---

In this week’s newsletter we launch a new event at Rockingham, celebrate Ginninderra parkrun’s 1st Anniversary, and host the inaugural GCAM Reunion Day.

When I first started writing this weekly newsletter in June 2012 it was often a bit of a struggle to come up with interesting and engaging content week in week out. Not even 12 months later and this situation couldn’t be further from the truth, and in fact I have so many amazing statistics and stories to share with you this week that I almost don’t know where to begin, but here goes nothing…

At a global level, we recently registered our 500,000 parkrunner and set our largest ever weekly attendance with over 37,000 parkrunners participating. And it just so happens that parkrunner number A500000 is an Aussie (Amy Little) who ran her first event at the inaugural Augustine Heights parkrun two Saturdays ago.

On Saturday parkrun really came of age in Western Australia with 160 runners at Claisebrook Cove and an incredible 111 runners at the launch of Rockingham parkrun. That’s a total of 271 runners and 23 volunteers across the 2 events. Thanks to Claisebrook Cove Event Director Jon Storey for guiding new Rockingham ED Claudia Wells through her first day on the job, it looked like a wonderful occasion.

Ginninderra parkrun in Canberra celebrated its 1st anniversary on Saturday with unbelievable scenes including, but not limited to, a new attendance record of 188, Marty Dent only 10 seconds off another course and Australian record time, the entire top 10 under 17.05, the entire top 20 under 19.26 and Scott McTaggart laying claim to fastest pram pusher with 17.04! Now we all know that parkrun is a run and not a race, but WOW!!!

I spent Saturday morning at my home event Kirra parkrun where it was Gold Coast Airport Marathon Reunion Day (see article below) and it was great to see so many old GCAM finishers shirts on the course. This Saturday I will be attending the launch of yet another event in Brisbane, this time at Cleveland. This launch is a direct result of the success of Wynnum parkrun down the road and we are expecting another great turnout.

Also happening this Saturday is the ‘Black Arm Band For Jo’ run at Kingscliff parkrun. Joe Kelly was tragically killed during the Brisbane Twilight Run last month and his triathlon club will be running at Kingscliff in his honour. Dawn Courage and her team are looking forward to welcoming them and showing their support at this tough time.

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.

By The Numbers…

---

Another big month for parkrun in Australia. Just last month we were celebrating breaking through the 3,000 parkrunners per week level, this week we are knocking on the door of 4,000! A bit of bad weather caused a few glitches along the way but I am sure with 4 new parkruns launching in May we will be over 4,000 very soon.

Last month our friends in Lake Mac asked the Professor to look at “The Region of Runners” or the Hunter to the rest of us. Now the Prof is not really into Rugby League, but he has just about heard of ‘State of Origin’ and thought he would create a few simple ‘parkrun of Origin’ graphs!

The first one looks at parkrun attendance for all State/Territory as a percentage of that State/Territory population. It comes up with an interesting result if you live in the nation’s Capital (another feather in its 100 year old cap).

So at this stage the Prof felt a little sorry for Matt Hutton, guessing NSW’s fourth place was not what he wanted to see? So digging a little deeper (down to ‘Statistical Area Level 2’ data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics) we come up with something that should put a smile on Robbo and Matt’s faces...

So proof positive the ‘Region of Runners’ does exist and looking at it from a % point of view it is way ahead of the rest!

Assuming the Prof does not get lynched in the next few days by a mob of maroons - then next month the Prof will take on Darragh Murray’s request to look at the fastest parkrun course in Australia! If anyone else has some suggestion then please let Tim know.

Professor Alan & Róisín from Wynnum parkrun.

Gold Coast Marathon Reunion Day

---

On Saturday at Main Beach, Kirra and Coomera parkruns we held the inaugural Gold Coast Airport Marathon Reunion Day. We asked parkrunners to wear a previous GCAM finisher or training shirt to go in the draw to win free entry into a 2013 GCAM race of your choice courtesy of parkrun and Get Active Gold Coast. Well the photos are in and if you are one of the below lucky runners please contact stephen@goldcoastevents.com.au to claim your prize.

