prestigious milestone of achieving Ten parkruns, all of these at Modderfontein Reserve parkrun. Congratulations, Kyle!

Kyle Arendse flying to his 10th parkrun

Nahoon Point parkrun

Left: Nahoon Point parkrun reflections. Right: JP Deris, at age 60 – finished first at Nahoon Point parkrun

Roodepoort parkrun

We were delighted to welcome the adidas team along with their adivan at Roodepoort parkrun last Saturday. adidas offered a range of shoes that runners were able try out on their run, as well as free foot scans. parkrunners were encouraged to sign up to the adidas three stripes programme to enjoy special offers and notification of new products. A lucky winner was drawn from those who signed up on the day. Well done to Lauren Tippet for winning and being awarded with a pair of adidas shoes!

The adivan and Samantha telling runners about the adidas range

Congratulations to junior parkrunner Ethan Gray for completing 10 parkruns! Not only has Ethan regularly taken part in a parkrun event, he and his brother Tristan have become regular volunteers at our events. Many thanks to them both!

It is unfortunate that on a few of our parkrun Saturdays we have been met with a litter-filled park. A huge thank you to Morne Van Jaarsveld and his father Neil, for noticing the mess left by others and for organising a litter cleanup of their own! You are absolute stars! We hope to organise a collective effort in future.

Safe running,
David

Volunteer Profile

Name:  Ann Boniwell

Club:  Nedbank Running Club Central Gauteng

Age:  29

Home parkrun:  Roodepoort parkrun

Occupation:  Attorney

Number of runs:  10

Number of times volunteered:  33

What do you do at parkruns:  Usually time-keeping… and I hurl abuse at the more regular parkrunners

How has parkrun changed your running:  I have replaced an occassional weekly timetrial with a parkrun event. It adds an “off-road” dynamic to my training and gives me a reason to get out of bed early on a Saturday morning.

What do you like about parkrun:  I enjoy sharing an event with people of different ages and levels of speed and fitness. Parkrun isn’t about who is out in front setting the course record… its about the young families participating in an event together, runners (and walkers) keen to exercise their furry friends and a community gathering together to share a fun-filled hour or half hour of good clean entertainment (weather permitting).

Most memorable or funniest parkrun moment:  My first parkrun at Delta park. I was out from London (where I first heard about parkrun) to visit my boyfriend (now fiance). My boyfriend and I arrived 3 minutes late for the start of the run, but decided to run anyway and ended up finishing front of the pack. Needless to say… we haven’t been invited back to Delta park since

In this eddition of the SA parkrun newsletter, Comrades takes centre stage in the running community and North Beach parkrun attracts runners from all over the world at their pre-Comrades parkrun. SA Gears up for the launch of another parkrun, luck number 13, this Saturday in KZN!

This month the Comrades marathon dominated everything in the South African running world. However, parkrun SA was able to tag along in grand style. Many of our parkrunners, both International and national, participated in South Africa’s most famous race. There are too many individual “war stories” to list them all. However, the two that stand out are those of parkrunners Andrew Wainwright and Tracy Rankin. Andrew took his first running steps in January at the Modderfontein Reserve parkrun. Five months later he ran his first Comrades, earning a Vic Clapham medal. Tracy, whose home parkrun is Delta Park, is the proud owner of a club-50 T-shirt and achieved a bronze medal on Comrades day. Tracy started running in order to simply participate at parkruns. Now she has completed a number of marathons and the Comrades itself. Congratulations to Andrew and Tracy!

Tracy and Andrew

Arguably the best performance of this year’s Comrades marathon belongs to former Comrades champion, Shaun Meiklejohn. Shaun ran 6 hours 46 minutes to win the masters (50-55) trophy. The age grading for this performance would be a 90% at least!!. Shaun has run a few parkruns himself.

It was wonderful to welcome parkrunners from around the World to Durban’s North Beach parkrun on Saturday 1st June. A record field of over 200 parkrunners toed the line on a bright sunny Durban morning. South African parkruns have never seen as many 100 T’s and 50 T’s at a single venue before. There was a special welcome for Richmond parkrun event director, Karen Weir who like so many that Saturday jogged North Beach slowly and gently. (There was the small matter of 90 kilometres of brutal hills looming the very next morning to consider!)

North Beach parkrun

The parkrun stand was once again at a major race Expo and it was a hive of activity. Not only was it one of the busiest stands at the Expo but the stand was given a silver award for excellence from the Comrades marathon association.

Left to Right: Jenna van der Merwe, Bruce Fordyce, Karen Weir, Pete Garthwaite, Stefan Van Der Merwe and parkrun visitor at the parkrun stand at the Comrades Expo

This Saturday sees the launch of our 13th parkrun in South Africa. KwaZulu-Natal will launch its 3rd parkrun at Shongweni / Hillcrest under the directorship of Pete and Erita Garthwaite. There has been a demand for a parkrun in the Hillcrest area, so Pete and Erita should will be very busy managing this event. Hot on the heels of the launch of the Hillcrest event will be the Pietermaritzburg parkrun, hosted by Comrades greats, Shaun Miekeljohn and Kerry Koen.

Cheers for now,

Bruce (get in touch)

event news

North Beach parkrun

We have had a crazy few weeks with the Comrades Expo & Comrades Marathon being held in our backyard. Even though it was a bit manic it was an amazing experience to have all the visitors at the Expo and the day before the Comrades Marathon – the ultimate human race. Of course with such hype and interest in running we had a new record attendance of 204 parkrunners – this is almost double our previous best turnout, so it was great to see. parkrunners visited us from all over the globe to stretch the legs before the big day. With the pre-Comrades parkrun proving to be such a success we are hoping to make the North Beach parkrun the “unofficial” warm up to the Comrades weekend, so keep you’re an eye out for that. Amongst the crowd we were very fortunate to have Comrades legends Bruce Fordyce, Alan Robb as well as a couple of parkrun event directors from abroad which made this an extra special one for us.

Some great news for Durban parkrunners… We have managed to strike up a relationship with News Café & Cape Town Fish market who will be giving anyone who produces their barcode on a Saturday morning a variety of specials from free coffee with breakfast to “buy one get one free” smoothies – another great reason to get to the beach front on a Saturday morning.

As I am sure many of you are aware North Beach parkrun is now the official fastest parkrun in South Africa with both records held on our coarse (female: Debbie Perry 18:49 & Male: Warren Kidgell 16:40). Our route is flat and fast and a must for anyone visiting the Durbs coast – just don’t improve your PB too much as you may never break it when you head back to your home parkrun…

We hope to see you at the next parkrun!

