In this week’s newsletter we launch Tuggeranong parkrun, get our monthly stats fix and wish happy birthday to an Aussie running legend.

As per usual, the stats are in for last Saturday, February 23:

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.

Last weekend I was in Canberra for the launch of Tuggeranong parkrun, our second event in the nation’s capital city. On the Friday night I dined with Ginninderra parkrun Event Directors Russ & Jess Jefferys and Tuggeranong parkrun EDs Gareth & Kelly Candy in the inner south suburb of Manuka where last minute preparations were discussed for our launch the following day. Unfortunately however all the planning in the world couldn’t prepare us for the icy cold (and wet) Canberra weather that greeted us the following morning when we arrived in Tuggeranong for the launch. Luckily as 8am grew ever so closer the rain stopped and the wind died down (a bit) and the enthusiastic crowd of 89 runners who braved the conditions was treated to near perfect running conditions.

Watch a short video from the morning.

Well done to Gareth and Kelly for putting on such a great launch event and special mention to Russ and Jess for mentoring them through the process. Canberra’s parkrun events are certainly in safe hands.

When I returned home to the Gold Coast I was delighted to find a large package had been delivered containing my very own BOB Ironman running pram. BOB prams are distributed in Australia by a company called Britax and, after one of their staff read one of our recent pram running pieces in the newsletter, they offered me a pram to run with and review. Not only that, but in the coming weeks we are going to have a BOB Ironman running pram to giveaway to one lucky parkrunner, so watch this space in the newsletter next week.

Lastly, a big shout out must go to Jon Storey and his team at Claisebrook Cove parkrun who, in their 30th event last Saturday, achieved a clean sweep of event records:

- New attendance record of 127;
- New male course record, Mark Lee in 16:13;
- New female course record, Sandra Stockman in 19.25; and
- New age graded course record, Sandra Stockman with 83.43%.

Amazing!!! Jon tells me this can be put down to a much cooler summer's morning and a sudden increase in performance enhancing headbands (15 counted).

Happy running!

Tim from parkrun Australia (get in touch)

Red Cross QLD Flood Appeal This Saturday

Wynnum parkrun is teaming up with the folks from Jetts Fitness in Wynnum to raise money for the Red Cross QLD Flood Appeal. Our parkrun was submerged on 26 January and with a lot of work from the Council and from us parkrunners we managed to parkrun the following week. We are fortunate but lots of people have lost everything and need our help. So this Saturday, alongside our normal parkrun, we are expecting an Olympic Gold Medalist to visit, lots of fabulous prizes in a raffle and some giveaways for participants in the parkrun. We hope people will turn up (with some money) and donate to a worthy cause.

For more details see our website news column or Facebook page next week.

Professor Alan & Róisín from Wynnum parkrun

By The Numbers...

This last parkrun marked the 100th week of parkrun in Australia! Our oldest parkrun, Main Beach, has not hit 100 runs yet (due to a few cancellations over the years) but this week was exactly 100 weeks since it all started happening in Australia! So what has been happening over that last 100 weeks in the Australian parkrun world? Where here are the Weekly Totals....

Click on the graph to enlarge

So our total parkrunners are still on a massive upward trend, but a bit up and down over the last few months. Behind the wiggles there is usually a reason and that is normally weather based! If it is too wet or too windy numbers usually halve at any effected event, but I will let you into a secret it is really rather good to run in the rain and many a PB have been recorded in wet conditions, and you usually get extra points in the parkrun tables if you are not one of the faster runners! So next time bad weather is forecast on parkrun day, check your parkrun is still running (the Event Directors will cancel events if they feel they are unsafe) and head on down and try and grab yourself a new PB!

So where have people been running in February? Well as predicted last month New Farm seems to have reclaimed the title as largest parkrun back to QLD, let’s see what our friends in NSW can manage in March? Game on Robbo!

Click on the graph to enlarge

So as we March onto towards Easter (excuse the pun), we may enjoy the start of some cooler runs and more PBs? We will look at PBs again next time so let’s see which event will top the PB table in 4 weeks times!

