Let parkrun Global help you reach your fitness goals

A very common new year’s resolution is to become healthier through exercise and new eating habits. However, public gathering regulations and earlier closing times at gyms make it a little more difficult to commit to a new exercise routine.

In June 2020, parkrun Global introduced the (not)parkrun initiative to allow runners to still participate in a parkrun without using official venues or breaking any public-gathering rules. The (not)parkrun is the perfect way to stick to your new year’s resolutions while staying safe, and it is a lot more convenient. You no longer have to wake up in the early hours of a Saturday morning so you can be at a park by 8am. You can complete your 5km walk or run at any time of the day, any day of the week, wherever works best for you.

“Everyone is welcome at (not)parkrun and even though you don’t have to register as a parkrunner, it is a lot more fun if you do,” said Kip Norman, the West Rand parkrun Ambassador.

You simply go to the parkrun website (www.parkrun.co.za), register and print out your barcode. This is a completely free process, so you don’t need to worry about any membership fees either. Then all that is left to do is dedicate time to running or walking your 5km and uploading your times to the parkrun website. Weekly updates will share the results of the (not)parkruns you participated in, helping you better your finishing time with every run. Similar to the normal Saturday events, your results will appear in a table with all the other (not)parkrunners in the community.

The (not)parkrun will not contribute to the parkrun milestones because it is considered a completely separate initiative, but that does not mean there will never be a parkrun again. A few countries have resumed their Saturday runs, we just need to be patient. “It’s not a replacement for parkrun, or in any way planning for a ‘new normal’ where parkrun events don’t exist. We definitely will be back,” said parkrun Global representatives.

For those who would like to participate, but are not quite ready for a full 5km yet, the #parkrunresolution may be the solution. This initiative is aimed at helping potential parkrunners build their stamina and fitness levels slowly so that when parkruns return, they are ready to participate without a problem. The parkrun website clearly lays out an eight-week plan to get more active and they start out small, with week one only being a 15 minute walk every other day, and building into the full 5km walk or run.

This year may not have started out how we all planned, but there are small wins we can take and better ourselves with.