Welcome to this week's newsletter

In this week’s newsletter Tim sends another postcard from Cape Town, we celebrate a new Australian attendance record and preview some upcoming launch events.
As per usual, the stats are in for last Saturday, Australia Day, January 26:
Event | Runners | First Timers | PBs |
Albert Melbourne | 144 | 40 | 43 |
Balyang Sanctuary* | 128 | 22 | 26 |
Claisebrook Cove | 121 | 32 | 38 |
Coomera | 58 | 9 | 13 |
Ginninderra* | 116 | 28 | 18 |
Kawna | 64 | 8 | 15 |
Kingscliff | 32 | 6 | 9 |
Kirra | 45 | 3 | 12 |
Launceston | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Main Beach | 140 | 14 | 28 |
New Farm | 166 | 25 | 37 |
Newy* | 464 | 97 | 80 |
North Lakes | 65 | 18 | 18 |
Sandgate | 87 | 27 | 24 |
South Bank | 159 | 68 | 27 |
St Peters* | 204 | 36 | 23 |
Torrens* | 97 | 32 | 27 |
Wynnum | N/A | N/A | N/A |
TOTALS | 2227 | 533 | 319 |
*Course attendance record |
Happy 1st birthday to St Peters parkrun and well done to Newy parkrun for setting a (another) new Australian attendance record of 464 parkrunners!!!
Thanks to our amazing Event Directors, Run Directors, volunteers and sponsors for your continued support!
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.

I have had another trilling week of running and adventure here in Cape Town!
On Wednesday I joined over 1,000 runners in the Cape Summer Trail Series along the spectacular tracks and trails of the Constantia Greenbelts and Cecelia Forest. From all reports the organizers were expecting around 500 runners so it just gioes to show how popular trail running has become in this part of the world.
On Saturday I joined my brother-in-law Richard and his friends on a 10km mountain hike through the Silver Mine Nature Reserve, part of Table Mountain National Park, which provided sweeping views across the Muizenberg and Strandfontein coastline.
But the absolute highlight of the week was on Sunday when I undertook the annual Kloofnek Classic Half Marathon. The race started at Camps Bay High School and the course had a steep incline up Kloofnek through to the slopes of Table Mountain. From Table Mountain, the route climbed up to Signal Hill and then back to Camps Bay High School. As I expected it was a very tough course with steep inclines, rapid descending slopes and the strongest winds I have ever had to content with. It was however all worth it to be surrounded by such majestic views of Table Mountain, the Cape Town city bowl and the Atlantic Ocean.
For what it’s worth I finished in a time of 1 hour 47 min however I stopped many times to take photos and chat with other runners. For me it was like parkrun… a run, not a race!

The last couple of days have been somewhat bitter sweet as I have watched from afar as severe weather has brought pain and destruction to coastal Queensland and my thoughts are with all of you who have been caught up in this. As a result we may have to cancel some events this coming weekend so please keep an eye on your respective websites and Facebook pages for the latest information.
Stay safe, and happy running!
Tim from parkrun Australia (get in touch)

Records, Records, Records!
January 26 2013 will go down as a landmark day for parkrun here in Australia as we celebrated a course attendance record and the 1st birthday of St Peters; course attendance records at Balyang Sanctuary, Ginninderra and Torrens; and an Australian attendance record of 464 parkrunners at Newy!

In doing so St Peters saw their women's course record smashed by Britney McMullen in a time of 18:37. And Britney was actually a parkrun tourist from South Bank where she also holds the women’s course record! Well done Britney!

By The Numbers...
As 2013 starts we had another set of record parkrun figures! Despite the wind and rain affecting all the QLD parkruns on the last weekend in January, the Australian parkruns still notched over a 40% increase in attendance in January compared to the previous month. If you compare January 2013 to January 2012 you see a 490% increase!
January also saw was another record - Newy grabbed the highest Australian attendance figure with 464. It will be interesting to watch how the second Newy parkrun effects the averages when it launches in February, it may give New Farm a chance to regain its crown?
So as we enter February and the temperatures start to ease down a little don’t forget your New Year Resolutions and keep on parkrunning!
Professor Alan & Róisín from Wynnum parkrun.
Upcoming Launch Events
Our first launch for the year is coming up on February 9 at Lake Mac parkrun in the Hunter Region of NSW. Interestingly Lake Macquarie is Australia's largest coastal salt water lake, covering an area of 110 square kilometres which is actually twice as large as Sydney Harbour! Next up will be Tuggeranong parkrun (already known locally as Tuggers) in Canberra on February 23. And March will see a number of events including Parramatta in Sydney and Riverway in Townsville.
Did you know you can now buy adidas online?
Big news at adidas this week with the launch of their online store! New season running product is now available for parkrunners at a click of a button. It’s fast, convenient, has free delivery when you spend over $150, plus all returns are free.
Also, in celebration of St Peters’ 1st birthday Sydney parkrunners can get 20% off all purchases in the Pitt St store until February 4...

