In this edition of the newsletter, Roodepoort parkrun enjoys celebrations all round while young runners excel at North Beach parkrun. We take a look at the Woodlands parkrun course which launches on the 6th of April. Excitement builds as runners prepare for the Two Oceans Marathon and see what SA parkrun sponsor, adidas, has to offer at the Expo.

It feels a little like the proverbial “calm before the storm” with numerous new parkruns scheduled to start in South Africa in the months ahead.

Bruce and Gill Fordyce are both in Australia for the better part of March, it offers local parkrunners an opportunity to connect with what international parkruns are about. Certainly many of us would love to be in their shoes and we wish them the very best time down under.

A number of our South African events have been fortunate enough to be visited by international guests. The response has been positive, with new friendships being formed.

It was particularly rewarding to wake up early on Saturday morning, in preparation for another parkrun, and to look up Australia’s inaugural Parramatta parkrun results and finding good solid runs by both members of team Fordyce. Having run in that same historical park myself back in the mid 1980’s, it afforded a trip down memory lane.

The lure to experience other parkruns around the world is certainly fed when you see photographs of fellow South Africans doing just that.

The interaction with other parkruns via Facebook and Twitter is very rewarding. Notably, on the same day that Australia clocked a new record field at Newy parkrun, Newcastle, South Africa set its own record field at Nahoon Point. There was instant recognition and friendly chatter between us. Needless to say, a healthy rivalry and respect has developed. Viewing the photographs from the various runs around the country and getting a better feel for the diverse nature of courses and what they offer our parkrun community. This diversity will extend even further as we head towards the opening of more parkrun events in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape along with the much anticipated launch of parkrun in Cape Town.

The Two Oceans Expo, in the build up to the Easter weekend, will include a parkrun South Africa stall, so please do encourage anyone you know who is headed that way to pay us a visit and get to know a whole lot more about the phenomenon of parkrun.

Enjoy what is left of the summer weather, along with the advent of autumn and let’s all look forward to the challenges of our generally “mild” winters, albeit that each region of South Africa is so different. You have to love this land and the surprises it offers each week.

Till next time folks,

Bob Norris

adidas set to wow at two oceans marathon expo

From an exciting retail area featuring the latest in running gear, to a personalised commitment wall where runners can share their goals, the 1000m² adidas stand at the Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon expo will captivate runners for hours.

The latest adidas running innovation, Energy Boost footwear, will be prominently displayed with an experiential component for runners to test out.

The stand features a comfortable lounge area where brand ambassadors such as Ross Tucker, Rene Kalmer and Irvette van Zyl will be available to meet with runners and chat about the weekend's races, as well as the adidas running ambassadors.

The adidas Technical Reps will conduct foot scans to assist runners choose the footwear best suited to their style of running and will be on hand to answer technical questions.

Best of all, there will be a wide range of men’s, women’s and children’s footwear, apparel and accessories available, both with or without Two Oceans Marathon branding available for purchase.

Remember to show your race entry at the adidas pay point to qualify for a 10% discount on adidas products (excludes Energy Boost footwear and the Two Oceans Marathon branded range).

Event News

Nahoon Point parkrun

A few pictures from our recent parkrun

North Beach parkrun

With parkrun growing in popularity in Durban, we have seen a number of youngsters getting involved. We have seen many of our under 13’s crossing the finish first and at one event, we had the first 3 parkrun finishers having a combined age of 37 (13, 13 and 11).

One of our young participants, Sam Haynes, has just achieved his club-10 status and will be seen wearing his shirt with pride. Sam’s dad Chris, was shocked that a 6 year old could beat a grown man and had this to say on facebook, “I concede. Today 6>38. Sam kicked my butt with a sub 28.”

We love seeing the entire families taking part each week, so thanks to everyone for coming along! We hope to see you at our next parkrun!

Regards,
Stefan

Roodepoort parkrun

Roodepoort parkrun has seen a steady growth in numbers and is averaging on 70 parkrunners at each event. We are approaching our first birthday next month, so keep a lookout for the birthday celebrations planned in a few weeks time!