Regards
Stefan

Sunrise-on-Sea parkrun

Sunrise-on-Sea parkrun was started in this area against the backdrop of a very divided community. It was from the outset the plan of the organizers to use the event as a catalyst to bring people together. It has not been an easy ride up to now, but it is definitely working. We can gladly say that our event now enjoys the support of the vast majority of the greater East Coast community. Also a lot of lessons have been learnt in the process.

We recently held our 21st event and ran the course in reverse, 58 parkrunners turned up and enjoyed the change. Last weekend we had a steep increase in numbers with 87 finishers in our 22nd event. Congratulations to Alex McQuirk and Stella Swart who will be awarded their 10 tees next week.
Our parkrun now supports the Greensleeves shelter for homeless children. We have a old kit collection box and donations of kit and clothing started last week with a huge success. Many thanks to all those who contributed, keep it coming, you are putting a smile on the kids faces! I must also say the we have a number of the children from Greensleeves running our parkrun regularly.

Children from Greensleeves at parkrun

One participant, Tia-Marie Taljaard, shows commitment as she has completed all our events to date, included a PB last week! Her Club-50 T-shirt is beckons. Thank you to our volunteers who attend every week, along with the spirit and camaraderie you bring to our event.

East London experienced many school derby's and sporting events over the last few weeks, that together with the regular rain and cold weather experienced this time of the year, did have a negative influence on our numbers, however, it did not deter the die-hards that turn up every week.

Thanks to our hosts Murambi Country Kitchen and Murambi Roses. If you have not already tried James' breakfast or a cup of coffee, you are missing out!

A long winter lies ahead and we will be out there every Saturday at 8a.m. so come and join us for FUN, ENJOYMENT and A BETTER LIFESTYLE. All are welcome visit our Facebook page Sunriseonsea parkrun.

Happy parkrunning
Danie Bessinger

parkrunner of the week

Name:  Andrew Wainwright

Club:  Nedbank Running Club Central Gauteng

Age:  Mid 30’s or so, last time I remember. But on a good day I feel at least 25

Home parkrun:  Modderfontein Reserve parkrun

Occupation:  Would love to write Lion Tamer or IT Billionaire (they get all the chics), but in truth, a Marketing Strategy & Planning Team Leader

Number of runs:  15

Number of times volunteered:  So glad I did in fact volunteer that 1 time, otherwise this would have been a real embarrassing question to answer!

What do you do at parkruns:  Run… what else do you do a t a parkRUN… or is theres something else I am supposed to do that no one has told me about?

How has parkrun changed your running:  How long do you have? Short’ish answer – I started my parkrun / running “career” on 12 Jan 2013 (after being inactive for a few years since stopping to play club rugby in 2009) and then on 2 June 2013 I ran my first Comrades…with a few other runs in between those dates – ran my first marathon, first 32 km, first 2 Oceans, first Loskop Ultra, and then only did I do my first 21 km after all that. Plus I met some awesomely crazy people along the way! So basically, parkrun has changed my life for the (fitter) better.

What do you like about parkrun:  What’s not to like…we have a great bunch of runners (including me of course), some looney “supporters”, a few wild animals (you met Chris and Jo-Anne right), wonderful scenery, some nutters that run way to fast and break course records and when you mix all that together you get an unforgettable experience.

Most memorable or funniest parkrun moment:  My most memorable has to be the first run…met up with an old school mate I had not seen since we matriculated and he shared his parkrun experiences and how it all lead to running his first road races and suddenly right there, while I was still huffing and puffing from my first parkrun, the bug bit! Plus it is on that day where I met my 2 “coaches”, Chris Midlane and Jo-Anne Buchner, and it has been their guidance, encouragement and belief in me that pushed me to go from parkrun to Comrades in 5 months (and yes I did actually finish Comrades ‘13 in case you were wondering)

In this edition of the parkrun newsletter, you can earn 500 Vitality points at every parkrun - Discovery Vitality announces their official partnership with parkrun SA! Our first parkrunner to reach his Club-100 status on South African soil celebrates at Roodepoort parkrun. We take a look at the success of two of our new parkruns and the display of talent at Root 44!

All South Africa’s event directors were invited to a cocktail party last Friday afternoon where it was announced that Discovery Vitality was to become official partners of parkrun SA. The following morning we celebrated the good news with a special run at Delta Park parkrun. It was a truly festive and happy morning as a record field of 260 parkrunners enjoyed coffee, breakfast, music, and of course, a parkrun. The adidas team were there in full, and board members Ashley Ally and Kabelo also ran. Other excited participants included Craig Nossel and Gidon Novick from Discovery Vitality who had experienced the magic of parkrun several months ago and recognised that the Discovery Vitality parkrun partnership made perfect sense. Without partners like Discovery Vitality adidas, and Blue Label Telecoms it would be impossible to bring parkruns to South Africans everywhere.

Dr. Craig Nossel

PRESS RELEASE – DISCOVERY VITALITY

"Today at a special event at Delta Park in Victory Park, Johannesburg, Vitality, together with sponsors adidas and Blue Label Telecoms announced their new partnership with parkrun South Africa, run by multiple Comrades winner, Bruce Fordyce. Marathon runners and Olympians, René Kalmer, Irvette van Zyl (née van Blerk) and LJ van Zyl, South Africa’s 400m hurdle champion were present.

"Anyone of any ability, age and any fitness level is welcome at the parkrun events, whether you are a runner, jogger or walker," says Dr Craig Nossel, Head of Discovery Vitality. "Vitality is proud to be associated with parkrun South Africa and to support them in encouraging more South Africans to get physically active and fit, as this is something that is core to Vitality."

The exciting news for Vitality members is that every time they run a parkrun they will receive a 500 point reward for every parkrun (15000 maximum a year). To claim their points - they must simply just edit their details on the right hand side of any parkrun newsletter. To activate their Vitality point they only need to do this once.

Under your profile – Click ‘edit your details’; Click ‘Discovery’; Add your South African ID number; Click ‘update’. This will automatically send your details to Discovery Vitality.

Kabelo and Gill finishing parkrun

Ebotse parkrun will be celebrating its first birthday on Saturday. Please bring cake and celebratory eats and remember those party hats. Congratulations to Iain, Gary and Darryl for the wonderful job they have been doing out on the East Rand.