BTW if you happen to be near Wynnum parkrun on 2nd March pay us a visit as we have lots going on to try and raise some money for the QLD Flood Relief Appeal

Professor Alan & Róisín from Wynnum parkrun

Upcoming Launch Events

Our third launch for the year is coming up on March 9 at Parramatta parkrun in Sydney. Also confirmed is March 30 for Riverway parkrun in Townsville and April 13 for Fingal Bay in Port Stevens.

Happy Birthday Ron Clarke

parkrun Australia Patron and true running legend, Ron Clarke MBE, turned 76 years young last Thursday. A few interesting facts about Ron:

- As a 19-year-old Ron lit the flame inside the MCG at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics and during his running career set an incredible 17 world records!!!
- Ron's 5km PB is 13:16.6 set in Stockholm on July 5, 1966!
- Ron's youngest son Nicolas has now completed an amazing 58 Main Beach parkruns!

Many of you were kind enough to wish Ron happy birthday on Facebook and here is Ron’s response...

A big thank you for your birthday greetings and also to those who so kindly added their comments. As I have always said, distance running brings out the best in people. I know I have never met, nor competed against, a distance runner that I didn't like... even those who beat me (Kip Keino was one of my closest friends on the circuit, and still is).
Regards, Ron Clarke.

What a legend.

Newcastle Running Forum

Don't miss this fantastic local running event coming up in Newcastle on Friday 5th April.

It promises to be great evening and an opportunity to hear from a select panel of running experts, featuring some notable members of the parkrun community.

The theme of the forum is 'Running & Longevity - the secrets to running for life!' Panelists include:

- Olympic 5000m Silver Medalist (Sydney 2000) and 3x World Champion, Sonia O'Sullivan. Sonia is one of Ireland's greatest ever athletes. She now lives in Melbourne & has run Albert parkrun a number of times. Her parkrun PB is 16:22 set at Bushy parkrun in 2005.
- Current National Marathon & Half Marathon Champion, Scott Westcott. Scott finished 4th in the marathon at the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games and has also run at the World Championships. He is the current course record holder at Newy parkrun (14:51).
- Multiple Masters World Record Holder, Keith Bateman. Keith can claim to be the oldest person ever to break 32 minutes for 10 km. Keith's running has got better with age and at 57 he is showing no signs of slowing up.
- The Godfather of Distance Running in Newcastle, Jim Beisty. Having been a runner for over 60 years and a coach as well, Jim has a wealth of running experience. His Marathon PB is 2:33:09. A Newy parkrun regular these days, Jim boasts a parkrun PB of 34:23 & is tough to beat in the VM75-79 category.

Click here for full details and ticket booking.

Bruce Fordyce in Australia

parkrun South Africa Country Manager Bruce Fordyce and wife Gill will be visiting Australia in March. The plan at the moment is for Bruce and Gill to attend Parramatta on March 9, South Bank on March 16 and Claisebrook Cove on March 23, although I will confirm all of this in the coming weeks.

Feedback from the field

Volunteer Profile

Name:  Matt Raschke

Club:  five30 runners

Age:  52

Home parkrun:  Newy parkrun

Occupation:  Quality Manager

Number of runs:  13

PB:  21:16

Number of times volunteered:  6

Favourite volunteer role:  Any and all.

What do like about volunteering at parkrun:  The feeling of giving back.

Most memorable or funniest parkrun moment:  All the comments that I received on Australia Day wearing an Aussie hat that looked a lot more Austrian than Australian because several runners told me that it was much easier to keep up with the pacer who had a funny hat on.

How can we improve parkrun:  That's tough. It's well organised. About all I can suggest is to provide a half to one page instruction sheet that explains all of the responsibilities of the specific volunteer role. It could be emailed before the day to speed up the learning process and minimise errors. It touches on the "quality" phase that you mentioned where parkrun UK is at (on Naked Runners podcast), so we may not be quite ready for this yet.

In this week’s newsletter we celebrate Kirra parkrun’s 1st anniversary, reflect on the recent ACC Report and visit the debate about headphones at parkrun.

As per usual, the stats are in for last Saturday, February 16:

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.