There have been many achievements from our members on and off the grassy parkrun route. A number or junior runners have achieved their Club-10 status with many more on the way to being acknowledged with their T-shirts.

Congratulations to Roodepoort parkrun’s current record holder, Ann Boniwell, for winning the Vaal Marathon on Sunday the 3rd of March! We are proud to have runners and walkers of all abilities at our event and we encourage everyone to spread the enjoyment you get out of it by inviting others to join us.

In the spirit of community involvement, Dunmar Security has been attending our parkrun on a voluntary basis to watch over our parked cars while we enjoy ourselves every Saturday morning. Thank you Dunmar!

Over the past few weeks, our runners have been offered water sachets at the finish. Hans Jung, who supplies local races, donated these water sachets to Roodepoort parkrun and will continue to do so for the next few weeks.

Our shoe draw winner for this month, courtesy of Randburg Runner went to Cheryl Leon, congratulations and enjoy the shoes!

See you on Saturday!

Safe Running,
David

Woodlands parkrun

Another exciting parkrun will be launching on the 6th of April!

For those of you who want a sneak-preview of the course, here it is… The course starts on a brick road next to the Management Office car park. A short 200m climb before a gentle downhill for another kilometer. Going past the first duck pond on a brick pathway before getting back onto the brick road. A left turn, down a few steps leads you to cross the tar road and going past the office blocks, a short steep downhill, keep left and enter the gate into the park. Turning left to start the first of two laps around the park. Look out for Blesbok, Springbok and impala, ducks, plenty birdlife, dassies and squirrels. Follow the path way in a clockwise direction for two laps. At end of second lap, enter out the gate, past office buildings, back onto tar road and a quick uphill to the finish. PLEASE DO NOT FEED THE ANIMALS AND STAY ON THE PATHWAYS IN THE PARK.

Directions to Woodlands parkrun from Sandton are as follows:

Travel down Rivonia Road (in the direction of Sunninghill). Turn right into Kelvin Drive (90° Shopping Centre (has a Spar) is at this intersection - robot just after The Wedge Centre). Continue on Kelvin Drive over Bowling, at the top of Kelvin take the left hand split into Woodlands Drive. At the 2nd Robot turn right into The Woodlands (opposit the Johannesburg Country Club).

Please Note: Only the West Gate and North Gate are open on Saturday mornings.

We hope to see you all there for our inaugural event on the 6th!

Staci Katsivalis

Feedback from the field

parkrunner of the week

Name:  Derek Warwick

Club:  Florida

Age:  73

Home parkrun:  Roodepoort parkrun

Occupation:  Geologist

Number of runs:  ~ 10

Number of times volunteered:  0

What do you do at parkruns:  Besides running 5km chat before and after to fellow runners.

How has parkrun changed your running:  Replaced one of my weekly runs on my own along busy roads to running in a park with many running friends from earlier days who I would not otherwise have seen again.

What do you like about parkrun:  Sociability and wide range of abilities of participants.

Most memorable or funniest parkrun moment:  It is still early days of doing parkruns for me but probably the most memorable was my first at Bushy Park in London where there were about 600 runners, most very friendly and even met a South African while running. Volunteer workers (many of them!) were very helpful. The venue was very pleasant, but much easier than Roodepoort route. Coffee shop near parking area was good for breakfast.

In this weeks newsletter, SA parkrun directors meet up to discuss challenges and share ideas. Nahoon Point parkrun achieves a record field yet again while Ebotse parkrunners marvel at the birth of a Springbok at the estate.

The recent “bosberaad” of the SA parkrun event directors and teams has had a very positive effect as everyone left excited and motivated and our parkruns have had some record fields since. This is highlighted by Nahoon Point’s astonishing record field of 436! In addition, our total number of registered parkrunners has now topped the 7000 mark.

An interesting trend at SA parkruns is how more and more parkrunners are venturing further afield to try other parkruns. Two Saturday ago, our 4 (50 club) red tee members each ran at different parkruns even though 3 of us are Delta Park registered runners. I ran at Modderfontein Reserve, Dieter Meyer at Ebotse, Tracy Rankin tried Durban North Beach and William Loisen ran at Roodepoort.