From birthday parties to birthdays! Shongweni/Hillcrest parkrun inaugural run was held two weeks ago. 116 parkrunners were there to run on the very testing course. 1979 Comrades Champion, Piet Vorster was among those braving the Shongweni Hills. Congratulations to Pete and Erita Garthwaite on the launch of their parkrun.

Piet Voster at Shongweni parkrun

There were some jaw-dropping times run at Root 44 parkrun last Saturday. So much so, that some eyebrows were raised as it was noticed that a 4 minutes a kilometre pace was only good enough for 20th place.

These fast times were run by the elite members of Elana Meyer’s Endurocad athletes. Elana will use SA parkrun results as a means of identifying and nurturing talent in future Olympians. This reminds us that parkruns are for everyone, walkers, joggers and even future world champions.

Root 44 parkrun: Gladwin Mazazi, Ettienne Plaatjies and Loyd Bosman

Cheers for now,

Bruce (get in touch)

event news

Uvongo parkrun

It was another glorious morning for event six at Uvongo parkrun. While some places in SA were experiencing cold conditions, we had a beautiful sunrise on a clear morning. All set up and ready to go, the parkrunners started coming in and we had another record attendance.

Our oldest parkrun member, 85 year old Martin Tibbett, was once again in attendance and achieved another personal best. At Martin's first parkrun he was having a coffee with us and we recall saying to him “we hope to see you next week". His reply was "keep hoping". Needless to say, he has been back twice in the three weeks following and has now even brought his daughter, Judy along and she too, is becoming a regular. It is wonderful to see how our South Coast is fervently receiving their parkrun and it is encouraging to see our community members bringing more and more or their friends along.

We were fortunate to have Tim from adidas attend our event to hand out 2 prizes. Tim and I decided to give one of the marshals on the course two specific times and whoever passed him at those times were handed a business card and collected their prize at the finish.

We are also pleased to announce that C-Bali Restaurant is offering all our parkrunners a 10% discount on coffee and breakfast when presenting their barcode after the parkrun.

Remember, Keep Calm and parkrun.

Until next time,
Nicci

Roodepoort parkrun

On Saturday, 8 June, Willem Loison became the first person to celebrate his 100th parkrun on South African soil! Ann Boniwell baked a chocolate cake to for Willem’s 100 parkrun milestone. Willem finished his run, ushered in with a big ‘100’ flag to mark his achievement. Congratulations Willem! We will soon see many more parkrunners following in your club-100 footsteps soon.

Safe running,
David

feedback from the field

parkrunner of the week

Name:  Willem Loison

Club:  Not Associated

Age:  43

Home parkrun:  Roodepoort parkrun

Occupation:  Full-time student – ACCA

Number of runs:  101

Number of times volunteered:  7

What do you do at parkruns:  Run, chat, drink coffee, and sometimes eat cake when there's a special event!

How has parkrun changed your running:  If it hadn't been for parkrun, I wouldn't be a runner. I was into cycling at the time when I discovered parkrun in England at Bushy Park, April 2010. From my first parkrun I felt completely welcome, everybody was so friendly and it motivated me to turn up every Saturday morning no matter if it's raining or snowing there is always a great atmosphere at every parkrun. The volunteers, organizers, old people, kids, runners and walkers make parkrun the seed for all to grow. parkrun helped me to now get up every morning and go for a run, no more sorry excuses!

What do you like about parkrun:  You don't have to give up your weekend to be at parkrun, it starts early in the morning and you can still have the rest of the day planned with friends or family! It's not a competition, it doesn't matter if you run at 18 minutes or 50 minutes everybody can run together on the same field and are all equal. You will be congratulated for tuning up and not just for being first to complete!

Most memorable or funniest parkrun moment:  It has to be one winter when the park was covered with snow and all the pathways completely ice-frozen! Nobody expected to have a good running time or improve on a PB, don't think anybody cared though! It was great to see 500 runners turn up in zero temperatures and have so much fun on slippery pathways! Also memorable moments are every time I improved on my PB, when I know I did well it's exciting to wait for my results email and share it with friends! I introduced a lot of friends to parkrun and it's great for them turn up Saturdays and have fun too.

In this edition of the SA parkrun newsletter, we find out more about the latest parkrun addition - Kidd’s Beach parkrun. Another exciting course, Shongweni parkrun, challenges participants while Woodlands parkrun offers a glimpse of baby Springbok in the heart of the city. Ebotse parkrun celebrates in style as it continues to grow and turns one.

115 enthusiastic parkrunners ran the challenging inaugural Kidd’s Beach parkrun last Saturday. Welcome to Yvonne McKenzie, our latest event director! The Border region is acquiring a reputation for its tough courses and Kidd’s Beach, with its rolling hills, is no exception but, like the other Border parkruns, it is also a fun parkrun with stunning views of the ocean and surrounding countryside. After the event, many Kidd’s Beach parkrunners headed off to “The Barn” for egg and bacon rolls along with coffee. As always there were plenty of smiling faces and when one participant was asked to suggest one word to describe parkrunners he simply said “happy”.

Another major milestone was passed this week when parkrun South Africa’s numbers topped 15 000 for the first time! This makes the parkrun community the biggest running “club” in South Africa. If numbers continue to grow as they have been doing it shouldn’t be too long before we reach 20 000 parkrunners.

As our numbers grow so do our runners’ parkrun totals. This week we welcomed our 7th and 8th red 50 club tee members. It’s supposed to be impolite to reveal a lady’s age but I am sure Thelma Fouché has no problem with our mentioning that she has just completed her 50th parkrun at the age of 79. She has run all 50 of her parkruns at Roodepoort parkrun.

On the same weekend Gary Jackson became our first “senior volunteer” to earn his 50-club status. Gary’s home parkrunrun is Ebotse. Congratulations to both new Club-50 achievements!

Cheers for now,

Bruce (get in touch)

event news

Ebotse parkrun

Ebotse parkrun celebrate their first birthday and what a celebration it was - a perfect day, a great crowd, tasty treats and gifts galore!

At the event, adidas gave away two pairs of their fabulous running shoes, Piermont sponsored a slew of meal and accommodation prizes and parkrunners were treated to masses of cakes, fudge, and even champagne!

