welcome to the newsletter
In this week’s edition of the newsletter we go behind the scenes, powwow in Merimbula and our Volunteer Profile photo is just a bit special.
Any Saturday that you attend parkrun, it has only been made possible due to a considerable amount of time and commitment that has been put in by the local Event Director and their team of fellow volunteers. They put in the hard yards and we all benefit. It’s wonderful and all there for everyone to see each week. But so much else goes on behind the scenes, most of which none of you will ever know about, but all of which goes towards making parkrun the success that it is. I was personally witness to such an example last week.
Several months ago I received an email inviting us to exhibit parkrun at the Green Heart Fair on April 31 – “Brisbane’s biggest FREE bi-annual community and sustainability festival, promoting innovative green living in a fun, family-friendly environment for all residents to come and enjoy.” Knowing that I was going to be in Merimbula on that date for our parkrun powwow, I asked our local Territory Directors if any of them were available to represent parkrun on the day. Without hesitation, Sunshine Coast’s Mel Erbacher offered to take the reins.
Over the last few weeks Mel and I have been chatting regarding her plans for activating at the Green Heart Fair and it was agreed she would need two 3m x 3m marquees to do the space justice. I have access to these at parkrun HQ on the Gold Coast however there are also a couple in Brisbane, at New Farm parkrun and Mitchelton parkrun. As such, in the middle of last week I asked the respective Event Directors, Rhondda Whetton and Stacy Edwards, if there was any way they could arrange for these to be delivered to Mel on Sunday morning and then collected again after the event had closed. Again, without hesitation, Rhondda and Stacy said they would make it happen.
So long story short, both Rhondda and Stacy dropped their marquees to the Green Heart Fair site at 5am… yes 5am… on Sunday morning! Mel, with the support of Kawana parkrun Run Director Melissa Taylor, then managed the parkun zone at the Green Heart Fair until 2pm. Finally Rhondda and Stacy returned to collect their marquees at 2:30pm. Now I know I’ve rambled a bit however the point I’m trying to make is that the effort that Mel, Rhondda, Stacy and Melissa put in on Sunday could have easily gone unnoticed by the rest of the parkrun family. I didn’t want that to happen. And I’m sure there are many other examples similar to this that even I don’t know about.
So next time you make it to parkrun, please give the volunteers a pat on the back from the great work you see them do and the truly amazing stuff that you don’t.
Happy running,
Tim from parkrun Australia (get in touch)
Were you a first timer last weekend, did you run a personal best or do you have any other feedback? We would love to hear from you on email, Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.
Essential Stats for Australia & Singapore – 30/05/2015:
Number of locations – 120
Number of runners – 14,027
Number of PBs – 3,232
Number of first timers – 2,132
Number of volunteers – 1,108
Number of members – 207,790
Merimbula parkrun powwow
Last weekend a crack squad or parkrun Event Directors and Run Directors converged on the New South Wales Far South Coast town of Merimbula for 3 nights / 2 days of food, wine, great company… and a bit of running on the side! ‘parkrun powwows’ are held several times each year as an opportunity for parkrun volunteers to get together in an organised yet highly social manner and this weekend was no different as local Event Director Donella Roberts really turned it on, with perfect weather and an action packed itinerary.
Starting on Friday evening with dinner in a local restaurant, powwow attendees came from all over the east coast including Inverloch, Westerfolds, Lillydale Lake, Tuggeranong, Logan River and Kirra. On Saturday morning we all attended Merimbula parkrun, most of us for the first time, on what is arguably one of the most stunning 5km out-and-back parkrun courses in the country with 4km being on wooden boardwalk that runs alongside the lake and through mangroves. This is a must-do parkrun… add to the bucket list! After parkrun Tim had the rare thrill of a scenic flight over Merimbula and the surrounding region in a 2-seater vintage acrobatic plane, the ‘Italian Stallion’, with ‘the flying dentist’ Craig Newman. Wow, what an experience! Lunch for the group was then hosted at Anthony and Sal Daly’s ‘Wharf Restaurant’ and many of us then rolled our sleeves up to help Donella, who is also the Race Director for the Merimbula Fun Run, put the finishing touches on her set up for the big event. Dinner was another feast of epic proportions and we then all dispersed to get some beauty sleep before the Fun Run.