On Saturday I attended the 1st anniversary of Kirra parkrun, my home event. Although the weather was far from ideal when I left home at 6:15am (i.e. it was bucketing down with rain), by the time 7am rolled along the rain had stopped and we had ideal running conditions. Festivities got underway with Event Director Chris van Hoof presenting some certificates of appreciation to regular volunteers Vaughan and Mike followed by the medals for the annual points competition.

So what is the annual points competition all about? The parkrun points system is primarily for runners. It was designed to reward running. The results of the points competition are used to decide who the parkrunners are who should receive recognition for their running at the end of the event's year. Points for volunteering were added to make it possible for folk who want to run every week of the year to not be disadvantaged when they volunteered and to encourage folks to volunteer at least 3 times a year. This points system was not adapted to reward volunteers.

How does the points system works? The runners are separated into their sexes and allocated points based on the position that they finish. Each Event sets a limit on the number of points to be allocated per sex. For most Events this is 100. The first woman to cross the line will receive 100 points. The second will receive 99 and this tally will reduce until each runner only gets a point. This is repeated for the men. Volunteers are allocated maximum points on the day that they volunteer up to three times per year. Where a parkrunner both volunteers and runs on the same day, they will receive either volunteer points or run points but not both.

Now that you know what this is all about, I want to congratulate:

Kirra parkrun male points prize 2013
1st - Peter Neville - 3853
2nd - Peter Holmes - 3418
3rd - Stephen Holden - 2781

Kirra parkrun female points prize 2013
1st - Caitlin Manshardt - 3891
2nd - Paula Moore - 3422
3rd - Indiah Hope - 2170

Well done to all at Kirra parkrun for making the last 12 months such a success.

Pram running has become a consistent source of chat on both social media and here in the newsletter and this week the question was posed by Scott Northey regarding the fastest parkrun done with a double pram. Scott’s best time is 21:55, can any double pram runners top that?

Speaking of pram pushing, I gave it a good plug during my interview in the latest podcast by The Naked Runners. Click here to have a listen.

Lastly, congratulations to parkrun Australia Operations Manager / South Bank parkrun Event Director Gareth Saunders for being named 'Body Leader of the Month'. I have always thought Gareth has an amazing body, and now I have been proved correct!

Happy running!

Tim from parkrun Australia (get in touch)

Upcoming Launch Events

Our second launch for the year is coming up on February 23 in Canberra at Tuggeranong (aka Tuggers) parkrun. And March 9 is now confirmed for Parramatta parkrun in Sydney, March 30 for Riverway parkrun in Townsville and April 13 for Fingal Bay in Port Stevens.

Special thanks to Simon White for so generously donating his time and expertise to officially measure the Fingal Bay course.

adidas launches Energy Boost

adidas is excited they can finally unveil to parkrunners their latest innovation in technology – Energy Boost. Whether you’re running your weekly 5km, training for a marathon or just trying to get into shape, everyone wants more energy. The revolutionary boost cushioning foam provides the highest energy return in any running product.

So what makes it so energetic you ask? The foundation of the Boost innovation is centred on its cushioning material. Solid granular material (TPU) is literally blown up and turned into thousands of small energy capsules which make up the footwear’s distinctive midsole. These capsules store and unleash energy more efficiently in every stride. But don’t just read about it... See how it works here.

They'll be available to get your hands on a pair from Feb 27th so stay tuned for parkrun exclusive offers!

Newy parkrun’s response to ACC Report

Newy parkrun have just made the following press release following the much publicised report released last week by the ACC (Australian Crime Commission) and ASADA (Australian Sports Anti Doping Authority) following "Operation Asperio":