We would like to mention a few interesting statistics regarding the ninety-seven participants who attended our first birthday event. There were fourteen first-timers and eight PB’s. Sixteen runners are members of Boksburg Athletic Club, 5 Benoni Harriers, 3 Nedbank RC, 2 Benoni Northerns, 1 Correctional Services, 1 Run/Walk for Life Club, 1 Avis AC, 1 Fit 2000 AC, and 1 Athletes for CHRIST, with the remainder being unattached parkrunners.

We looked back on a year filled with stimulating runs, made possible with the help of Gary Jackson and Darryl Goosen who volunteer every Saturday. A huge thank you to both of you! Thank you also to all the other volunteers who gave of their time so freely during the course of the year. Iain Morshead's for his directorial input, is very much appreciated. A special word of thanks to the Ebotse Estate for allowing us to make use of their beautiful grounds, it is ideally suited to hosting a parkrun event!

Finally, well done to all Ebotse parkrunners - without you this event would not take place.

We look forward to another year of highly enjoyable parkrun events.

Ian Stephens

Woodlands parkrun

Woodlands parkrun has had over 200 different runners and run a combined distance of over 2000kms in only 12 events. This had included Comrades winners; Bruce Fordyce and Alan Robb, as well as many international parkrun visitors. We are also very pleased to welcome parkrun visitors from around South Africa.

This week sees us announce a partnership with Go’Spresso coffee shop. Go’Spresso will be sponsoring water for all our finishers and when returning the empty water bottle to the store in Woodmead, the parkrunners will receive a free travel coffee mug. Go’Spresso is our breakfast stop of choice after our parkrun event and we hope that this partnership will encourage more runners to make a social morning out of their parkrun.

We continue to watch the growth of the baby Springbok. Usually they are well out of the way of the top 10 runners who go cruising around the course and only the back markers get to see and appreciate the wildlife. We are all still amazed that we have this park facility available to us in the middle of Sandton.

Happy running,
Staci

Shongweni parkrun

The much anticipated opening of the 3rd KZN parkrun was a huge success, and we could not have asked for a more beautiful, sunny winter’s morning! There was a huge turn out as we recorded 116 runners, including a very special guest and winner of the 1979 Comrades Marathon, Piet Vorster.

Located on the peaceful grounds and horse paddocks of the Durban Shongweni Club (known to many as the Polo Pony), Shongweni parkrun starts with a gentle, flat run around the rugby field before getting onto the dirt trails. A short run down the avenue of trees before you enter the long, flowing single track. It’s a run where you had better not use up all your energy in the first half as there are plenty of small climbs that need your leg strength. After winding onto part of the polo field, the route takes you back along the same single track you came in on, in the opposite direction. Then there’s one last run down the avenue of trees before making your way around the show jumping field and across the finish line. Gill Fordyce said it was up there as one if the toughest parkruns in SA.

Our 2^nd and 3^rd runs have drawn a lot of first time runners including plenty of children, which is very exciting. We are so thankful for the support from local running clubs and the feedback from all our runners

Next time you find yourself in Durban, we encourage you to make your way to Hillcrest on a Saturday morning and experience Shongweni parkrun.

Pete & Erita Garthwaite

In this edition of the SA parkrun newsletter; Sunrise-on-Sea together with CANCA promotes men’s health month by offering free prostrate and testicular cancer tests for all male runners. St. Francis parkrun is officially launched. Big Bay parkrun continues to attract numbers - could this be the most picturesque parkrun setting?

It has been a lot of fun this week to study the parkrun registrations wiki site. South African registrations have placed our parkruns very prominently at the top of the World list with Woodlands, Delta, Modderfontein, and St. Francis parkruns - all taking turns to hold the “gold medal” position. In addition we have constantly held the 5 positions all week. South African parkrun registrations are climbing by over 100 a day now bringing us to over 17000 registered parkrunners. Of course parkrun is not a competition and the parkrun experience is much more important than competing for numbers but it is still very gratifying to see the enthusiasm growing. Without a doubt this growth spurt has much to do with our new partnership with Discovery Vitality and we look forward to a mutually beneficial partnership.

St Francis start instructions

Last Saturday we launched a parkrun at St. Francis. It was a stunning morning with 226 parkrunners tackling the St. Francis links course. It was very humbling to experience the enthusiasm and spirit of the St. Francis community. Congratulations to Esti and Eric Stewart and their volunteer team for a brilliant job well done! We follow this launch with Greenpoint in Cape Town this week. Further exciting news is that at last we have interested parties looking at potential parkrun sites in Pretoria.

St Francis

Please remember to bring your barcode with you for your results when you run or walk a parkrun.

Chris Midlane the event director of Modderfontein reserve parkrun has created a humorous barcode that sums up the parkrun experience so well.

Cheers for now,
Bruce (get in touch)

event news

Sunrise-on-Sea parkrun

All is well at Sunrise-on-Sea parkun, numbers are averaging well above our initial expectations for the event. Nahoon Point, Kidds Beach and Sunrise-on-Sea are located in an area with a radius of +/- 35 km. Considering our small population, compared to other major centres we enjoy great support from our locals. The camaraderie and spirit are healthy. Our locals arrive every Saturday, come rain or shine, it is as if they do not want to let each other down. The “gees” of parkrun is reflected in the following Facebook post from one of our participants that I wish to share with you.

"Suppose I can put up the parkrun results. . 35.37 mins. New PB! Thanks again to all those who support me in this almost inhuman effort to start running after a lifetime of couching. I honestly hope my "progress reports" will encourage someone out there to join parkrun. Apart from being a great way to get fit (or stay fit) it's a super social event! We start to know each other and it becomes like a whole big family. You may think you ain't a runner but if you can walk un-aided you can do it! There are lots of walkers... And a lot of runners (like me) still walk bits of it. We also always need volunteers! Start by volunteering... It will help you gather the guts to participate. Also a great way to meet people!"

Two weeks ago we had CANSA doing prostrate and testicular cancer tests for our male runners in conjunction with men’s health month. Many of our male participants were surprised to only be subjected to a finger prick test and not the old traditional method. Nevertheless they had their status within a few minutes. Thank you to Michelle and Glynnis from CANSA.

Well done to Alex McQuirk, Stella Swart and Abigail van Vugt who achieved their Club-10 parkrun status over the past few weeks. To those who experienced a realisation of your goals however big or small, well done, keep going. Our volunteers and friends of Sunrise-on-Sea parkrun enjoyed a lovely braai at Murambi Country Kitchen on Wednesday, 10 June. Lots of ideas were shared and it was an ideal opportunity to interact with each other in a less formal manner. Thanks all, your support is appreciated!

