A breath of fresh air is all you need to start your day

On Saturday mornings at 08:00 a couple of hundred people from all walks of life trade their busy lifestyles for a tranquil five-kilometre run.

This is a route that gets the adrenalin pumping and costs absolutely nothing, a route that starts and ends at the Halls Gateway among the picturesque Lowveld landscape.

Welcome to the Halls parkrun – a weekly five-kilometre timed running event that is free and accessible to everyone.

On one chilly Saturday morning, Lowvelder paid a visit to see what all the hype was about. A total of 119 people gathered, clothed in neon T-shirts, branded shoes and training shorts. Some of them wore long-sleeved tops and brought their dogs to this natural highway. They were a diverse lot – youngsters, adults, pensioners, and even an American.

Bruce Fordyce, head of parkrun SA, introduced the first one in the country in 2011 after being invited to a parkrun in the United Kingdom, where it had originated.

“Bruce approached me to set up the event at Halls Gateway and we had our first race in December last year,” said Tracey Cresswell, event director.

“Anyone can join. All you have to do is register on our website, bring your printed barcode in order to register your time and then you can compete in any event around South Africa and even the world,” she added.

Tracey is also manager at the Run/Walk for Life branch in Mbombela and is an avid runner, having completed four marathons.

“This is a great community- upliftment programme which promotes good health and encourages physical activity. We have had people in their 70s and amazingly a three-year-old who completed the race,” said Tracey.

“One of the attractions is that it’s a timed race. It motivates competitive, cross-country, and casual runners to improve their time each week. We get people who cheer and say, ‘I was three seconds faster!’ It means a lot to them.”

According to Tracey, schools in Mbombela have made parkrun compulsory for their cross-country athletes, as it gives them a timed training session before the serious competition starts.

It came as no surprise when Christiaan van Biljon (16) and Lizaan de Blanche (14), both of Hoërskool Nelspruit won the men and women’s categories respectively.

“There is a great spirit. It doubles the fun of running and gives me the opportunity to test myself before the bigger cross-country events start,” said Christiaan, almost completely out of breath.

“This is my third win of the year at my fourth event. Being out in nature is the best part,” Lizaan mentions.

Susan Linden, originally from Australia, ran with her black Labrador, Jess. “This is an awesome social event. I ran alongside an Afrikaans-speaking person today. All I could say was ‘Ja, nee’, but I’m improving,” she chuckled.

The event has grown immensely in six months, with numbers increasing from 30 to more than 1 000 registered athletes. One of these is American Chris Ladd, originally from Knoxville, Tennessee. He has been living in Mbombela since January and won his debut race.

“I only did because most of the regulars were at the Comrades,” Chris says, smiling. “I love parkrun and I use it to train for next year’s Comrades. I want to get a sub-7 and a half next year.”

The event is run through sponsors and volunteers, and Discovery Vitality gives members 500 Vitality points after completing each race. Children receive a certificate signed by Bruce Fordyce after completing 10 races, while adults also receive a red parkrun shirt after completing 50. “We rely greatly on volunteers. People who would like to contribute can register on our website and do basic tasks such as marshalling at different points on the course, scanning athletes’ barcodes and operating the timer. We honour every volunteer on our website’s ‘This Week’s Heroes’ section,” said Tracey.

“Word of mouth is one of the most important ways in which parkrun grows.”

Check out some photos in our gallery here