For those of you who want to join the parkrun Australia team at this year’s GCAM, please follow the below instructions:

Step 1: Go to www.goldcoastmarathon.com.au
Step 2: Enter -> Enter Now.
Step 3: Read the entry conditions and begin the entry process.
Step 4: Are you entering as part of a team -> ‘I would like to search for an existing team’.
Step 5: Enter ‘parkrun Australia’ and click the green button to search and display the team.
Step 6: After the search, the team name will appear. Click the green button next to the team name.
Step 7: In the password field, enter 'park2013' and click JOIN.
Step 8: Once the team code is accepted, you then progress through the normal entry steps.

Sydney Half Marathon Winners

---

Congrats to the following parkrunners, who have scored themselves at spot at the Sydney Half Marathon thanks to adidas: Phi Luu, Stuart Legg, Trish Russell, Rochelle Cox and Paul Wilcock. You’ll be representing parkrun at the big event on May 19.

If you are attending the Half Marathon make sure you come past adidas at the expo. Keep an eye out for the #boost banner station, where your loved ones can create personalized boost banners to support you on event day. See your name and personal message as you run past your biggest fans!

adidas also invites all competitors running in adidas into their VIP chill out area at the finish line. Here you can relax after the event, put your feet up and have your photo taken with adidas athletes and ambassadors. So don’t forget to wear adidas on event day for VIP access.

Upcoming Event Launches, Anniversaries & Cancellations

---

Our 7th launch for the year is coming up this Saturday, May 4, at Cleveland in Brisbane. Other confirmed launch dates include May 11 for Curl Curl in Sydney; May 18 for Varsity Lakes in the Gold Coast; May 25 for Highlands in Melbourne; June 1 for Sandon Point in Wollongong & Canning River in Perth; June 8 for Mitchelton in Brisbane; and June 15 for North Shore in Townsville.

Newy parkrun celebrates its 1st anniversary on June 8 whilst Coomera & Claisebrook Cove turn 1 on August 3.

The Pointy End

---

Who are you? Lake Mac parkrun women's course record holder and the only woman to beat all comers (i.e. the men) across the line, Steph Auston.
How the hell do you run so fast? I’m not that fast! But I like running hard and pushing myself and have been lucky to never have any injuries.
How many km do you run in an average training week? I only run 60 to 65km a week so not too much really but I do triathlons so also do about 7 to 8hrs on the bike and 24km in the pool... And Pilates when I can!
What type of training do you typically do? I do triathlons so mix it up with intensity and volume. My favorite run set though is 5x1km reps at race pace with 2 minutes rest in between!
How long have you been running and have you always been so damn good? I was really active as a kid always outside running around and doing team sports. I didn't specifically start running until I was about 15.
What is you favourite distance? The 5km parkrun of course!
Do you have a coach and do you train with a squad? I coach myself but do squads sessions under Chris Stevens with the Highlight Triathlon Team in Newcastle doing about 4 to 5 squads a week.
How much faster would you like to go? Short term the goal is a 17.30 for 5k on the track. Long term is somewhere in the 16minutes! (You can dream right?!)
What big events do you want to run? I would love to take triathlon to the next level but later on something extreme like the north face 100, New York Marathon and Hawaii Ironman are all on the bucket list!

Feedback from the field

---

Volunteer Profile

---

Name:  Debbie Hollanby

Age:  53

Home parkrun:  Wynnum

Occupation:  Teacher Aide

Number of runs:  14

Number of times volunteered:  3

What do you do at parkruns:  I have volunteered with registration and numbers and as assistant Run Director.

How has parkrun changed your running:  Wynnum parkrun hasn’t changed my running, it has started my running! My son who is a very keen runner encouraged me to go along and I have been participating ever since.

What do you like about parkrun:  I love the way it encourages all ages and levels of runner, you feel part of the parkrun family no matter how fast you run/walk.

Most memorable or funniest parkrun moment:  My most memorable moment was in my first Wynnum parkrun when my son James, after finishing his run, found me out on the course and ran the last leg with me – and he has done it ever since.

---

In this week’s newsletter we launch a new event at Augustine Heights, prepare for GCAM reunion day, and offer you the chance to win your way into the Sydney Morning Herald Half Marathon.

What a difference a week makes! Two Saturdays ago Queensland was wet and New South Wales was dry. Last Saturday Queensland was dry and New South Wales was wet. Lucky for me I was in the dry state on both weekends. So where will I be this weekend I hear you ask?