We have had a flood of enquiries for parkruns all over the country and things are looking promising for some potential new members of the SA parkrun family.

While on the subject of family, Delta Park parkrun was delighted to host Tim and Nicci Oberg from Australia. Tim is the Australian Country Manager and had some very useful advice for all of us. Gill and I look forward to running a couple of Australian parkruns next month and being able to visit the Obergs at their home parkrun at the Gold Coast.

Cheers for now,

Bruce (email me)

Blue Label Telecoms

Blue Label Telecoms is the proud sponsor of parkrun SA, having supported parkrun since its inception. We encourage our staff members to live their lives in a healthy way and see parkrun SA as an ideal opportunity for them to put some more exercise into their lifestyles. We are delighted to see parkrun SA’s growth, now topping over 7 000 registered runners at seven fully operational sites throughout South Africa. We continue to lend our support to this worthy initiative and look forward to parkrun SA becoming a major player within the fitness arena in due course.

Blue Label Telecoms

Event News

Ebotse parkrun

While checking the Ebotse parkrun route markers, I noticed an unusual chape in the grass. As I got closer, I thought that it must be a scrub hare (there are many on the estate), but upon closer inspection, I realised that it was a new-born Springbuck! So beautiful, gentle and innocent, with the mother nowhere to be seen. Time stood still as we gazed at each other in wonder. The picture below shows no hint of fear, just an instinctive response to lie low, with its ears flat, to avoid detection. Exercising in a green environment has many benefits, none more so than the affinity that we build up with the creatures that share our parks and wild places.

Over the past few weeks, Ebotse parkrunners have carefully negotiated their way around an extremely brave Crowned Lapwing (Plover). This mom had decided to lay her eggs on our running path, forcing more than 100 runners left and right. Just as she thought she could settle again, the whole field thundered past her again (Ebotse is an out-and-back route). Before the next parkrun, the nest was cordened off and on subsequent runs, she lay silently on the nest watching the field come and go within a few feet. Last week the nest was empty, but away to one side was a happy little Lapwing family of mom and three chicks, all no doubt very grateful to the parkrunners who side-stepped their nest to ensure their survival.

Happy running,
Iain

Modderfontein parkrun

On the 9 February, our Modderfontein Reserve parkrunners were once again delighted to line up with South Africa Country Manager, Bruce Fordyce.

After the usual welcome and light banter, the 70 parkrunners set off for the 5th Event. Amongst the crowd of intrepid runners was Co-Event Director Jo-Anne Buchner, carrying along her camera for the run.

Since parkrun is inclusive and within a safe park environment, Jo-Anne decided to allow the camera to dictate the shot, and so the timer was set to 1 minute intervals. The result… some spectacular glimpses of the beautiful South African route.

Below is a highlight of some of the views Jo-Anne’s camera captured.

With Bruce and Jo-Anne having equally been placed 2nd in their previous Modderfontein Reserve parkruns, both made sure to cross the line 1st in their respective Gender Categories.

The post-parkrun social gathering at the Dynamite Coffee Company has grown too, with many new faces popping in for a light meal and cup of Java before continuing with their day.

See you again this Saturday!
Chris

parkrunner of the week

Name:  Dale Ferreira

Club:  Nedbank Running Club, Central Gauteng

Age:  29

Home parkrun:  Modderfontein Reserve parkrun

Occupation:  Social Media

Number of runs:  4

What do you do at parkruns:  I run mostly, when I am not walking.

How has parkrun changed your running:  I seem to be improving, thankfully it’s timed, so I can track this.

What do you like about parkrun:  It’s the fresh air and the company, Modder does seem to have the friendliest atmosphere. Also, running…in a park.

Most memorable or funniest parkrun moment:  There seem to me many moments involving a bridge that overflows when we’ve had a wet Friday night. I quite enjoy seeing the different approaches to what has fondly been deemed the “Modder Steeple Chase”.