It has been said that last week was the "blackest day" in Australian sport following the release of the report into doping and links with organsied crime. Like others around the country we have been shocked by the allegations and are reeling from its implications. However, Newy parkrun would like to assure its constituents that while we are fully co-operating with authorities we have nothing to hide. Event founder and director, Dave "Robbo" Robertson said, "We have made all our results and statistics and Facebook posts available to them. While we acknowledge that Newy parkrun might be run by a bunch of dopes, there is are no known or unknown incidents of doping in all our 37 weeks and all performance spikes have been accounted for naturally - or by legal amounts of caffeine. While running naked (that's running without distractions - not running in the nude) is certainly performance enhancing it is not illegal" A Newy parkrun volunteer, who preferred not to be named, but who was prepared to go by the pseudonym of Rudish-a-dodd proclaimed (with a lot of finger pointing like a preacher), "We have no links with organised crime or for that matter no links with disorganised crime or even unorganised crime. We have not been involved in race fixing in any shape or form. When we have told runners we could give them any 'new PB' they liked - provided the price was right - we were only joking ... weren't we Robbo? .... back me up here". While not named in the report per se, Newy parkrun will still go ahead this Saturday while investigations continue - though on-line betting has been suspended. A-R-D.

Twilight Running Festival

There is only 5 weeks to go until this year’s Twilight Running Festival and if you are thinking of trying something longer than your usual parkrun 5km, then this event is a great place to start. The Twilight Running Festival is held on the afternoon of the 24th March at the University of QLD and includes a 1km Kids Challenge, 5km run/walk, 10km and half marathon events.

Last year the parkrun team placed third overall and with more people onboard already this year, we are looking to see if we can take out the largest team prize. Winners of the largest team prize will receive discounted entry to the Twilight Bay Run which is held later in the year. We will have a team tent near the finishing line and a team of physios from Body Leadership looking after our runners so please join us for what is set to be a great evening of running with friends.

To join the parkrun team when signing up, all you need to do is select the 'Search for an existing team' option and search for 'parkrun' then follow the prompts. If you have already signed up but would still like to join the parkrun team, then simply send an email to info@twilightrun.com.au with your registration details and request to be added to the parkrun team.

If you aren't interested in running on the day but are keen to get involved, the organisers are always looking for extra people to help out on the day.

Cann Too is the major beneficiary of the Twilight Running Festival again this year and are in need of volunteers, so if you can help them out by volunteering some of your time then please send an email to info@twilightrun.com.au.

Also, the early bird rate finishes at the end of February so get in quick and take advantage of the cheaper entry fees.

All details about the Twilight Running Festival including the registration page can be found at www.twilightrun.com.au.

We hope to see you there!

Gareth from South Bank parkrun

Australian Running Festival

Thinking about stretching your legs over a longer distance than your regular parkrun? We're getting involved with the Australian Running Festival (Canberra Marathon) on the 13th/14th April 2013 in the following 3 ways:

1. When you enter either the ultra, marathon, half, 10k or 5k, search for 'parkrun' and join your regular Saturday morning running buddies in Team parkrun!
2. Be sure to look out for us at the event as this year we'll have our parkrun marquee, flags and flyers, helping to spread some parkrun love to the rest of Canberra!
3. If you're not thinking about running, why not help as a volunteer? More so than with our regular Saturday parkrun, a running festival of this scale requires a small army of volunteers to man various sections of the course, drinks stations, road closures, kit trucks and so on. If you can lend a hand, let us know by commenting below or drop us an email at parkrun

Early bird entries close on Feb 22 - don't miss out!

Jess from Ginninderra parkrun

Headphones at parkrun, yes or no?

We conducted a Facebook poll during week asking the above highly contentious question, with 40% saying yes and 60% no. Here are some of your responses:

Mark Northcott - Definitely a no. Can't hear when someone is being polite to tell you to move over so they can pass or even give a friendly hey...

Paul Wilcock - One other benefit of headphones off is that you can hear the footfalls of the runners gaining on you from behind, that always encourages me to speed up a bit.

Emma Lancaster - I wear my headphones when I run to chill out and relax and to not hear my breathing so I don't realise how tired I am! I also make sure to listen to music at a reasonable level, partly so I don't go deaf but also, so I can hear what is going on around me. I think each to their own.

Ben Fuller - I think at a large event like this it is probably best to not allow them. Unfortunately as we saw on the weekend it only takes 1 person to cause an issue which can have a big impact...

Vince Naylor - No from me - I can understand when you're running on your own, but when there are hundreds running in a fairly contained space like some parkruns, awareness of what's going on around you is an important part of running in such large groups. Personally, when wearing headphones I can hear my heart beating in my ear and it puts me off my stride..... I do carry my phone with me, and runkeeper gives me time, distance and pace updates. I also sometimes also use a metronome app to get my cadence at around 180 for barefoot running...

