welcome to the newsletter
In this week’s newsletter we announce a guaranteed New York Times best seller, hear from our Antarctic Explorer and celebrate 3 generations of Point Cook parkrunners.
One of the things I love most about parkrun is the amazing new friends I have made all over Australia (and the world for that matter). I can honestly say that I’m yet to meet a person through parkrun that I wouldn’t want to spend time with outside of the parkrun environment, and many of my close friends are members of our great community.
However something that excites me just as much, if not more so, is when my I find out that my non-parkrunning friends have caught the bug and have been getting along to their local event on a Saturday morning, often without even letting me know. Two such examples of this occurred on Saturday and I would like to highlight them here.
Firstly, my oldest and best friend Clinton Viertel, whose wife Amanda is a regular at New Farm parkrun, gave up his Saturday morning to volunteer at Sandgate parkrun. Like many of you Clint doesn’t have a running background but, with Mandy’s encouragement, has begun to enjoy parkrun both as a runner (usually with son Lachie in the pram) and a volunteer (he is a barcode scanning expert). Mandy too is loving running more and more and has her sights set on completing her first half marathon in in March. Well done Team Viertel, I might not have actually told you this yet but I love that you love parkrun!
Secondly, Mark Rugg aka Ruggy, who I met early on in my time in the UK and went on to share more good times with than either of us could possibly remember, was first finisher at North Shore parkrun in Townsville (see picture below). Ruggy’s times have been consistently improving over the last few months (from 23:29 to 22:02) however the illustrious first finish (as you all know nobody actually ‘wins’ at parkrun) has alluded him… until now in ironically his 13th parkrun! So the lesson for all of us is as follows – if you want to finish first at a parkrun check the weather and head for the event with a cyclone warning or some other natural disaster imminent... It’s a sure bet!
Happy running,
Tim from parkrun Australia (get in touch)
p.s. Only 255 days until International parkrun Day 2014
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.
Essential stats
Number of runners – 9,893
Number of volunteers – 543
Number of new registrations – 1,954
Total number of registered parkrunners – 83,878
'parkrun the book' is coming....
That's right, to celebrate 10 years of parkrun in 2014 UK author and parkrun Event Director Debra Bourne is writing the official history of parkrun. And she needs our help!
Debra would really like to talk to some 'parkrun tourists', some parkrunners with disabilities, and some international-class athletes who are parkrunners (Marty Dent, Scott Westcott, Sonia O'Sullivan, any of the Hockeyroos, The Prof...).
Click here and please submit your story if you think it is relevant.
Let's make sure parkrun Australia stands up to be counted in what is sure to be an interesting and inspiring read!
Antarctica 'pop up' parkrun update
Blackbutt and Newy parkrun Run Director Jodie Tersteeg is currently in Antarctica as part of her studies and is organizing a ‘pop-up parkrun’ while she is there. We have created a Facebook event page for Jodie so make sure you check it out for more info! Here is the latest update from Jodie –
I'm happy to announce that Antarctica parkrun Event #1 was successfully completed yesterday, Saturday the 1st of February!!! Not giving any details just yet, so you'll have to wait.
I've just gotten back to Scott Base after a week camping out on the Ice Shelf. I just had my first shower in 7 days and my first meal that didn't have snow in it. I'm looking forward to flushing toilets, brushing my teeth without having to then swallow the toothpaste, and not having to sleep with all my camera batteries, and wet socks and gloves shoved down my sleeping bag. I ate more hash browns and chocolate than you could imagine, had almost constantly freezing hands and feet and had to melt snow for water.
Having said that I had an awesome time out there, such a different environment to any I have experienced before. The snow was beautiful, the ice was beautiful, the people were great and I could look at a snowy volcano while using the bathroom. Oh, and I got to run my Saturday parkrun. What more could I want?
Three generations at Point Cook parkrun
I'm Tilly Webster, a 57 year old grandmother of 7… 4 of which come to the Point Cook parkrun. Admittedly, Miss Maddie is only 3 and is pushed in a stroller by mum or dad, but her older sister Pippa is 7 and runs each week with her cousins Noah 12 and Eli 9.
My daughter Claire wanted to get back to running and when her husband Anthony and her were talking about parkrun and I heard it was an open event, walk run or jog 5km, that started me thinking, especially as Pip and Maddie were going, I thought I would give it a go as I would surely have some company with the little ones, how wrong can a grandmother be - they leave me for dead in the first 50 metres But honestly, it gives me such a buzz to have 3 generations of my family, all participating in a parkrun and now Anthony's dad Michael comes too.