In this editon of the parkrun newsletter we congratulate our third and newest member on reaching his 50-parkruns milestone. A wet and rainy Durban does not deter runners while Modderfontein parkrun’s second event proves to be very exciting. Roodepoort parkrun hostes a record number of participants and gives us an update on their drive to upgrade and maintain the park facilities.

parkrun SA continues to grow apace with the opening of two new parkruns; Sunrise-on-Sea in East London and Modderfontein Reserve in Johannesburg. The combined number of runners from both parkruns was 232, a far cry from the 22 optimistic souls who toed the line at our very first parkrun at Delta Park just over a year ago. The SA parkrun family continues to grow both in events and the overall numbers. There are currently over 6700 registered parkrunners in SA with an average of 100 more joining each week. This unofficially makes us the biggest running “group” in South Africa.

However the success of parkruns is not always based on numbers and size. The greatest secret to the success of the parkrun concept is that parkrunners trust us. They trust us to give them accurately measured courses in interesting safe surroundings. They trust us to send them their results as quickly as can reasonably be expected, and they trust us to be there for them at the starting line on parkrun Saturday. So even in the most atrocious weather our volunteers will still be there because we know some of our runners will still want to run. For example, about 6 weeks ago at the Roodepoort parkrun, miserable driving rain resulted in only 6 runners arriving at the start. Nevertheless we went ahead and ran, and I was fortunate enough to be first to finish. When I boasted to Bob Norris ( Nahoon Point parkrun director) that I had won, he taunted me with the words "you beat 6 people!” I relied “No I didn’t, I beat 5 people".

This weekend, torrential storms hit Mpumalanga, trapping many visitors to the Kruger National Park in their camps as rivers flooded and bridges were inundated. Just a few kilometres up from the Park, at Summerfields parkrun, conditions were so bad only two hardy souls arrived for the run. Notwithstanding the weather, the parkrun went ahead, emphasising that it is not necessarily size that is important but that keeping our parkrun promise is. We stick to our promises and we will only cancel a parkrun if conditions are dangerous or if another major event has precedence on our course. In that case we will do our best to inform all our runners.

This weekend all the current event directors will meet in Johannesburg for a” Bosberaad” (gathering). It is a good idea to know your local event director by name as this is the person responsible for ensuring the parkrun takes place every week. I suggest that you make a point of introducing yourself to your event director and offering to help them when you can. Remember, it is always possible to run and to also be part of the volunteering team.

Cheers for now,

Bruce (email me)

Event News

Delta parkrun

With the new year in full swing many new parkrunners have joined the group at Delta. On the 12th January we welcomed 129 parkrunners. This is the biggest turnout for Delta parkrun yet.

The following week there was cause for further celebration when our South African Country manager, Bruce Fordyce, completed his 50th parkrun. Tracy Rankin and Dieter Meyer, who have already run their 50 milestones, escorted Bruce to the finish line. The club 50 Tees arrived from adidas just in time! The celebrations saw Roly Whittaker becoming our oldest parkrunner at 92 years of age. This was his first parkrun and he intends to run more. Later Elaine Greenblatt hosted a breakfast for the Delta parkrunners at her home. We enjoyed a lovely spread and celebrated a wonderful day.

Left to right: Bruce Fordyce, Tracy Rankin and Dieter Meyer

It was so exciting to see 3 red club 50 Tees together in the results.

Happy running,
Delta parkrun team

Modderfontein parkrun

Modderfontein Reserve parkrun entered the parkrun world a little after 9 o’ clock on the 12th of January, weighing in with 95 parkrunners eager to see her course. After a little pomp and ceremony from Bruce and Jo-Anne, the parkrun got underway.

In usual Fordyce style, Bruce took the lead just after halfway and heading back on the Canal wall he had a clean set of heels, followed by fourteen year old Anrich Zimmermann. Turning back toward Isidleke however, Anrich, who had surely studied the Comrades King’s tactics, gave Bruce a taste of his own medicine, to set a course record of 20:10.

