Nellie wins first-ever Parkrun

She finished in a time
of 21:17.
The Comrades king, Bruce Fordyce also partook in the race and came
second in 21:24. He is one of the all-time greats of ultra-marathon running.
Fordyce won South Africa’s gruelling ultra marathon an incredible eight times in
succession, and nine times overall, to make the race his own throughout the
’80s.
The Parkrun is a free weekly five- kilometre trial event for runners
and walkers of all levels, which takes place every Saturday at 8:00 at Halls
Gateway, Mataffin, Nelspruit. “Parkrun can really be whatever you want it to be,
whether it’s for fun or as part of a training plan. It is an out-and-back course
on Halls property from Gateway through orchards and the dairy farm then along
banks of Crocodile River,” said Tracey Cresswell from Run/walk for Life.
It
offers an opportunity for the local community, male or female, young or old, to
come together on a regular basis to enjoy this beautiful area and get physically
active at the same time. “We want to encourage people to participate
irrespective of their ability – this event is truly open to all and best of all
it is free,” said Cresswell.
Taking part is easy – register before your first
ever parkrun: website: www.parkrun.co.za then select ‘Halls’ as your home run
and print your barcode. The great thing is that you only ever register once.
Then just set your alarm for Saturday and bring along your barcode.
In 2007,
Wimbledon Common parkrun was developed to respond to the demand of the runners
and on the same principles as Bushy parkrun. This was quickly followed by
Banstead Woods which paved the way for the others to follow. When Paul first set
out to create Bushy parkrun, his aim was to make it simple for anyone to take
part whenever it suited them. He hoped that runners would want to compete
against themselves and not necessarily against the other participants.
Right
from the start, it was meant to be a community project where the runners would
always run for free. Your results will be emailed to you the following day.
Detailed results are published to the website every Saturday. The parkrun is
dependent on volunteers for it’s success. Please remember to offer to volunteer
if you are not running.
So whether you are a complete novice looking to get
yourself started on your own “running/walking journey” or a seasoned athlete
wanting to use this as a part of your training schedule, you’re welcome to come
along.
Visit the website for more information on our easy-to-navigate page
where you can register and learn more about the events:
https://www.parkrun.co.za/halls/