On Saturday I attended the launch of Augustine Heights parkrun in Ipswich, west of Brisbane. This event was our third (after Coomera and North Lakes) launch in partnership with property developers Stockland who I will discuss further in a subsequent email (big news on that front). The launch of this event has come at an opportune time for parkrun as our existing events in Brisbane are full to bursting point so we are hoping many regular Brisbane parkrunners will go and try out Augustine Heights in the weeks and months to come. The morning itself was a huge success with 75 parkrunners in attendance and free coffee and a sausage sizzle provided by Stockland. Congratulations to new Event Directors Paula and Joanne (originally from Hull, UK) for putting on such a great show. Check out an an awesome video of the morning.

A few weeks back our friends from The Athletes Foot sent a film crew to St Peters parkrun in Sydney to shoot a promo for the new adidas adistar boost. Well now we need you to vote for it in their 'How Do You Boost?' competition. Simply 'Vote Now' for Emily the Speed Dater and you can win a pair of the limited release adistar boost shoes! Visit the website to vote.

Last Saturday, unbeknownst to most of you, parkrun globally went through a major technological change regarding how we process results and manage volunteers. This was the largest single ‘behind the scenes’ change in the history of parkrun and was a real sink or swim moment for our amazing volunteers. I’m pleased to say the change was handled impeccably well by all of our teams and want to pay special tribute to Professor Alan Burrell from Wynnum parkrun who gave up much of his Saturday to tutor many of our Event Directors across the country through this process. It is people like the Professor who make parkrun such a special organization to be part of. Well done to Alan and all of our Event Directors for seeing through such a momentous day.

Happy running,

Tim from parkrun Australia (get in touch)

Gold Coast Marathon Reunion Day

---

This Saturday, April 27, is Gold Coast Airport Marathon Reunion Day at Main Beach, Kirra and Coomera parkruns. If you get photographed on the day wearing a previous GCAM finisher or training shirt you will go in the draw to win free entry into a 2013 GCAM race of your choice courtesy of parkrun and Get Active Gold Coast.

For those of you who want to join the parkrun Australia team at this year’s GCAM, please follow the below instructions:

Step 1: Go to goldcoastmarathon.com.au
Step 2: Enter -> Enter Now.
Step 3: Read the entry conditions and begin the entry process.
Step 4: Are you entering as part of a team -> ‘I would like to search for an existing team’.
Step 5: Enter ‘parkrun Australia’ and click the green button to search and display the team.
Step 6: After the search, the team name will appear. Click the green button next to the team name.
Step 7: In the password field, enter 'park2013' and click JOIN.
Step 8: Once the team code is accepted, you then progress through the normal entry steps.

All in for parkrun

---

adidas has partnered with The Sydney Morning Herald Half Marathon presented by Colonial First State and is giving 5 parkrunners the opportunity to represent parkrun at the event. The 5 places at the May 19 event in Sydney are open to any parkrunners who want to give the half marathon a shot. Simply tell us ‘Why do you want to represent parkrun at the event’ to win. Make sure you send your entry to parkrun@adidas.com by Friday 26th April!

Stay tuned for details on how you could win entries into other running events in Australia later this year including the City2Surf in Sydney.

Upcoming Event Launches, Anniversaries & Cancellations

---

Our sixth launch for the year is coming up this Saturday, April 27, at Rockingham near Perth. Other confirmed launch dates include May 4 for Cleveland in Brisbane; May 11 for Curl Curl in Sydney; May 18 for Varsity Lakes in the Gold Coast; May 25 for Highlands in Melbourne & Mitchelton in Brisbane; June 1 for Sandon Point in Wollongong & Canning River in Perth; and June 15 for North Shore in Townsville.

Ginninderra parkrun celebrates its 1st anniversary this Saturday whilst Newy turns 1 on June 8.

The Pointy End

---

Who are you? Lake Mac parkrun Male 50-54 age category record holder (18:43) Kevin Thorpe.
How the hell do you run so fast? Speed is a relative definition. I am only faster than the guy behind me.
How many km do you run in an average training week? Between 50 and 80, depending on what is planned for the coming weeks/months.
What type of training do you typically do? Mostly running but will try to cycle to 45 minute sessions per week.
How long have you been running and have you always been so damn good? Having spent 36 years in the military fitness was part of the job. Didn’t do serious running until over age 40 and stopped team sports.
5) What is you favourite distance? 20- 25k. Between 80 and 120 minutes.
6) Do you have a coach and do you train with a squad? Mostly individual training but try to get together with a group at least one a week.
7) How much faster would you like to go? At my age happy to maintain current levels. I see this as an improvement in itself.
8) What big events do you want to run? Ones that don’t cost too much or have something ‘special’ to offer. Everest Marathon for example.