I have to admit, the encouragement and friendliness of organisers, volunteers (particular Tail End Charlie) and participants is amazing. It made me come back for No. 2 and No. 3 and I have now re-arranged my schedule so that I don't miss out on #4. I have a network of friends that I will be encouraging to come along too, the more, the merrier. I walk it only and I came in last, or should I say, second last, as "tail end Charlie" came in after me on the first event and I'm walking towards getting a little quicker each week. But I'm out there enjoying every minute and a lovely coffee at the end of it
I have also registered to volunteer, as I am getting so much out of this parkrun thing, I want to "pay it forward" so to speak - I just had a thought, would you be old enough to remember that movie? If not, Google it!!!
Thanks Craig Curtis and your great team, for pulling this wonderful event together.
Advertising on the parkrun.com.au website
Many of you will know that parkrun survives on commercial revenue from sponsors and partners. Well, we've been working on an exciting new development for 2014 which will allow us to display digital ads on the parkrun.com.au website. These ads will replace the automatically generated Google Adsense ads, and will allow us to display more relevant, better curated ads to you when you visit parkrun.com.au.
We're keen to support the organisations that support us, and so whilst we trial the system we're offering a special introductory rate for February and March. To find out more, and to receive the full media kit with traffic, stats and available placements, drop Russ an email on russ.jefferys@parkrun.com
Upcoming Special Events
February
8 – Ipswich (Qld) launch, Golden Beach (Qld) launch, Lake Mac (NSW) 1st anniversary, St Peters (NSW) cancelled
15 – Kirra (Qld) 2nd anniversary
22 – Tuggeranong (ACT) 1st anniversary
March
8 – Albury Wodonga (NSW / Vic) launch, Parramatta (NSW) 1st anniversary
15 – Cambelltown (NSW) launch, Albert Melbourne (Vic) cancelled
22 – Mount Barker (SA) launch
29 – Riverway (Qld) 1st anniversary
Feedback from the field
Jessica Dixon – I understand every Mother recommences exercise at different rates however I have to say Melissa Hudd (pictured below) truly was an inspiration as she
returned to her first Cleveland parkrun after having her third baby just five weeks prior. Not only did she battle the humidity and heat but she also did a great time. Well done Mel.
Tiffany Hastings – I wanted to say how much I enjoy parkrun. It is wonderful that such a big group can still have a small community feel about it. I was having a thought about kids running... I notice that they're often not wanting to run with their parents, and it's hard to tie them to a speed parents are comfortable with... Could we get the kids and parents to come forward at the beginning of the session, if they do get lost the parkrun community can help support them along the way.
Sarah Choyce – Whilst it was raining quite heavily I participated in my first Toowoomba parkrun on Saturday! Despite the rain was the perfect start to a long weekend! Thanks especially to the volunteers - getting wet so parkrun still went ahead!
Kim Liddell – I just wanted to say a massive thank you for parkrun!!! I am a Sandgate parkrun regular and feel so lucky that I've found such a supportive, inspiring community group. Last week I ran a PB thanks to David, a pacesetter for Australia Day weekend. He talked to me regularly & got me through that run so well. Sandgate parkrun is so much more than a weekly run, we now have a few different regular runs with members through the week, it's become a great social event with motivation and support for running. I am a MASSIVE parkrun fan and am so grateful I started.
Drop me an email if you have an interesting parkrun related fact, happening or comment that you would like to share with all parkrunners.
Volunteer Profile
Name: Phil Collins
Club: Used to be Thanet Road Runners Athletics Club (UK)
Age: 39
Home parkrun: Kalgoorlie Boulder parkrun
Occupation: Social Worker
Number of runs: 3
PB: 35:20
Number of times volunteered: 4
Favourite volunteer role: Photographer
What do like about volunteering at parkrun: Meeting great people and mixing with my local community. Every photograph tells a story of effort and achievement!
Most memorable or funniest parkrun moment: Most memorable? Changing my shooting spot to the top of the local hill to get people coming up the hill instead of running at the end of the course. I received a few cheeky comments that day about making people run for the camera. Having run the course the next week I knew how mean I must have seemed!
How can we improve parkrun: I'm not sure it can be improved as such, just so long as everyone has a go at it. It's great fun and it REALLY helps each event. I don't want to feel guilty about not photographing the event, so I can run a few more and get my PB better and better!
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 barcode = No result = No exceptions. To order your barcode on a durable plastic key tag as shown above please click here. #dfyb (don't forget 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 AU
You can download your copy of the parkrun show Australia here. The parkrun show Australia is the free, weekly, timed podcast celebrating parkrun Down Under, hosted by Dave Robbo and Russ Jefferys
Our Sponsors
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