Watch the press for details about the Jumbo Beach2Beach Half Marathon launch that took place at Nahoon Point parkrun last week. By the time this newsletter is published there will be a new addition to the Eastern Cape family namely Cape St. Francis parkrun. Welcome aboard! Indeed, exciting times.

Happy parkrunning,
Danie

Big Bay parkrun

The Big Bay parkrun has been going for 11 weeks now. The setting is ideal with the sun rising over the Atlantic Ocean; the beautiful west coast beaches and the majestic Table Mountain in the background. In spite of some chilly winter mornings and even some rain, we are seeing more and more eager runners and walkers coming out each week as word is spreading around the community.

The beautiful Big Bay parkrun backdrop

79 year-old Don Oliver is a regular volunteer. He is a comrades veteran (19 medals); a renown comrades coach; author and a double amputee who has been selected to represent the Achilles South African team in the New York Marathon this year in the hand-cycle event. Don said he loves two things about the parkrun. Firstly, he loves the fact that children of all ages are encouraged to participate in what he called a “grown-up gathering,” where they are expected to obey the rules; hand in their own tokens and receive their results, without the pressure from coaches and teachers that accompanies so much of our school sports these days.

Don Oliver

The second aspect of the parkrun that he thoroughly enjoys is the social side and camaraderie of people with the same interest before, during and after the event, including the weekly gathering afterwards at one of the many coffee shops that overlook the finish.

We wish Don the very best for the New York Marathon next month. A special thank you must go to our very enthusiastic weekly volunteers. You guys are amazing! Thanks to all our runners and walkers for supporting the parkrun. We look forward to seeing more and more people, both young and old, fast and slow being bitten by the parkrun bug!

Happy parkrunning
Graeme

parkrunner of the week

Name:  Dave Mac Callum

Club:  RAC

Age:  72

Home parkrun:  Woodlands parkrun

Occupation:  Businessman

Number of runs:  10

Number of times volunteered:  1

What do you do at parkruns:  When volunteering, distribute position bar-code tags.

How has parkrun changed your running:  Induced discipline to complete weekly training with the view to improving times

What do you like about parkrun:  Relaxed Saturday morning social running environment

Most memorable or funniest parkrun moment:  Was running on my first lap around the park, when I heard, what at first, I thought was Alan Rob about to overtake me on his second lap, at the gallop. Then I was absolutely amazed when two buck burst out of the foliage about ten metres ahead of me, galloping across the path. To see nature close up, right is the heart of urban Jo’burg, and to feel almost involved with these graceful gazelle as the romped in the park, hit home as to how privileged we all are to be running in the wide open spaces that is parkrun.

In this edition of the SA parkrun newsletter, we look at the growth of parkrun in around the country as the the tide of red T-shirts move in. Greenpoint and Dusi parkrun join ever-growing list of SA events and our national sponsor, Discovery Vitality, bring you health tips.

Greenpoint parkrun

The weather gods were clearly on the side of Greenpoint parkrun last Saturday. Rain had lashed Cape Town for several days and things looked quite miserable for the inaugural run in Cape Town’s Urban Park. But then on Saturday morning the clouds rolled away and there was sunshine to greet over 100 keen parkrunners. Suraj Veland and his team organised a superb inaugural run and it was a special treat to run in the shadow of some iconic Cape Town landmarks; the Mouille Point Lighthouse, Lions Head and the fabulous World Cup football stadium.

Last Saturday Roodepoort parkrun was proud to hand over our first Club-100 member T-shirt to Willem Loison. Many of us will remember the excitement that was generated when Tracy Rankin and Dieter Meyer earned their Club-50 member T-shirts several months ago. Well now the Club-50 members are sprinting in. It seems that every Saturday a few more members earn their red T-shirts.

At the same time we are rapidly approaching the landmark number of 20000 registered parkrunners with over a thousand registering each week.

1995 Comrades champion and Comrades gold medallist Shaun Meiklejohn and Kerry Koen combined forces to launch the Dusi parkrun in Pietermaritzburg. This stunning parkrun follows the banks of the famous Dusi River, starting and finishing at the Camps Drift clubhouse. 132 eager parkrunners ran the inaugural run on a beautiful misty morning. For those of us who have paddled the Dusi canoe race it was a unique experience to run where we have formerly paddled.

Dusi parkrun: Regional Event Director Jen Van Der Merwe and Event Director, Shaun Meiklejohn

Cheers for now,

Bruce (get in touch)

Discovery Vitality brings you health tips

Discovery Vitality brings you all the health tips you need to know on your parkrun journey.

If you’re a beginner and are about to start a new fitness programme (including running), remember to talk to your doctor first. Know your health and check your blood pressure, body mass index, cholesterol and blood sugar. If you haven’t yet, go for a Vitality Health Check at your nearest pharmacy – you’ll earn Vitality points too!

Remember to choose good food. The quality of the calories you take in is as important as the amount. Choose whole grains, lean proteins and heart-healthy fats. You’ll feel energised and perform at your peak. For tips, read our healthy eating articles or blog

Discovery Vitality Team

event news

Delta parkrun

Attendance at Delta has grown dramatically since the arrival of Discovery Vitality. We are now consistently getting figures in excess of two hundred per event. It is a relief that very few growing pains are evident at this stage.

Our top point holders for this year are David Orpen and Rita Loots. Congratulations to both of them! We also have four new Club-50 members. Well done to Claudine van Graan, John Rollason, George Ashworth and Paul Gerrard.

The AdiCaddy is making its presence felt. The prizes drawn at the end of an event are making an impact. Please make sure that you take full advantage of this wonderful opportunity. The AdiCaddy is making its presence felt. The prizes drawn at the end of an event are making an impact. Please make sure that you take full advantage of this wonderful opportunity. If you are a Discovery Vitality member please remember to associate your membership with your parkrun account. This can be done via the "manage my profile" button in your newsletter email, or you can always request a reminder link to your profile. The completion of an event gets you 500 points!

Thank you to all the volunteers for making the Delta parkrun a success. Please feel free to offer your services as a volunteer when you can and don’t forget to motivate your family and friends to enjoy a run in the park.

See you at the next parkrun,
Darryl

Ebotse parkrun

Numbers, numbers, numbers - parkruns are all about numbers aren’t they?