Feedback from the field
Chris Parker - Not sure it’s interesting but the Australian newsletter asked if I was a newbie or ran a PB last Saturday. As I was a newbie I did run a PB (also a PW and a PAvg). I was very pleased with my first foray into timed running. The 5k relaxed and friendly format was terrific and the weather accommodating. The organisers were more than just really well organised; they were also enthusiastic, energetic and friendly in abundant measures. I’m new to running (a New Years 2013 resolution) so it all helped get me around the course as did having other people to run with. I had set an optimistic sub 25minutes for my first run and was thrilled to smash that by 3 seconds (small smash…). Looking forward to improving on it but this may take a while. Thanks parkrun.
Greig Sutton (Balyang Sanctuary parkrun Event Director) - Two things... You shamelessly stole our 'creation of adam' idea (imitation/flattery I guess! lol) and quoted Toni as Albert Melbourne parkrun... She ran Balyang Sanctuary... Apart from that love the newsletters... Easily one of the best things about being part of parkrun!
Ian Nixon - Good day Tim. Thank you for your write-up and kind words! Sunday Stars is certainly an institution at VOB, one of the pillars the Club is build on. If you interested in a Club run, we are running this evening in Constantia, from our Clubhouse (False Bay Rugby Club). Come and say hi, it would be great to meet a fellow runner from abroad.
Cheryl Smit - Hi Tim, and great to hear you're in Cape Town. My husband and I were on holiday in Australia for 2 weeks and ran the last parkrun of the year at Albert Park and the first of 2013 at Torrens. I never thought I'd get excited about a time trial, but it was great and I enjoyed every sweaty minute of it. Both sites were beautiful, well organised and we got to run with some great people. I'm glad to hear you're out and about in Cape Town and I strongly suggest you're at the start for the Kloofnek Classic - its one of a kind, a serious challenge and not a race to attempt a PB. But it is probably the most scenic in CT that will earn you serious bragging rights. Make sure you get buy a t-shirt. Oh, and take you phone/camera – it is a good excuse to use to take a breather along the way.
Terry Baker - Great to be part of the first anniversary at St Peters parkrun and to be counted among the new attendance record of 204. Looking forward to many more runs and maybe a few more PB's. Off to join the crowd at Newy parkrun next Saturday.
Steve Fairbanks - Today was my 50th Main Beach parkrun. I really wanted to do a PB but it wasn't to be but no worries. Just want to thanks all the volunteers, runners and of course Brendan Murray for basically a life changing experience. I have met some fantastic people there who are now some of my best mates, here's to the next 50 runs and new PBs
Frank Alvaro - It was nice to be at St Peters parkrun on their first birthday / Australia Day combo. Unfortunately I did the worst run since Federation! Oh well, better luck next time.
Kim Tharenou - As a Brisbanite who grew up in Newy I'm so proud to see you guys hit the attendance figures out of the park (excuse the pun). You guys inspire me to continue my parkrunning. Keep it up.
Jarrod Ausburn - Hello! My name is Jarrod and am usually part of Dave Robbo’s massive Newy parkrun family. I’m on a trip up the East Coast at the moment so called in for an Australia Day parkrun at Kawana! Just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone at Kawana parkrun, it had a great atmosphere and was very welcoming! And great to see everyone get so into the Australia Day spirit!
Tony Smith - Great to see so many new faces at Claisebrook Cove parkrun today. And all the smiles when running. I think it must be fairly close to the attendance record. Well done to the volunteers who always do a fantastic job. Happy Australia Day!!!!
Rachael Woodfield - Thanks guys for my first Claisebrook Cove parkrun - really enjoyed it. Have challenged my 10yr old to run it without stopping by the end of Feb!!!!
Claire Giles - Ran my first Claisebrook Cove parkrun this morning. Really appreciated the volunteers cheering us on... somehow made it a little bit easier. Hopefully see you all next week.
Drop me an email if you have an interesting parkrun related fact, happening or comment that you would like to share with all parkrunners.
parkrunner of the week

Name: Sven Fuerst
Age: Older than my son
Home parkrun: St Peters parkrun
Occupation: Project Architect
Number of runs: 46
Number of times volunteered: 6
What do you do at parkruns: Chasing my dream to get a new PB, making sure my barcode doesn’t get wet and keeps readable so it will not mess-up the results, have wonderful discussions after the run, about all the excuses why we lost the milliseconds for a new PB and getting motivated for chasing a new PB next Saturday!!!!
How has parkrun changed your running: Beside that I smashed my 10K, Half Marathon and Marathon PB’s, got new (running-) friends and getting more and more involved into the running community, not much!
What do you like about parkrun: Weekly , Timed, 5km and FREE!!!! Best and cheapest way to get fit! What do you want more?
Most memorable or funniest parkrun moment: Long story short! Was my first time volunteering and was responsible for course marking! Seeing how the front of the pack sometimes gets lost, I tried my best to have the course in perfect conditions! After one hour of marking and using all available chalk we were ready to start! But what was that???!!!!??? Just 30 meter after the start, at the first “mini” turn, the leader of the group took a wrong turn!!!!!!! Ohhhh Nooooooo, how embarrassing......
How can we improve parkrun: Include a quick short summary / highlights of the last run into the pre-run briefing. There are so many great performances every week, which should be highlighted. E.g. female course record got broken, new age grade record, top volunteer, top 3 male or female runners, runner x was doped and got disqualified...