Sunday was the main event with the staging of the 3rd annual Merimbula Fun Run. Options were 10km, 5km or both (there was 45 minutes between the start of the 10km and 5km). Again the weather was perfect and it has to be said that the organisation was as good as you will see. In fact 10km winner (and parkrun Board Member) Marty Dent told Donella that the course signage was as good as anything he has seen… including at the Olympic Games!
Overall, the Merimbula parkrun powwow was a fantastic weekend and just another example of the incredible way that parkrun brings people together. The next powwow will be in Kalgoorlie at the end of July where no doubt it will be more of the same.
‘What it Feels Like to Challenge Yourself’ by Annabel Candy
Eight weeks ago I completed my first five kilometer (3.1 miles) timed run in 33 minutes and two seconds (33:02).
Before that I’d been only been running once a week for 18 months but had finally managed to complete a solo seven kilometer in just under an hour.
With my non-sporty, exercise-shy background I thought that meant I was super fit and not bad at running at all.
But being invited to join a parkrun 5 km timed running event changed that.
After my first parkrun I was emailed my results which I thought were good, but I also saw results for every runner at my local event including their age, gender and running time. There were some incredibly fit people way older than me and some young men who ran 5 km in under 20 minutes.
I knew I could never catch up with people like that, but I also knew I could run 5 km faster than 33 minutes if I tried. Then the parkrun newsletter came including a story about parkrun 60-65 year old female record holder Rosemary Roediger who runs 5 km in 20 minutes. Wow! She makes my running efforts seem rather pathetic.
“Well if Rosemary can run 5 km in 20 minutes at aged 60+ I should be able to at 47,” I thought, and immediately set myself a goal of running 5 km in 20 minutes.
That shows how little I knew about running.
With no running experience apart from that weekly jog I had no idea how hard it is to run 5 km in 20 minutes, or how long it would take to attain that goal. I was blissfully ignorant but determined to give it a go.
Click here to read the rest of Annabel’s story.
‘Green Heart Fair’ by Mel Erbacher
Were you at the Green Heart Fair in Chermside on Sunday? Myself and Kawana RD Melissa Taylor were in the parkrun Australia marquee, having heaps of fun spreading the parkrun word to fair goers!
Existing and future parkrunners lined up to have a crack at our inaugural parkrun Hot Lap competition. Inspired by television show Top Gear, the parkrun Hot Lap comp gave runners the chance to see how fast they could do a ‘lap’ of parkrun Australia’s first 100 courses. How? The lap was run on a treadmill and timed at 6.42 minutes – this is the duration of the #parkrunAU100 video. Distances achieved were used to calculate each runner’s average pace, with the person at the top of the leaderboard receiving the prize of a signed copy of the Debra Bourne’s book ‘parkrun – much more than just a run in the park’.
Kids joined in on the fun too by participating in their own ‘mini-lap’ of 3.21 minutes on the treadmill. Each child received a parkrun lanyard for their efforts and their excitement was evident as each watched their name go up on the pHL leaderboard.
For any parkrunners who remembered their barcodes, we also ran a #DFYB competition. Rolf Kuelsen from Stones Corner was the lucky winner of that one and Rolf will also receive a copy of Debra Bourne’s book.
Much gratitude to Stacy Edwards and Rhondda Wetton for lending us Mitchelton and New Farm parkrun’s marquees, and to Faith Simon for generously providing the treadmill. And many thanks to the Green Heart Fair for having us!
The parkrun Hot Lap will be back at the next Green Heart Fair on September 13 in Carindale – are you up for the challenge?
‘The Social Side’ by Tracey W
So my husband looked at the overflowing shoe box other day and said "WHY do you need all these sports shoes?" Of course, being the elite athlete that I am, I was quite patient with him as I explained that someone of my calibre obviously needed the right shoes for the right activity! (It could also be that I just haven't got around to throwing some out yet, but I wasn't going to tell him that!)
So, that got me thinking, and here is Tracey's Top Ten shoe guide,
1 I need new shoes
2 I need a backup pair
3 Oh look! Pink shoes!
4 better buy two
5 These ones go faster
6 can't throw these away - too comfortable.
7 these are my walk to the coffee shop shoes
8 These are the walk dog to the park (and get coffee) shoes
9 muddy day shoes
10 gardening shoes (might have a hole or three)
But seriously, does a girl need a reason to buy shoes?!
ARC15 is coming!