You go to bed at 10 the night before, set your alarm for 05h30; get to the run at 07h45, start at 08h00, and finish anywhere between 17 and 70 minutes later. Then you get the important numbers like Club-10, Club-50 and Club-100 so far achieved on home soil. 10 for the juniors and 50 for the seniors. Naturally, you also get numbers like 109, the record number of runners we had at Ebotse last week, and that equals 218 running shoes pounding the paths. Then there is the temperature - it was a balmy 7 degrees when we set off. And don’t forget the date – day 27, month 7, year 2013. You also wait 5 or 6 hours for your results, which give you another couple of numbers, where you were placed, where you placed in your gender, your percentage, and how many runs you have completed. You also see how many ladies completed the run and how many men - more numbers. There are also visitors – we had 3 from Roodepoort parkrun. We enjoyed your company, please visit us again soon!

Back to the exciting number – 50. Over the last 2 weeks, we saw 2 of our runners completing their 50th parkrun, both ‘full-time’ volunteers – Gary Jackson and Martin Cordier – the 1st from Ebotse parkrunner to do so. Congratulations guys! Your dedication is appreciated by all. Martin was also our 1st points winner. Does he run too much?

A number of people were either paid by Martin, or he is really well liked, as there were cheese puffs and a number of other goodies to celebrate his half century. I think he paid people. Check out the following pics for more info on this little story.

Clockwise from top left ~Darryl ~ he’s next ~ paying homage on Martins’ poster, Martin at the finish, Gary, our 1st 50 jersey holder, holding his 50 jersey, Jan, also paying homage.

Ian Stephens

Modderfontein parkrun

The year was 2011. It was October on a Thursday morning. The cellphone rang. We answered. The voice on the otherside replied “Hi this is Bruce Fordyce! We are launching parkrun to South Africa, and are doing a reconnaissance this Saturday at Delta Park, could you assist?” This is how our parkrun journey began.

We have appreciated juniors being handed their 10 T-shirts by Bruce, witnessed close friends as they achieved their 50th parkrun, always in admiration of the dedication in reaching their goals, and have the privilege of hosting our own event in the Modderfontein Reserve.

It has taken us 88 parkrun South Africa days to finally join “The Club”, and we look forward to many more parkrun celebrations.

Jo Anne and Chris after their 50th parkrun finish

We would like to thank our National Sponsors, in particular Blue Label Telecoms for supporting parkrun from the outset. To adidas for the spot prizes, Discovery Vitality for the points (plus the coffee and muffins), our local supporters Heartland, the Endangered Wildlife Trust and Paint Trade, as well as Talisman Hire, Edenvale and Castle Genie for their support on the day.

Modderfontein Reserve parkrun team

Nahoon Point parkrun

In the Nahoon Point Nature Reserve, over the next three Saturdays, and indeed beyond, there will be much to celebrate. The first celebration will be for and with Gavin Giblin as he runs his 50th parkrun – all of which will have been on our challenging course of beach, steps of note, narrow bush paths, jeep track, climbs to the lookout point, down twisty sand paths to Mermaids Pool and its rocky surface and then up “that darn” sand dune hill, which is not always “affectionately” attributed to the course originator. Giblin will receive a huge reception at the finish and again next week when he receives his Red T-shirt.

Gavin Giblin 50th Run

Next week will be our 52nd run and we are going to celebrate it as our birthday run. The girls have all been hard at work preparing as only they can. A number of other runners are really close to their 50, with Noel Acton on 46 being the most interesting case given that if it were not for his wife, Annamarie, hauling him along to the very first parkrun, he may never have arrived at all, but now it is the same wife who took him travelling down the coast, resulting in his missing a crucial parkrun and making him wait somewhat longer for his moment. He does, however, have the satisfaction of being two parkruns up on the good wife and rubbing it in every week.

Oliver Ive, who was neck and neck with Giblin, finally succumbed at the weekend of the Argus Cycle Tour and has since missed three more, which means he has five more runs to do.

Next to follow are Henry Pienaar, Craig Giese and another husband and wife duo in Graham and Marie Claire Hand who are all on 43.

So as to ensure the community keep the mood flowing there will celebrations on the event’s anniversary come 10 August, the same day that our neighbour, PE Hobie Beach, launches down the coast. Pienaar is meanwhile nearly 200 points clear at the top of the men’s Points Table with just two runs left for the year, and this despite him running at Kidds Beach a three occasions. Giese is in second and Ive third. Candy Boonzaier had lead the women for many months, until a recent overseas stint saw her overtaken by both Caroline Selkirk and Caron Williams. It is going to be a tight run in for the “girls” and anything could still happen.

This has been an incredible first year at Nahoon Point parkrun and if the second one offers anywhere near as much activity as the first, it is going to be huge.

Happy running,
Bob Norris

Roodepoort parkrun

Congratulations to our latest Club-50 runners! Alex Weed and Robert Walker-Campbell! Take a look at our SA Club-100 member, Willem Loison. Hope this makes all SA parkrunners green with envy and more determined than ever to reach their 100th parkrun...

Left to Right: Our newest Club-50’s Alex Weed and Bob Walker-Campbell and Willem Loison with the first Club-100 shirt

Roodepoort parkrun team

In this eddition of the SA parkrun newsletter, Hobie Beach parkrun is launched in Port Elizabeth. We here from Cape Town’s Greenpoint parkrun as well as St. Francis parkrun. Discovery Vitality offers runners heathy living tips and parkrunners are reminded of the process to claim their T-shirts.

Sunrise over Hobie Beach, Port Elizabeth

It would be hard to match the beautiful sunrise that greeted 178 excited parkrunners at the inaugural Hobie Beach P.E. parkrun. The cold ,wet weather that preceded last Saturdays launch gave way to a stunning morning and after a few words from country manager, Bruce Fordyce and event director, Rosalind Wilson the runners and walkers set off on the 5 kilometre course. What a special parkrun it is too. Afterwards the general consensus was that it is one of the best parkruns in the country and that Rosalind and her team of volunteers have done a wonderful job.

Rosalind briefing Hobie Beach parkrunners

The PE Hobie Beach name has prompted us to ask for a change in the Summerfields parkrun in Hazyview to Kruger Park-Summerfields parkrun to more accurately describe its exact location.

On Sunday SA parkrun numbers exceeded 21000 for the first time. It seems that it was just yesterday that there were only 22 of us!

There will be no new events for the next few weeks as we consolidate after quite a hectic few months. However we have had enquiries about parkruns in Pretoria, Bloemfontein, and Nelspruit and we are very keen to find someone interested in starting a parkrun in the South of Johannesburg.

