welcome to this week's newsletter
In this week’s newsletter we launch Aveley parkrun, RunPositive at the Gold Coast Airport Marathon, and hear a truly life changing parkrun story.
On Saturday we launched another parkrun event in Perth with Aveley getting ‘up and running’. Event Director Dave Allmark and team welcomed 35 eager (but freezing cold) runners who were no doubt delighted to cross the finish line to find free (hot) coffee waiting for them courtesy of our national sponsors Stockland. I will be visiting Perth in early August for Claisebrook Cove parkrun’s 1st anniversary so look forward to freedom running Aveley and the other local courses then. Well done Dave!
On Saturday and Sunday hundreds of parkrunners ‘stepped up’ to tackle one of the events at the Gold Coast Airport Marathon. It was an incredible weekend of racing with the course records being broken in both the men’s and women’s marathons, and a record number of entries in the half marathon (over 10,000). As I mentioned last week I was entered in the half marathon with a goal to go sub-1:30 for the first time. Well I’m delighted to report that I surprised even myself with a time of 1:25:05! As I have been saying to everyone since, “Not sure how I did it, but I’ll take it!” Special thanks must go to our friends from Suncorp Bank who invited many parkrunners into their RunPositive tent situated only 250m from the finish line. It really was an amazing spot to watch the runners bring it home!
Lastly, I want to acknowledge to the wonderful parkrunners who got out of bed super early on Saturday morning to meet me at 6am for volunteer duty at the GCAM. These people gave out medals and t-shirts to the finishers on Saturday for which the GCAM will make a donation to parkrun in return: Rhondda Wetton, Wendy Crompton, Sue Galletti, Kate Bentley, Nikki McCarthy Hicks, Alison Price, Larissa Wilson, Andrew McLaren, Wenx Hansen, Kaycee Tipene-Thomas, Lan Ferguson, Chris van Hoof, Vaughan Jackson, Leigh Kurth, Natalie Goodwin, Mike Thomas, Tanya Kimber, Zac Kimber and Amanda Rafone.
Happy running,
Tim from parkrun Australia (get in touch)
Were you a first timer last weekend, or did you run a personal best? We would love to hear about your experience on email, @parkrun_au or on Facebook.
Support Vanessa @ Utopia Women's Wellness
Sandgate parkrun Event Director Vanessa Gibson is talking about her life as a ‘Mum on the Run’ at the Utopia Women's Wellness event in Brisbane this Saturday, July 13. To celebrate Vanessa’s amazing achievement of running her first marathon on the Gold Coast last Saturday the organizers have agreed to offer parkrunners 100 FREE general admission tickets!!!
This is an amazing women's health expo will also feature some of the most prominent and inspiring speakers ever assembled in one event including Lorna Jane Clarkson, Tara Diversi, Therese Kerr (yep, Miranda’s Mum), Jess Ainscough and Nat Kringordis. Other highlights include health exhibits, free food, smoothie making competition, cooking demonstrations, the QLD's fittest girl competition and a Transformation Challenge. To claim your free ticket:
Step 1: Go to the event website
Step 2: Register a general admission ticket
Step 3: Enter your details then just before you pay the $10, you enter the discount code 'utopialovesparkrun'
Register for a #boost!
Running in the City2Surf this year or know someone who is? adidas wants to give runners the boost of a life time! This year at the 10km mark, adidas will be delivering unique and personalised boosts to City2Surf runners. We can’t tell you too much just yet, but word has it, some super stars will be involved. To get on board, all you need to do is register your details and keep an eye out for the #boost on course!
A life changing parkrun story
You might think “how the hell can a free timed 5km run in a park change your life?” Well let me tell you it certainly changed mine and this is my story. Bare with me, it’s a good one! Anyone who has ever placed their profiles on dating websites such as RSVP or POF for example, will be able to testify to the minuscule probability of finding Mr or Mrs Right. Perhaps you are looking in the wrong place. Don’t stress, just go for a run, a parkrun! Well without further ado...
The story starts on the 10th of January when; after a long absence from Perth, I returned to sell my house. I had heard of parkrun from a seasoned runner and friend in Brisbane and had run New Farm parkrun once. Just 2 days after I arrived back in Perth I decided to take part in the Claisebrook Cove parkrun and thought I would turn up nice and early for the 7:00am start (all Queensland parkruns start at 7:00am), only to find it started at 8:00am. Nothing like an hour to warm up! Great views of the Swan River and the occasional resident dolphin compensated me for my early arrival.
Once the run started I put in a fair effort and only stopped for water once (Ok I know it’s only 5km, but I was less fit then and I don’t claim to be a runner). Fifty metres from the finish I put in an all-out effort and just pipped a beautiful young lady to the finish. Unhappy with the thought of losing her overall position she muttered incoherent abuse under her last gasping breath (apparently very out of character). Where she got the energy from to still talk while doing VO2 max, who the hell knows?