The Australian Running Convention - http://www.arc15.com.au/ - is being held on Saturday 5th September at Caulfield Racecourse in Melbourne and parkrun will be there!
Whether you're brand new to parkrun or you're a seasoned 100-clubber, ARC15 has so much to offer you! And us! As for every Full Access ticket sold ($49) ARC will donate $10 to parkrun and for every General Admin ticket ($25) parkrun receives $5.
All we ask is that you enter 'parkrun' as your Partner Code during checkout (note, this is a different to the coupon code box). And then come and say hello on Sep 5!
Entertainment Books support parkrun
The Entertainment Book, and the brand new Entertainment Digital Membership, are your guide to the most popular restaurants, attractions, shopping, travel and more, all with valuable up to 50% off and 2 for 1 offers. Purchasing your entertainment book through parkrun helps us in two ways:
- Approximately 20% from each book sold is donated directly to parkrun Australia.
- If 5 people from the same parkrun event make a purchase the Event Director will be provided with a FREE Entertainment Digital Membership.
Click here for more information or to purchase your Entertainment Book or Entertainment Digital Membership.
#showusyourparkrun
This week’s entry is from Sarah Bonar who writes “A couple of weeks ago Alfie and Boaz completed their 50th parkruns. As the milestone shirts were not quite ready we decided to celebrate with a special parkrun present - two parkanimal t-shirts! Very fitting for these two who love their parkrun! This is a picture of the boys (and their dad) nearing the 4km mark at their home parkrun - Newy parkrun.”
If you want to #showusyourparkrun, please email a photo of yourself wearing some of the official parkrun merchandise or post it to Twitter / Instagram with the hashtag #showusyourparkrun
parkdog of the week
Hi guys, we think we might be Australia's shortest parkrunners. My brother Quinny is a long haired Dachshund and I'm Jasper, a smooth/short haired. We are both 2.5 years old and we completed our 10th parkrun just recently. We have also volunteered and helped everyone move along as tail runners. I ran with my Dad on one occasion and managed a PB of 30:30, not bad for a dog with short legs eh! My brother is not so quick his best is 46ish and he doesn't like to run for very long. This year we have been mostly walking with our Mum as she is carrying our skin brother/sister in her belly; so she is unable to run at the moment. But we all enjoy walking together and saying hello to the other dogs and people along the way. We often motivate people; we hear them say "we must beat the Dachshunds". We'd like to give a special shout out to our good buddy Oakley (7 years old) too; he's a Border Collie Cross and parkrun star at Rocks Riverside; making the run look easy. We wish we could go as fast as he does. He gets so worked up before we start that he can barely contain his excitement. He's fast approaching 40 runs, has been a tourist and volunteered too. At the moment a 5k walk is enough for both of us; we need to spend the rest of the weekend sleeping on the sofa recovering!
Upcoming Special Events
Launches:
06/06 – Ballarat (Vic)
20/06 – Town of Seaside (Qld), Wangaratta (Vic)
27/06 – Jells (Vic)
11/07 – Dubbo (NSW)
Anniversaries:
06/06 – Berrinba (Qld) 1st, Canning River (WA) 2nd, Sandon Point (NSW) 2nd
13/06 – Frog Hollow (Vic) 1st, Mitchelton (Qld) 2nd, Shellharbour (NSW) 1st, Newy (NSW) 3rd
20/06 – Carine Glades (WA) 1st, East Coast Park (Singapore) 1st, North Shore (Qld) 2nd
27/06 – Gladstone (Qld) 2nd, Logan River (Qld) 2nd, Mornington Peninsula (Vic) 1st
04/07 – Aveley (WA) 2nd
11/07 – Gatton (Qld) 2nd, Pittsworth (Qld) 1st
18/07 – Noosa (Qld) 1st, Armidale (NSW) 1st
25/07 – Coomera (Qld) 3rd
Cancellations:
06/06 – Penrith Lakes (NSW), Murray Bridge (SA)
04/07 – New Farm (Qld)
10/10 – Geographe Bay (WA)
Other:
03/10 – International parkrun Day
Feedback from the field
Lara-Kym Lever - I love reading the parkrun newsletter and the stories from across the country. I wanted to share with you a story from Ginninderra parkrun in the ACT. A few weeks ago Ginninderra parkrun celebrated its third birthday, my friend Debbie O'Donoghue was awarded the inaugural parkrunner of the year. From a total of 52 parkruns held at Ginninderra, Debbie ran or volunteered at 51, the only one she missed was the week her father passed away. Although she will be thoroughly embarrassed by this, I want to share why Debbie encompasses the spirit of parkrun. Like me, Debbie doesn't look like a runner, we have short legs, short strides and go very red as we run our 5km. When I ran my first parkrun at the end of May 2014, Debbie passed me at about the 3km and finished two minutes ahead of me, what she doesn't know, is on that day, her