Dawn Courage - Yes. For those still struggling with the distance it really helps.

Troy Green - We are lucky to have this opportunity to run with hundreds of other people in beautiful locations. And you want to go and listen to a song you've heard so many times before. I am a massive fan of music, but I love the soundtrack that the world provides when running.

Nick Moad - I've never almost tripped over someone wearing headphones like I have with prams. Don't ban either of them, just make them start at the back. Only problem is, some of the buggers with prams are still quicker than me... such as Mark Northcott.

Melissa Erbacherneebunkle - I'm still a newbie so I like my music to drown out the pain thoughts. That said, I keep the volume low enough to chat with others when they're slow enough to stay with me (or pass me in the opposite direction). I do the majority of my parkrun socialising before and after the running part, and yes, the headphones are taken out entirely then.

Brendan Pearcey - Start banning things people will get their noses out of joint and stop coming...can't really see how things can be banned on a public path anyway...

Tracy Sulejmani - While the arguments each have merit I believe it should be an individual’s choice therefore voted yes.

Deborah De Williams - I thought the whole idea of Parkrun was to encourage people to run & get out there and have a go! Some people like headphones some don't...if people want them to help them run let them...if people need to bring a pram as it’s the only way they can do the run let them...if there are there with their dog and it’s the only way they run let them. It’s about getting people to participate NOT race....the alternative of not running is sitting at home on the couch watching TV.

Jeremy Savage - I voted yes, but I don't use them. I don't like the idea of banning something that a large percentage of the population use. To police the ban would be a nightmare and I think it would have a negative effect on parkrun.

Red Cross QLD Flood Appeal

Wynnum parkrun is teaming up with the folks from Jetts Fitness in Wynnum to raise money for the Red Cross QLD Flood Appeal. Our parkrun was submerged on 26 January and with a lot of work from the council and from us parkrunners we managed to parkrun the following week. We are fortunate but lots of people have lost everything and need our help. So on March 2 alongside our normal parkrun we are holding a Sausage Sizzle, Raffle, Prizes and Last Person Standing. We hope people will turn up (with some money) and donate to a worthy cause.

For more details see our website news column or Facebook page next week

Professor Alan & Róisín from Wynnum parkrun

Bruce Fordyce in Australia

parkrun South Africa Country Manager Bruce Fordyce and wife Gill will be visiting Australia in March. The plan at the moment is for Bruce and Gill to attend Parramatta on March 9, South Bank on March 16 and Claisebrook Cove on March 23, although I will confirm all of this in the coming weeks.

Feedback from the field

Tracy & Paul Adams - We did our first parkrun at Sandgate last week... it was great.. we walked most of the way, but we didn’t come last (which was our personal goal)... back this week to improve our personal times. Well done on a great event.

---

Scott Northey - My home course is Newy parkrun where I regularly push a double pram. I went to the launch of Lake Mac parkrun last week with my two boys and ran a 21:55 and am wondering how this compares to anyone else with a double pram?

---

Jim Beisty - More congratulations in order for Dave Robertson (Davvo), our beloved leader at Newy parkrun and now known as Speedy! On Tuesday evening Dave broke the long standing Newcastle Veterans club record for male Open 200m with a time of 24.25s.This took 1.11s off the 1992 time of Stuart Allen. Well done, Davvo. By contrast, in the M75-79 age group my mate, Warren Hardy, added the 200m club record to his achievements with a time of 39.68s to beat the previous record by some 0.29s.By my reckoning a mere 1.46m at that pace. Jammy sod, you may guess who held the old one, but great congrats, mate.

---

Anon - Coomera parkrun Event Directors Renee and Adam after hours…

---

Heather Jones - Thanks for a great Wynnum parkrun this morning, my first in Queensland, and a very warm welcome from the Event Director Alan.

---

Niki Kenny - Thanks to all the volunteers at Wynnum parkrun, and well done Karlee on your first go at Run Director. Great run as usual, a very friendly bunch, and I'm proud to say I reached my goal of finishing under 30 minutes for the first time today.