Feedback from the field

---

Volunteer Profile

---

Name:  Chris White & Kathryn Griffiths

Age:  31 & 32

Home parkrun:  Originally Oldham, UK, but now Albert Melbourne parkrun

Number of runs:  20+ parkrun's each but aiming for the red t-shirts of 50!

Number of times volunteered:  8

What do you do at parkruns:  Enjoy great company, scenery, food (afterwards!) and push ourselves to improve our running.

How has parkrun changed your running:  Both of us have improved massively since embracing parkrun and are breaking PB's and taking on new challenges all the time. Trail runs, marathons and more in 2013!

What do you like about parkrun:  parkrun is the first environment we have both experienced together where all runners are equal and there is a mutual respect and appreciation for all things running. It is such a positive and encouraging environment that you can't help but come back!

Most memorable or funniest parkrun moment:  Feeling so welcome at parkrun every week has made our move to Melbourne so much easier. Also Phil Stokes panting across the line each week and Dominic Cooley swimming in the Albert Park lake following poor rugby handling skills.

---

In this week’s newsletter we launch a new event at Fingal Bay, welcome a triathlon legend to the parkrun family, and hear from the ‘pointy end’ of the field.

Firstly, where are the stats? Well as we now have 23 events (and growing) I have made the executive decision to no longer include the stats table at the top of the newsletter. It was just starting to get too long! But fear not, I will continue to include the weekly stats table on the parkrun Australia Facebook page for the foreseeable future

On Saturday I attended the launch of Fingal Bay parkrun in Port Stephens. Wow, what an amazing place for a parkrun! This is the kind of location that our British cousins will jealously look at the photos of week in week out, until they finally decide to emigrate! Event Director Jaci Richards, already a well known person in the local running community, did a splendid job managing her first event and even navigated her way through a few teething problems with the scanner. I am loving the opportunity that parkrun provides me to see new parts of Australia and meet wonderful people and Fingal Bay parkrun was a classic example of this. Thanks to Jaci, Dean and all of the other volunteers for putting on such a good show.

This week, by popular demand, I have added a new section to the newsletter called ‘The Pointy End’ which asks some probing questions of our fastest parkrunners. Hopefully it will give us all an idea about what it takes to run faster. But remember, parkrun is a run, not a race

For any budding TV stars amongst you The Today Show are after some uplifting human interest stories for a possible parkrun segment. So if parkrun has had a positive impact on your life that you would like to share with the nation please contact Steve Cox on scox@elitesports.com.au

The Australian Running Festival was held in Canberra over the weekend and many parkrunners from all over the country took part. I would however like to make special mention of South Bank parkrun Run Director Reece Anderson who completed the marathon in a personal best time of 2hrs 52mins 22secs finishing a staggering 36th overall. Reece’s Mum passed away from cancer just under 2 years ago and he has dedicated his running since then to her memory, so well done again from all of us mate.

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

Welcome Chrissie Wellington

---

Triathlon legend Chrissie Wellington has just been appointed to head up the new Junior parkrun Series in the UK. Chrissie is a four-time Ironman Triathlon World Champion and has recently retired from professional competition. Her enthusiasm and drive to make a difference to children’s health and to positively affect the position of women in sport is key to her decision to join parkrun. You can follow Chrissie on Twitter @chrissiesmiles

Gold Coast Marathon Reunion Day

---

Saturday April 27 is Gold Coast Airport Marathon Reunion Day at Main Beach, Kirra and Coomera parkruns. If you get photographed on the day wearing a previous GCAM finisher or training shirt you will go in the draw to win free entry into a 2013 GCAM race of your choice courtesy of parkrun and Get Active Gold Coast.

