Run for fun at Sterkfontein
The Sterkfontein parkrun is in full force and they invite everyone to come join them.
The Sterkfontein parkrun had its 30th run at the new venue at the beginning of April. One of the runners, Peter Ypenburg, ran his 100th run on 6 April.
Parkrun is a free, weekly 5km timed run and takes place around the world. These runs are open to anyone who wants to participate, no matter your level of fitness.
The Sterkfontein run takes place in a safe, beautiful, nature-filled environment and at one stage passes a small river. It is however not a very easy route as there are some uphill climbs as well.
On an average Saturday morning, the Sterkfontein parkrun has 250 runners competing and some of them even use this route to train for marathons.
Participants are welcome to bring their dogs, if they are on a leash, and it is fun for the whole family.
Kip Norman, the parkrun West Rand ambassador said they are planning to bring the parkrun to Westonaria, Carletonville and Randfontein by the end of July. On 20 April, they are also opening their newest parkrun in Hekpoort.
“The run is totally free. All you have to do is register online, and bring your barcode with you, and if you could volunteer three or four times a year, that would be nice,” said Kip.
Because this is a free event, they are completely reliant on volunteers to help them out. There are also milestones for when you volunteer. If you volunteer 25 times you get a purple shirt, 50 times gets you a red shirt, and so on for 100, 250 and 500 times.
The whole race is also app-based so by scanning your barcode you can follow your progress and check your finishing times on a weekly basis.
Kip admits that the Sterkfontein trail is a bit intimidating at the moment, but says they are looking for a rather flatter route in the Krugersdorp area.
And if you are still not convinced, there is always the fact that registered parkrunners get 300 Vitality points at the end of every run.
So if you want a nice morning run, you can join the Sterkfontein group every Saturday at 8am at Sterkfontein Heritage Lodge, 1 Wolf Street, Rant-en-Dal.