Red T-shirts at Delta parkrun

Cheers for now,

Bruce (get in touch)

Discovery Vitality brings you health tips

Discovery Vitality brings you all the health tips you need to know on your parkrun journey.

If you are new to running it’s advisable to start slow. First combine walking and jogging and steadily increase the time and the distances you run.

When it comes to nutrition, remember to boost your energy. Eat a healthy, substantial meal that will give you enough energy for the run. Not too heavy though – it can cause discomfort during a race. Try different meals during your training to see what works best for you.

Discovery Vitality

event news

Greenpoint parkrun parkrun

Greenpoint parkrun

I had found parkrun last year when I was looking for running groups to join. But it was only at the Two Oceans expo that I met Gill and Bruce and was thrilled I could actually speak to someone about Greenpoint Park being the perfect location for a parkrun.

I live in Greenpoint and was training for my first Two Oceans half, and so had run all over the area while I was building up my mileage, and time and again I was astonished and saddened that having paved a route for runners/cyclists, it was being wasted as hardly anyone used it. However, it involved crossing a road close to a junction in the middle of the run, and doing one section of the park 3 times. Gill and Bruce (our dear parkrun SA parents) had been here and had tried to find a 5km previously, but with no luck, due to time constraints.

The route had to be reworked to really enjoy the park and surrounds (including the stadium, views of Table Mountain with Lion's Head and Signal Hill, glimpses of the sea and the lighthouse) and to be easier to manage logistically and keep to parkrun concepts.

After a couple of trials we managed to work out a route that would reduce the difficulty of managing it, keep the park managers happy (by starting and ending outside the park) and keep to the safety aspect of parkrun, by removing the road crossing.

I had interesting meetings with the park manager, and the local police - both of whom tried to impress on me about keeping the run 'contained', not realising that the whole ethos of parkrun is for people to enjoy the space with as little disturbance as possible and to leave it as it was found. This route is almost all paved and so quite accessible for less able people and child strollers.

Once we were clear of the City restrictions, due to Cape Town having so many events all the time, because they had also seen how low risk and low impact parkruns are, when Big Bay launched, it was onwards to our launch!

We watch the numbers rise and rise, and being the only parkrun in central Cape Town, we expect this to be huge. We expect lots of international visitors. But most of all we expect people like ourselves to come and enjoy this beautiful landscaped park.

When they built the stadium (which was contentious for various unsatisfactory decisions), the park was just a spin-off to try to keep the locals happy, as there used to be a much larger area which was designated public space. Now the park itself is a true gem! This parkrun has the potential to be really fast as it is on a solid surface with good traction, little incline and, once you get used to them, the turns are fine to manage.

But it also is so gentle that you could decide to take it easy. Finish it slowly, then grab your picnic from your car, and sprawl out on the lush grass in the park beside the water afterwards, with a couple of mates, for a whole long summer's day in the sun.

Regards,
Suraj

St. Francis parkrun

Five Saturdays ago, on 13 July 2013, St Francis joined the global parkrun family. We were extremely proud that we broke the launch record – I mean, we are one of the smallest communities who are part of parkrun and WE DID IT!

St. Francis parkrun

Two weeks later we had terrible weather - and despite that still more parkrunners than what we had a year ago for an event with cool prizes and lekker goody bags! We have welcomed visitors from the UK, who brought their friends from Dubai, we had parkrunners here from Nahoon and Modderfontein – and two of our runners braved the city traffic to attend the Greenpoint launch!

Our local parkrun family is growing rapidly. I can’t decide what is the best – to see parents running with their 4 and 8 year olds (or 4 and 8 year olds running with their parents!) or to see someone running you know who is actually very ill and should be in bed. The motivation is heartwarming and we are proud to be part of it, it is extra special to us as we know the majority of the people, as well as their circumstances.

We finish our parkrun with a well deserved coffee and bacon ‘n egg roll at the St Francis Links Clubhouse – where we say goodbye with "well, see you next week – same time, same place!"

Happy running,
St. Francis team

parkrunner of the week

Name:  Nick G.

Club:  Atlantic Athletic Club (AAC)

Age:  Greenpoint parkrun

Home parkrun:  Trainee Clinical Psychologist

Occupation:  4

Number of runs:  1

PB:  I help with the timing and this week I'll be marshalling also.

Number of times volunteered:  It's made me focus on speedwork, and each week have worked hard on improving my time and getting down to the 20-minute milestone.

What do you do at parkruns:  That it's open to anyone and everyone, requires no fussy forms or entry fees, is community-driven and promotes health and wellness!

How has parkrun changed your running:  Well, I finished 5th in my first two parkruns and in the 3rd, I was coming 6th with about 500 meters left. I pushed myself and passed the 5th place runner who was a few meters ahead of me and then made sure to get a bit of a gap between us. I guess I let my guard down because about 20 meters from the line, a totally different guy came past me, totally out of the blue! I wasn't going to let him steal 5th place however, and I sprinted to the line and finished 2 seconds ahead of him. That really proved to me how much 'reserve' energy we actually carry, which we can call upon when required!

In this edition of the SA parkrun newsletter, we bid fairwell to the cold winter parkruns and welcome the fresh spring air. Kidds Beach parkrun is cancelled this Saturday due to another event taking place and SA gears up for international parkrun day on 5 October!

An interview, featuring our very own Bruce Fordyce, on the topic of parkrun SA, was conducted last week. Take a listen to the interview at Run Talk SA.

Delta Park parkrun bids farewell to winter

Spring is in the air and our parkrun numbers seem to be exploding as many more newcomers decide it’s time to get fit for summer. Those of us who watch the international parkrun registration figures will have been amazed to see the South African parkruns dominating the top ten log. At times PE Hobie Beach, Modderfontein, Greenpoint , Nahoon and Delta have all stood on top of the “podium.” Of course, success in parkruns is not just about numbers but more importantly it is about the quality of experience delivered to the parkrun community. In this regard our parkruns seem to be delivering quality runs. Congratulations to all involved.

Talking of numbers, it is very pleasing to see that we now have close to 20 red Club-50 T-shirt wearers and literally dozens of junior white tees in evidence at our parkruns. In a few short weeks, Tracy Rankin and Dieter Meyer should join Willem Loison as black Club-100 members.

parkrun loyalty is also a remarkable feature of so many of our parkrunners, with some 50 club members having run every one of their Club-50 runs at one parkrun venue. While loyalty is very admirable, we now have 18 established parkruns countrywide and we encourage our parkrunners to experience other parkruns when they have an opportunity.