---

Neil Wood - Well done Karlee as Run Director at Wynnum parkrun and all the volunteers. Lots of PBs this morning. A 35sec improvement for me. Thanks to Matt, James and Craig for pushing the pace early. Great to see so many out enjoying the foreshores early on a Saturday.

---

Paula Leckie - My dad was here over Christmas from Birmingham, UK and loved being involved in Wynnum parkrun. He now does his local parkrun which is across the road from Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham, and he's still in touch with a Wynnum parkrunner via email! I'm hoping to join the Wynnum parkrun as soon as I don't have to work Friday nights. Keep up the great work folks.

---

Trish Wood - Karlee and all of the volunteers at Wynnum parkrun, thanks for yesterday, you did an awesome job. Alan & John, thanks for setting a cracking pace in our first 5 yesterday, by the end of it I could just see two little blue bodies in the distance, but I did manage to keep you in sight and make use of the pull-along effect - thanks. Awesome work husband (he's back at it again this morning for 17k with Brisbane Road Runners) - my hero. See ya'll next Saturday, have a great week everyone.

---

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:  Paul van der Mey

Club:  WA Car Club

Age:  48

PB:  Forever (might try it one day!)

Home parkrun:  Claisebrook Cove

Occupation:  Manager Curriculum Projects

Number of runs:  0

Number of times volunteered:  10

Favourite volunteer role:  Photographer

What do like about parkruns:  Having a common interest with my wife (Caroline, she runs while I get to play with my cameras!) and enjoying getting out with eople doing great things, then having a social 'coffee' afterwards.

Most memorable or funniest parkrun moment:  Setting up my new action camera on the Claisebrook Cove circle. Got it fitted to the gorilla pod, wrapped it (part way) around the branch and tied it off at the perfect angle to catch the runners, checked it records and turned it off while waiting for the first runner. Went 20m down the course and set-up my remote camera and main camera. Hey there's the safety bike! Let's take photos!! Watched the runners go by, got some great shots with the sun reflecting off the river behind the runners, runners waving, hot and harried runners as they push themselves along. Waved to the tail runner and went back to pack away the action cam and turned it – ON! bugger...

How can we improve parkrun:  More cameras? Maybe a photographer's helper I like the way participation is recorded and results are available soon after the event, great planning went into setting the system up.

In this week’s newsletter we launch a new event at Lake Mac, welcome some Local Supporters to the parkrun family and get set for Kirra parkrun’s 1st anniversary.

As per usual, the stats are in for last Saturday, February 9:

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.

Last Saturday was one of the biggest ever in the short history of parkrun Australia, with 2,789 parkrunners participating around the country. We look certain to crack 3,000 parkrunners within the next few weeks, especially considering we have 3 new events launching shortly.

I was lucky enough to be at the launch of Lake Mac parkrun, an event set up off the back of the huge success of Newy parkrun. Event Directors Adam and Matt were already well versed in the ways of parkrun so, for the first time in ages, I was actually able to participate at a launch event as a runner. Leading up to 8am we were all pretty convinced that a big crowd would be joining us and we weren’t disappointed with 222 enthusiastic parkrunners taking to the start line, an Australian launch record (the global launch record is 317 set at Newbury parkrun in Feb 2012)! Surely this would mean that numbers would be well down at Newy parkrun but we were all delighted to hear later in the morning that Newy also had a bumper crowd of 339, one of its highest ever attendances. So well done to all our parkrunners from Newcastle and Lake Macquarie (or Springfield and Shelbyville as Dave Robbo likes to say) for continuing to support parkrunner in such an incredible way. In return we will be launching more events in the Hunter Region in the coming months, so watch this space.

This Saturday is the 1st anniversary of Kirra parkrun on the Gold Coast, my home run. I have no doubt that Event Director Chris will have his loyal band of followers all fired up to create a real festival atmosphere so I’m looking forward to a great morning out. Kirra is also known as our PB course locally as it is flat and fast, so I expect to see some cracking 5km efforts before the real fun (coffee and cake) starts!