Nevertheless, not wanting her to think I was the classic male chauvinist; just pipping her to the finish because she is a member of the unfair sex, I aimed to set the story straight. Totally engrossed in conversation and lost in her deep blue eyes, I totally forgot; not only to hand the barcode in, but also to pay for the coffees which ensued our captivating conversation about nutrition and marathons.
That was 5 months ago! In the meantime I moved back to Perth, to be with my soul mate, my gorgeous Mon Cheri. Besides the week I went to pack up my apartment we have spent every free day together.
Fuelled and inspired by love I completed another 11 parkruns with 9 PB’s. My Mon Cheri has an equally good track record with 7 PB’s over that time, improving her time by more than 5 minutes or 1 min/km. The house is not FOR SALE anymore….thought I would just throw that in.
"Anything can happen" they say, and the next time you think it is just a 5 km timed run… think again!
parkrun is the seed of our relationship and has earned a special place in our hearts. My Mon Cheri has agreed to accompany me overseas for the next 2 years. We will reside in a different city every 6 months and if they don’t have parkrun they better watch out, because we don’t know if we can live without it!
Jurgen Paetz
Winter Hydration - Don’t mind if I do!
The difficulty with winter exercise is that in order for the body to keep its core temperature constant in the cold weather it pulls the blood into the body and away from the extremities. When this happens the extra fluid tricks the brain into thinking that it has enough fluid thus delaying the thirst trigger even longer.
Water plays an important role in the body and has many functions including:
Lubricating our joints
Temperature regulation (sweating)
Metabolism regulation- aids with wieghtloss
Allows the brain to function
Forms the base for digestive juices in the stomach and Saliva
Aids with cleansing and detoxification through, excretion, urination and sweating
The weather may seem cooler you may not think you are sweating anywhere near as much so surely you don’t need to think about hydration as much as you do in summer, right????....wrong!!!
Click here for more.
Trish from Enrich Health & Nutrition
Women’s Running Australia
Thanks for the great response to my ‘call to action’ in the last newsletter to support my mate Sarah Joyce, the new owner of Women’s Running Australia magazine. At last count over 200 of you had purchased the above 6 month / 3 issue subscription for only $10!!! It’s not however too late for any of you that might have missed the boat so to subscribe visit the Women's Running Australia subscription page before July 31 and enter the promo code parkrun2013 at the checkout. Sarah, you owe me two coffees!
Bridge to Brisbane
In 2013 parkrun is an official training partner for Bridge to Brisbane. This is an amazing partnership as it guarantees us exposure to thousands of new runners who will hopefully become part of the parkrun family!
If you are planning on running B2B this year then we invite you to join the parkrun team, details are as follows: 5km | Team Name - parkrun 5k Team | Team No. – 72338; 10km | Team Name – parkrun | Team No. – 58568.
Upcoming Event Launches, Anniversaries & Cancellations
Our 18th launch for the year is coming up this Saturday, July 13, at Gatton in the Lockyer Valley. Other confirmed launch dates include: August 31 for Cairns; September 7 for Warwick; and September 28 for Merimbula & Toowoomba.
Coomera & Claisebrook Cove celebrate their 1st anniversaries on Saturday, August 3.
The Pointy End
Who are you? Coomera parkrun female course record holder (19:21), Alli Cooke.
How the hell do you run so fast? Ha, to be able to run fast there is a few key elements I constantly remind myself of. Striving for that perfect run technique, pushing myself past my perceived limits, as well as loving it up the front of the pack beating the boys!!!!!
How many km's do you run in an average training week? I am coming back into the sport of Triathlon after a few years absence, so I have to juggle my time between swims, rides & runs. The run is my strength, therefore I will spend a good percentage of my training hours running. Depending on my time availability, upcoming races & training cycle, I can run anywhere from 60-80kms in a week.
What type of training do you typically do? My run training for endurance running is primarily aerobic. I religiously do a 1 strength & 1 speed session each week. These sessions hurt, however huge gains can be made if done consistently. I must have my weekly Park Run in for a session where I am well & truly pushing myself 110%.
How long have you been running and have you always been so damn good? I have been running for a long time, since high school (yes, that’s a long time!) and have always loved the freedom, mental time-out & pleasure in going for a run. I don’t think I’m someone who has natural ability, but rather an athlete who is driven, determined & had to train extremely hard to get where I am with my running currently. I am one of the lucky athletes who rarely gets injured so seldom do I have any set-backs.
What is your favourite distance? My favourite distance is definitely anything endurance based. A 1/2 marathon would certainly be my choice, however don’t mind suffering in a fast 5 or 10km race!
