Young and old lace up for Easter Parkrun
They participated in the 5km fun run/walk through the beautiful surroundings of the Botanical Gardens as part of celebrating the Easter weekend.
The 5km Parkrun in the beautiful surroundings of the Botanical Garden drew a crowd of over 950 people on Saturday morning this past Easter weekend.
Parkrun volunteer, Itha Wessels said: “The Parkrun is held every week and everyone is welcome to walk, jog, run or volunteer.”
The parkrun has weekly participants of all ages – from babies in prams, to veterans in their 80s.
Wessels said each parkrun is run entirely by a team of volunteers, some of whom participate in the event, while others give up their run to assist with roles, such as marshalling, time-keeping, and barcode scanning.
“The Botanical Garden Parkrun often sees attendance of over 1 000 participants, and is famously one of the most registered-for Parkruns in the world, with over 79 000 people having it listed as their ‘home’ event,” said Wessels.
Another volunteer, Pieter Potgieter, celebrated his 85th birthday on Sunday, saying he loves volunteering at the events, often arriving at 06:00 to set up the cones marking out the route.
The first-ever parkrun event took place on October 2, 2004, at Bushy Park in Teddington, UK. It was founded by Paul Sinton-Hewitt, a Zimbabwean-born runner.
The first-ever South African Parkrun took place on November 12, 2011.
The movement was spearheaded by the legendary Bruce Fordyce, a nine-time Comrades Marathon winner, after he experienced a Parkrun event at Bushy Park in London.
He realised the format – simple, free, and community-driven – was a perfect fit for South Africa’s vibrant running culture.
The Botanical Garden Parkrun in Pretoria officially launched on December 20, 2014, and drew 320 finishers.
Since then, it has grown significantly, celebrating its 400th event on August 30, 2025.
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