Lastly, St Peters parkrun’s 1st anniversary got a great write up in the South Sydney Herald during the week, check it out

Happy running!

Tim from parkrun Australia (get in touch)

Local Supporters

I would like to welcome Baker Love Lawyers in Newcastle and CRE8IVE in Canberra to the parkrun family. These businesses have recently become official ‘Local Supporters’ of parkrun by providing both cash and in-kind services to ensure we are able to continue to bring you parkrun week-in, week-out absolutely free of charge.

We are on the lookout for Local Supporters for all of our events around Australia so if you think your business can offer something of value to your local parkrun events please do get in touch.

Upcoming Launch Events

Our second launch for the year is coming up on February 23 in Canberra at Tuggeranong (aka Tuggers) parkrun. And March 9 is now confirmed for Parramatta parkrun in Sydney and March 30 for Riverway parkrun in Townsville.

Gindy parkrun at the Australian Running Festival

Thinking about stretching your legs over a longer distance than your regular parkrun? We're getting involved with the Australian Running Festival (Canberra Marathon) on the 13th/14th April 2013 in the following 3 ways:

1.) When you enter either the ultra, marathon, half, 10k or 5k, search for 'parkrun' and join your regular Saturday morning running buddies in Team parkrun!
2.) Be sure to look out for us at the event as this year we'll have our parkrun marquee, flags and flyers, helping to spread some parkrun love to the rest of Canberra!
3.) If you're not thinking about running, why not help as a volunteer? More so than with our regular Saturday parkrun, a running festival of this scale requires a small army of volunteers to man various sections of the course, drinks stations, road closures, kit trucks and so on. If you can lend a hand, let us know by commenting below or drop us an email

Early bird entries close on Feb 22 - don't miss out!

A revolution in running is coming...

We can’t tell you too much just yet… but adidas can’t wait to share their new launch with parkrunners. Here is a teaser...

Beautiful Australia = Beautiful parkrun

When discussing Main Beach parkrun with the runners I coach we always talk about its great mix of bush trails and beach views. The stimulation comes both physically and scenically, as well as from the atmosphere of the people of course! I probably have this conversation with someone every week. A few days ago I was fortunate enough to have had this conversation with someone who is responsible for the upkeep of sections of our course, Lyn Wright from community group ‘Friends of Federation Walk’. Federation Walk [http://www.federationwalk.org] opened in 2001 and ongoing community project work by people like Lyn has seen its continual maintenance and development.

“Our project is to prepare a Master Plan for the regeneration of the vegetation in the area, create public access for passive recreation like parkrun, and ensure that present and future generations of the community have access to enjoy, appreciate and care for these beautiful surroundings”, said Ms Wright.

I guess it made me open my eyes and appreciate that every week we use this magnificent area for our parkrun, but like every good thing there is a lot of work going on behind the scenes to make it happen.

One of the main aims of Federation Walk is to ‘populate’ the area with positive activity, and parkrun is a perfect example of that. The more active the area, the safer it is.

Watering of recent plantings is carried out each Saturday morning by volunteers and community planting days take place on the last Sunday of each month, commencing from 7am.

I’m delighted to have met Lyn and look forward to getting a deeper connection and appreciation of our course by attending a planting day in the near future. For those that do not have a handy thumb for the stopwatch but want to work out their GREEN thumb, get in touch with Lyn. This is just another way you can give back to our amazing event.

I encourage parkrunners across Australia to investigate their own course environment.

Brendan from Main Beach parkrun

Red Cross QLD Flood Appeal

Wynnum parkrun is teaming up with the folks from Jetts Fitness in Wynnum to raise money for the Red Cross QLD Flood Appeal. Our parkrun was submerged on 26 January and with a lot of work from the council and from us parkrunners we managed to parkrun the following week. We are fortunate but lots of people have lost everything and need our help. So on 2nd March alongside our normal parkrun we are holding a Sausage Sizzle, Raffle, Prizes and Last Person Standing. We hope people will turn up (with some money) and donate to a worthy cause.

For more details see our website news column or Facebook page next week.