After a short period of consolidation we are ready to start growing again. Standby for some interesting developments in Pretoria. Our next parkrun will be the Voortrekker Monument parkrun launching on 28 September . This is the very first Pretoria parkrun and there will be more to follow.

I spent this past Saturday volunteering as a timekeeper at Delta. It was a rewarding experience. I would like to ask everyone to please volunteer 3 to 5 times a year. Volunteering only takes up an hour or so and it does help to relieve some of the pressure on the other volunteers and event directors. parkruns are only possible because of volunteers and I believe we should all spend some time giving back by volunteering at your parkrun.

Cheers for now,

Bruce (get in touch)

International parkrun day 2013 - aka - #loveparkrun

The 2nd international parkrun day is being held on 5 October. This event commemorates the launch of Bushy parkrun on 2 October 2004 and is now celebrated annually on the first Saturday in October.

The theme for ipd2013 is #loveparkrun. What does this mean? Well we want you, the parkrunners, to tell us exactly what it is that you love about parkrun, and we want you to share it with us and the world via social media using the hashtag #loveparkrun. This will enable us to collate all of your messages from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc and use them to show the rest of the world just how great parkrun really is. And better still, our favourite video clips will be used to make the first global parkrun promotional film, so if you’re a budding Spielberg or Tarantino this is your chance to take centre stage!

What’s next? In the week leading up to ipd2013 (starting September 30) go to your favourite social media platform and type a message, share a photo or upload a video that shows the world how much you love parkrun. Just make sure you also type #loveparkrun somewhere in your message.

For example – "I #loveparkrun because it is the perfect way to start my weekend… fresh air, friends, family and 5km!"

It is really that simple.

Discovery Vitality brings you health tips

Discovery Vitality brings you all the health tips you need to know on your parkrun journey.

It’s a good idea to keep a log or journal of when you plan to run, for how long you run and the distance you cover. Having specific goals will help you stay on track. Use a fitness device that integrates with Vitality to track your progress and earn Vitality points for physical activity too!

When it comes to nutrition, remember that drinking liquids before a race is important. What you drink depends on what you like and your needs. Choose from water, electrolyte replacement drinks, milk or other liquids during training to see what is best.

Event News

Kidds Beach parkrun

The Kidds Beach parkrun is run on the outskirts of a village situated on the pristine Indian Ocean and is home to many retirees.

Some know Kidds Beach as ‘King Williams Town by the Sea,’ for the simple reason that so many folk migrate from the old historical location of King Williams Town.

Why all this is significant in parkrun terms is because a 14 year old lass has burst onto the scene and has shown a clean pair of heels to most. Indeed only one man has run faster than Nadia de Kock and on that particular day she was at parkrun.

One year ago, Nadia’s parents left King Williams Town and settled in Kidds Beach. Nadia came to her first parkrun with her mom, Chanzelle, on 20 July and she surprised everyone, including the leading man when she came in first across the finish line with a time of 28:23. Amazingly, this was Nadia’s first ever run – she is a swimmer and a hockey player and distance running was never on the agenda.

That was then and this now, for she has gone on to log four parkruns, recording PB’s and course best times at each one.

Furthermore parkrun gave Nadia the motivation to enter the Buffalo City Schools Cross Country Championships where she was placed 4th – with no formal running training at all.

Nadia de Kock

Next weekend, this Stirling High School pupil will participate in her first ever triathlon - and this on the back of her parkrun experience. Her immediate parkrun goal is to take 28 seconds off her time and beat the best mens time to-date.

Nadia only turns 15 in March 2014, which means this parkrun “find” could entertain us all for years to come. Keep a lookout for our young talent!

Happy running
Bob Norris

Roodepoort parkrun

A record field of 122 runners completed the course at Len Rutter Park on Saturday 17 August.
Together with the warmer weather, we are expecting an increase in the average number of participants. Last Saturday saw a field of 100 participants on what seemed to be the coldest parkrun of the year in Roodepoort! Nevertheless, everyone who attended brought with them the enthusiasm that is synonymous with parkrun the world over.

We are appealing to all our Club-10, Club-50 and Club-100 members to wear your shirts for this Saturday’s run. We would like to take a photo with all of you, together with Bruce Fordyce. It is always nice to showcase the achievement set by your dedication and to encourage others to work toward the very same goal.

Thank you to Dunmar Security for your assistance in supervising the secure parking facility at our amazing parkrun! Your team provides an amazing service to the community.

Safe running,
David

Hobie Beach parkrun

Every Saturday morning, we wake up super early with absolute excitement, hoping the weather is great, that people will pitch-up and that most of all we can get every one of our parkrunners to have a happier weekend.

Hobie Beach parkrun

Let me put it into perspective - when PE Hobie Beach parkrun started, my one and only goal was that we would have just one new person at our launch day - just one unique person who I did not know at all. The day arrived and an incredible 186 friendly people joined. You can just imagine my surprise, I know our route is beautiful, but WOW! Since then, we have seen so many repeat participants and we have been top of the new registration logs worldwide each week. Port Elizabeth is buzzing with excitement about parkrun.

Left: Right: Bruce,Rosalind, Bob, Pauline and Gill

There is just so much to love about PE Hobie Beach parkrun. From our beautiful Southern Right Whales who frolic in the ocean, to the sweet oyster catchers who greet us each Saturday morning. From our friendly athletes, to the inquisitive children, through to the crazy stories that we (a parkrun of only 3 weeks) have already had. From our highly effective beach office cleaning staff who promptly threw all our parkrun cones into the bin and had our volunteers digging deep to find them minutes before parkrun started - to introducing wheelchair athletes to the route. Our parkrun is growing and it is successful thanks to our enthusiastic and happy volunteers, our amazing sponsors (adidas, Blue Label Telecoms and Discovery Vitality) along with the incredible support from our RED (Regional Event Director) Bob Norris and Country Managers Bruce and Gill Fordyce.

Our greatest possible inspiration, for when we wake up each Saturday morning, ready and excited to see all our parkrunners is; knowing that even with all our effort, each and every single participant also woke up early - they got out of bed, put on their running attire, came all the way to our stunning beachfront and completed a 5km course. Every participant made a difference for themselves. So no matter how far it looks, or how easy they could perceive it to be, they have lapped every single person on the couch! That is what inspires us.

Happy running,
Rosalind Wilson