Do you have a coach and do you train with a squad? I am actually a full time Triathlon Coach based on the Northern end of the Gold Coast, my squad is called Multisport Gold. I have a fantastic group of athletes I coach & train who inspire me daily to be the best athlete I can be. I primarily train by myself, which can be tough some days, however it has certainly made me mentally strong.
How much faster would you like to go? I always want to go faster! I have a goal one day of cracking that 19 min mark on my home course at Coomera. It is a tough course and a tough goal, but a goal I believe 1 day I can do.
What big events do you want to run? Next year perhaps tackle another trail run event The North Face 100, another Ironman Triathlon, and ultimately an event overseas like Paris, New York or The Inca Trail Marathon would be lifetime highlights.
Volunteer Profile
Sadly we have no volunteer profile this week So if you are one of our wonderful volunteers and would like to be included in an upcoming newsletter please answer the questions below, and send them to tim@parkrun.com. We know that this feature is one of the favourite in the weekly newsletter so feel free to have a bit of fun with it. Make sure you attach a photo of yourself in the email too.
Name:
Age:
Occupation:
Home parkrun:
Running club:
Number of parkruns:
PB time:
Number of times volunteered:
Favourite volunteer role:
What do you like about volunteering at parkrun:
Most memorable or funniest parkrun volunteering moment:
How can we improve volunteering at parkrun:
Feedback from the field
Nicole Giudes - I am absolutely loving parkrun! I have attended 3 locations (Sandgate, Wynnum & Logan River) over the last 4 weeks and am thrilled to be part of such an event. Each week I have achieved a P.B. and love that I get to work on my fitness in a measured event. I attend with a group of girlfriends, so not only is it a great start to the weekend exercise wise, it’s an opportunity to catch up and socialise. I also love the encouragement from the volunteers – their kind, supportive words throughout the tracks help me to push harder each week. What an atmosphere at these events! I’m so chuffed to be part of the parkrun family! Thank you!
Leonie MacCarthy - Did my first of hopefully many more parkruns last Saturday. Had a great time!
Belinda Baker-Millett - Great first official Aveley parkrun today. Thank you to the organisers and volunteers, and a BIG thank you for the free HOT coffee at the end!
Sue Galletti - Thanks Tim for a totally awesome morning giving out the medals and t-shirts to the 10km runners at GCAM. The emotions we saw where amazing: exhaustion, elation, anger… even weepy! All shapes, sizes and ages! They all were totally inspiring so I won't be volunteering next year, I will be running!
Tracy Johnson - Completed my first Claisebrook Cove parkrun today with my friend Karen. What a great run, we really enjoyed the scenery and the relaxed feeling. Thanks to all involved and our friends Tara & Clare who suggested we come, will definitely be back
Jon Storey - We had an issue with our results this week at Claisebrook Cove parkrun due to an error on the stopwatch. The stop/start button was pressed instead of the lap button for the first 26 finishers. After this position the operation of the stopwatch was corrected. However, I'd just like to make sure that Vince Naylor gets the recognition as a volunteer Run Director for spending much of Saturday compiling a set of results which were greatly appreciated by our running community at Claisebrook Cove. An appeal has been sent out to our community for any self-timed runs to help align a few of our results which may still be slightly out.
Helen Cuell - Thanks to all involved with parkrun. I enjoyed my first at Wynnum parkrun on June 22 while visiting my daughter in Queensland. I am not a runner, but thought I would try out Balyang Sanctuary parkrun in my home town Geelong today, and l am feeling more motivated to continue. My daughter Sarah Logan and enthusiastic helpers launched Logan River parkrun last weekend and they have inspired me. Well done to everyone involved.
Melissa Erbacher - Check out who we had pacing our runners on the first half of their Kawana parkrun on Saturday!
Drop me an email if you have an interesting parkrun related fact, happening or comment that you would like to share with all parkrunners.
Reminders
Barcode reminder
Printed barcodes are used at all our events to record your result. Please click here to collect and print your barcode.
No printed barcode, No result.
All questions answered
Do you have a question about parkrun? How do I collect my club T-shirt? How do I get my barcode? All your questions are answered on our brand new support site
Volunteering at parkrun
We ask every parkrunner to volunteer 3 times a year. When volunteering you receive the maximum number of points towards the yearly competition.
Children at parkrun
All children under 11 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Guardians must ensure that children place themselves appropriately so as to prevent a situation where they are being repeatedly overtaken at the start. This is to ensure the safety of your child.
the parkrun show
You can download your copy of the parkrun show here. (iTunes)
The parkrun show is the audible roundup of the "goings on" of everything that caught the teams eye from the weekend in parkrunworld.
Brought to you by Marathon Talk.
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