LYDENBURG- Bruce Fordyce, the nine-times Comrades Ultra- marathon winner launched Lydenburg’s first parkrun at Bofhuis, Mpumalanga Fishery on Saturday.

Fordyce is South Africa’s representative of parkruns and a running legend throughout the world with many records to his name.The event coincided with the 10th anniversary of the movement.

The cold morning started with Fordyce encouraging the racers and bringing them up to speed about the initiative.

“I believe this is the beginning of a new lifestyle, and a great way to keep fit. The attendance will increase and before you know it there will be many parkruns,” he explained.

The 5km concept started three years ago in South Africa and currently there are 35 venues in the country. This allows runners to participate nationwide wherever they are at 08:00 on Saturday mornings.

Mariaan de Lange, a volunteer, said that participants had two things to celebrate – the beginning of a new lifestyle and the anniversary of this worldwide initiative that was started by Paul Sinton-Hewitt.

Among the participants was Carmen Goncalves (13), the first junior in South Africa to run 50 parkruns.

Goncalves said she wanted to be the winner of the Comrades one day. “I love running, it keeps me healthy and fit for school.

” Some runners travel around the country to experience events in various provinces.Jabulani Mkhize, a 44-year-old runner, said he had participated in a total of 38 events.

“When I joined I wanted to increase my points on Discovery Vitality, but that has changed, now it is about staying fit,” he explained.

Discovery Vitality members aged 18 and older earn 500 points for participating in a parkrun. Adidas, Blue Label and Discovery Vitality are sponsors of the initiative.

Mariska Ferreira, a local, was happy to be part of the event and hoped the number of people would increase every week. “This is my first time, there’s no competition and anyone can do it,” she added.

Participation is free and everyone is encouraged to register online, get a barcode for a unique athlete number and to print it for use when taking part. Everyone is invited whether you want to run or walk.

David Mendes was first over the line in 21min, 29sec. Robert Green came second in 22:13 and Fordyce took the third place in 22:33. Green, received his black T-shirt and will not be wearing the red anymore.

The T-shirts are colour-coded according to the the number of parkruns entered: 10 (white); 50 (red); 100 (black); and 250 (gold & black). The white T-shirt has been replaced by a certificate of attendance.

Each event is organised entirely by volunteers who give their time freely to set up each event, time the runners and process the results.

“We urge the public to volunteer and they will be called according to the roster,” said De Lange. The run will be held every weekend at the same venue.