Professor Alan & Róisín from Wynnum parkrun

Bruce Fordyce: Comrades King

As mentioned last week, parkrun South Africa Country Manager Bruce Fordyce and wife Gill will be visiting Australia in March. The plan at the moment is for Bruce and Gill to attend St Peters on March 9, New Farm or South Bank on March 16 and Claisebrook Cove on March 23, although I will confirm all of this in the coming weeks. In the meantime, I found this great article about Bruce’s exploits during his running career, including his stand against apartheid. It is well worth a read.

Feedback from the field

Jim Moloney – I just want to say a big thank you to everyone involved in organising and running the parkrun events (particularly Dean and Vanessa up at Sandgate, where I run). At my first parkrun in November I struggled to run 1km, and today I managed to run a full 8km (for the first time in my life). I know achieving this wouldn't have been possible if I hadn't started parkrunning. So once again thank you to everyone involved and to all the people who front up every week and let me chase them.

---

Hannah Wellham - Great morning at the 1st Lake Mac parkrun this morning. Thanks guys!

---

Gabby Robertson - Someone was a little excited about the launch of Lake Mac parkrun and meeting parkrun royalty!

---

Matt Hutton - Had a great time with the team launching Lake Mac parkrun this morning. Big well done to my wife Sarah who ran her first parkrun and finished in just under 35 minutes

---

Matt Raschke - Thanks Dave, Adam, Matt and everyone else who volunteered this morning. As predicted, Lake Mac parkrun did indeed go off...

---

Gareth Saunders (South Bank parkrun Event Director) - Another massive weekend in the history of South Bank parkrun. We absolutely smashed our previous attendance record with 275 runners taking part on Saturday. We also had Liam Woollett break his own previous course record by setting a time of 15:42 which also earns him the new South Bank parkrun age grade record of 85.99%. Well done Liam!

---

Paul Wilcock (St Peters parkrun Event Director) – Congraulations to Nigel Janson, the first St Peters parkrunner to reach 50 runs. Your red shirt is coming...

---

Dawn Courage (Kingscliff parkrun Event Director) – We are claiming the female parkrun Australian pram pushing course record for Janthea Andersen in 20:59. Her’s is not even a particularly lightweight buggy, and each week the kiddie gets heavier, but she just gets faster! Can anyone top this? Also we are now offering a 3 course menu every Saturday: 1st running, 2nd savoury and 3rd sweet. It is a full sit down a la carte next week... well maybe not yet, but I would not rule it out. We are all mad as a box of frogs at Kingscliff.

---

Olivia Coop - Thank you so much to the volunteers of Wynnum parkrun. This was my first run and I was so surprised by the amount of support and encouragement you give everyone! I will definitely be back next week and I will be bringing a friend!

---

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:  Hennie Coetzer

Club:  What! Nobody ask me to join their club yet, so I am still available...

Age:  54

Occupation:  Small Business Owner (very small)

Number of runs:  12

PB Time:  27:58

Number of times volunteered:  7 and 2 as Run Director

Favourite volunteer role:  Difficult one let me see – taking photos.

What do you do at parkruns:  I don’t like it, "I LOVE IT"! Runners run and walkers walk….and well I volunteer. For free (yes - I said, free, no $ involved), with friends, with Alan & Roisin too many others as well, over hundred or more the record is 135 finishers, every Saturday 7am at Wynnum. What more could I want? There's even ample opportunity for coffee afterwards, which is half the fun – I’m afraid to say that it’s not made use of enough. “Lekker (lack-er). From the Afrikaans meaning great or good - an expression of approval. "Lekker man.” (South African word) sorry I mean aaahhhh, the glory - you can't beat a volunteer’s high. I enjoy the weekly friendly faces of the runners and volunteers.

Most memorable or funniest parkrun moment:  Running the Longest parkrun, all 8 and a bit parkruns and complete the first full marathon (42.2km) with Alan Burrell (Englishman), Arthur Silva (Sri Lankan) and myself (South African) with no Aussies in sight to challenges us. We are also the first three runners to ever complete the run in Australia, great.

How can we improve parkrun:  If you want to improve volunteering ask parkrunners what they don’t like to do and don’t ask them to do it.