Inaugural event podium from left to right: Bruce Fordyce 2nd , Rainier Joubert 3rd and Anrich Zimmermann 1st

Event #2 saw 35 parkrunners, of which 22 were 1st timers, complete the event with wet and muddy conditions underfoot. The hot and humid conditions did little to dampen spirits, with a herd of us meeting up afterwards at the Dynamite Coffee Company, for a post-parkrun brekkies.

Run safe,
Chris

North Beach parkrun

The Durban coast has been slammed by torrential rains over the last two parkrun Saturdays. Surprisingly, this has not been a deterrent to our runners and we have been so impressed by everyone’s attitude to get out and active, even when the weather has not been ideal. As with all parkruns, the event will take place every Saturday, come rain or shine, and we hope you will be there too.

40 parkrunners crammed under our Gazebos to get out of the rain just before the start

North Beach parkrun would like to challenge all Duzi and Comrades marathon participants to include parkrun in their training schedules. It is a great way to see if you are getting fitter and faster before your events. The measurements are accurate and the atmosphere festive. Bring your families and friends along for a good time!

We are also pleased to announce that our parkrun is the only one in South Africa, so far, whose course is wheel chair friendly! If you have any friends or family who are willing and able to participate, then encourage them to come along..

We were very fortunate to have Claus Wagner from Kingston, UK attend our parkrun event #12. Claus made his 100th parkrun appearance at North Beach parkrun! He now gets to wear the much sought after black Club 100 parkrun shirt. Well done Claus, we hope to see you again soon!

See you all at the next parkrun,
Stefan

Roodepoort parkrun

There has been a lot of activity in Roodepoort over the last two weeks including a record field of over 100 runners! Lets see if we can improve on this number once again this coming Saturday.

Mncedisi Zulu was awarded his Club 10 T-shirt at our record event. He is one of a handful of juniors to have achieved 10 parkruns. Well done to all of you!

Left: Mncedisi Zulu receiving his Club 10 T-shirt from David.
Right: Roodepoort parkrunners heading off from the start

Over the years many residents in and around the Florida Park area have chosen not to venture into the parks due to crime and the degradation of the park facilities arising from lack of government funding. Fortunately for Roodepoort parkrun, a few of our members have come together in order to revive the Len Rutter Park and we hope to restore it to a safe and well-maintained facility.

The first priority on our list was the cutting of the grass. This has been done irregularly in the past, but we are positive that this will take place more frequently, after opening channels of communication with City Parks. parkrunner George Taylor spent two hours walking the parkrun route yesterday, followed by the tractor, to make sure that the path was trimmed in time for this weekend’s event. Thank you George for your efforts! We are all grateful for your contribution.

New signage will be erected at the entrances of the park to prohibit dumping and littering and a number of new dustbins will be installed.. Vagrants are also being vacated from areas in the park with the help of the SAP. We will keep you up to date as further progress is made.

We would like to appeal to any of our parkrunners who can assist with donations or sponsorships of building materials, including ablution facilities and security gates for the restoration of the lapa. For a list of what we require, please contact Roodepoort parkrun.

Another exciting announcement to our parkrunners - Dunmar Security has joined forces with Roodepoort parkrun and will attend every Saturday to look after the parked vehicles so that you may feel at ease as you enjoy your 5km run and walk. It is especially nice to know that our volunteers are safe when they arrive early to set up before the event. A big thank-you to Dunmar Security!

Safe running,
David

parkrunner of the week

Name:  Rainier Joubert

Club:  Nedbank Running Club

Age:  28

Home parkrun:  Delta parkrun

Occupation:  Financial planner

Number of runs:  31

What do you do at parkruns:  Setup, markers and packing up.

How has parkrun changed your running:  I have always been an avid runner, but doing parkrun re-awakened my love for cross-country running.

What do you like about parkrun:  I like doing parkrun for the social aspect but as with any event there is a competitiveness between runners for best times and most parkruns completed. I also like inviting my friends to join me at parkruns as it is a short distance together with an 8a.m. start (to let them sleep in after a Friday night out).

Most memorable or funniest parkrun moment:  We did an April Fools parkrun, running the course backwards. I crossed the line first on that particular day!