passing me was the motivation I needed to keep going, because I was ready to quit. The second week, I ran her down and finished ahead of her, without knowing it, she became my motivation, I was going to chase her down every week. And without knowing it, she started chasing me. And thus, began our friendship. By the standards of the runners who finish first, Debbie isn't fast, but she gives everything she has got at every parkrun. She congratulates me (and those around her) on their times, she tells me what times I should be going after, and I try my best to get them for her. I know one of Debbie's greatest frustrations is that she hasn't been able to get a PB in a couple of years. But I want to let her know, that none of that matters, Debbie runs a PB every week, because she runs and she finishes with the spirit she started with. Debbie is the spirit of parkrun. She demonstrates week in and week out, that parkrun isn't about the person who crosses first, it is about turning up and giving it all you have got. Debbie is the reason I get out of bed on Saturday mornings, and she is the reason I keep running down those PBs.
Wendy Glen - Re kids at parkrun. My own kids are aged 18 and 20 and are more likely still in bed at 8am Sat than keeping me company. However, one of my very greatest parkrun joys has turned out to be making friends with a lady called Narelle, her hubby and kids. I feel honoured and privileged when Narelle wants a quick run and asks me to run with her kids. I love chatting to these two amazingly awesome kids (who are our shared parkrunners of the month at Westerfolds). I feel honoured that she entrusts them to me. I love that they sometimes bring me a little drawing as a gift. Their presence in my life is a huge blessing. I feel like an honorary Aunty. I feel lucky. The kids know that we can have a little walk anytime either they or me need a rest. We all understand it's about doing our best but also about having a fun outing. They know I'm older than their mum and they have to wait for me if I need a little rest but they also know when they're after a PB that I'll do my best for them. Soon, if they want a PB they'll need to run with their mum as they're getting too fast for me but for now I will revel in their company. Supervising juniors is no hardship for me - it's one of the most joyful parts of my parkrun experience.
Jane Curry - Thanks for a great story and video on the Great Ocean Road Marathon. Awesome effort by the parkrun runners and the others as well.
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: Craig Robinson
Club: Unattached (but team Robinson is going strong with my wife and 3 of my 4 kids completing the course (my 4 year old daughter has ran ½ way a few times before jumping into a pram)
Age: 45
Home parkrun: Point Cook
Occupation: General Manager of a company selling and servicing lifts (elevators)
Number of runs: 34
PB: 22:25
Number of times volunteered: officially 4 but it’s more like 6
Favourite volunteer role: Photographer
What do like about volunteering at parkrun: When photographing parkrun you meet so many people, there are a huge variety of people attending the event each week for a wide variety of reasons. Photographing the runners and walkers on course and seeing their smiling faces puts a smile on my face too, capturing the high five from strangers watching people help others achieve a PB and seeing kids achieve the 5 km is very fulfilling. Later after the event I go through all the pictures I've taken and start to smile again. There aren’t enough smiles in the world and parkrun helps fill the gap. Mind you, once the runners are nearing the finish line, the smiles are harder to see but they are still there, just hiding for the last kilometer.
Most memorable or funniest parkrun moment: Being presented with a brand new Volunteer singlet at the Trial run at Altona Beach and noticing it was printed upside down.
How can we improve parkrun: I don’t think you can improve any volunteer position. The role is self-satisfying; it’s the best start to a weekend you can get. We at Point Cook have 3 regular photographers; David Mullins, Craig Robinson and Holly Atkin need big congratulations for the thousands of great photos they have taken over the last 18 months.
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 laser engraved silicone wristband 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
Children under the age of eleven must be accompanied at all times by a parent, guardian or other designated adult of the parent's choice. It must also be ensured that children place themselves appropriately at the start so as to prevent a situation where they are being repeatedly overtaken. This is to ensure the safety of your child.
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