Upcoming Event Launches, Cancellations & News

---

Our fifth launch for the year is coming up this Saturday, April 20 at Augustine Heights in Ipswich. Other confirmed launch dates include April 27 for Rockingham near Perth, May 11 for Curl Curl in Sydney, May 18 for Varsity Lakes in the Gold Coast, May 25 for Highlands in Melbourne and June 1 for Sandon Point in Wollongong.

Kirra parkrun is cancelled this Saturday due to the Australian Surf Life Saving Championships being held at North Kirra.

The Pointy End

---

Who are you? Wynnum parkrun male record holder (16:15) Werner Botha.

How the hell do you run so fast? You obviously have not met my dog, taking him for a walk is the hardest training session in the world. He is a Ridgeback and loves chasing anything that moves. On a serious note my background is being an 800m middle distance runner and old habits die hard, it’s basically a sprint, so I have this ingrained mentality to just run hard.

How many km do you run in an average training week? I would be lucky to run 40km a week.

What type of training do you typically do? Gym 3 times a week, hypertrophy stuff, as I am trying to get huge. I stopped running for a bit and decided I want to become a gym junkie because when I was running seriously I never got that opportunity to get beach muscles. Wynnum parkrun has ignited the running spark in my life, so lately I have been going to the gym less and running 3 to 4 times a week. Mondays – Hill/speed session, Wednesday – race pace specific session, Thursday – Threshold/tempo session and Sunday’s would be my long run if you can call it that.

How long have you been running and have you always been so damn good? 15 years + I would say… I moved from South Africa when I was in year 6 and walked home from school every day. I decided to run home because I would always miss out on my favourite TV show if I walked… Yes TV got me fit! I was blessed to have won a few National titles in Athletics, I got to represent Australia in the 800m at the 2002 U/20 World Junior Championships in Jamaica and 2004 U/20 World Junior Championships in Italy. So I guess I am lucky to have been blessed.

What is your favourite distance? I used to say 800m because it is very tactical and exciting to watch, probably one of the hardest events out there… Lately however I am enjoying the 5km and 10km events. Wynnum parkrun gives me the opportunity to hunt down my 5km time every weekend which is pretty special, almost as special as mowing the lawn, only there you see instant results.

Do you have a coach and do you train with a squad? I am the coach! I have a squad that train at Lota and Manly called Daily Runner and my wife and I have about 25 members in our squad. We have a lot of fun and it’s a great bunch of people that have inspired me to enjoy running. Everyone is so friendly, you should come along for a run with us sometime.

How much faster would you like to go? My 5k PB is 15:01 so naturally I would like to crack the 15minute mark. 40k a week won’t get me there so I guess I better start training harder.

What big events do you want to run? Just finished the Twilight Half Marathon a few weeks ago and that was fun. City to South sounds fun, City to Surf, I would like to do the Bridge to Brisbane 5k and one day I would like to do the Gold Coast Marathon and Comrades Marathon in South Africa. I guess I’m just happy to be running.

Feedback from the field

---

Volunteer Profile

---

Name:  Karen Barrett

Age:  ha ha you’re joking

Home parkrun:  Lake Mac

Occupation:  Trainer Assessor at AACP Training. A diploma level arborist by trade, I travel the country side teaching mostly chainsaw maintenance & operation, Tree Pruning, Tree Felling and EWP.

Number of runs:  14

PB:  9 times (4 at Newy and 5 at Lake Mac)

What do you do at parkruns:  Chief Motivator, Lol, but just have FUN!! On the times as volunteer I’ve been the photographer 3 times and Number Checker once at Newy, at Lake Mac I’ve been a pretty EPIC Number’s person 3 times and as pacer (with a little too much pace) for the first time last week.

How has parkrun changed your running:  Has helped improve my times, technique and has helped me enjoy my running a lot more through meeting friendly people. Has helped improve my confidence with running which has lead me to enter other races.

What do you like about parkrun:  Love the atmosphere, love seeing people achieve their goals whether it be just to complete the 5 km or to get that new PB. parkrun run has helped keep me motivated its help me to achieve PB’s but it’s all about the fun for me, I turn up rain, hail or shine.

Most memorable or funniest parkrun moment:  Watching last week’s pacers Adam and Kevin finish their 5km then to see them keep going back out and motivating and encouraging runners/ joggers/ walkers across the line then going back out again to encourage others time and time again. I’ve never seen so many smiles on people’s faces, just awesome to see.