Len Rutter Park was bursting at the seams on Saturday, January 17, when an astonishing 718 runners, joggers and walkers showed up to take part in the weekly 5km run.

Already one of the most popular weekly events on the sporting calendar, the Roodepoort parkrun seems poised for big things this year if this turnout is anything to go by.

This week’s run featured some stellar performances, with the first-place winner, who had forgotten to register for the race, finishing the first lap just shy of nine minutes. He ended up taking the win in just over 18 minutes.

James Banton crossed the line in second place nearly two minutes later with 19:54, followed by Aston Lambert, who clocked in at 21:17. Munyaradzi Hluyo followed shortly after in 21:25.

The top five was rounded out by Ayanda Dingile, who managed a time of 21:40.

In the women’s race, Lauren Kruger took top honours in 22nd overall in a time of 26:20.

Eva Carstens took second place, achieving 28th overall in a time of 27:06.

Cici Mchunu is fast coming up the ranks in the women’s races. She finished third (39th overall) in a time of 29:02.

In addition to a whole host of first-timers that took part, there were also many milestones reached on the day, with numerous runners completing their 10th and 25th runs.

Nadine Shane van Heerden and Stephanie Kennedy finished their 100th runs respectively, and Joanne Roohani completed her 200th.

Moira Strydom celebrated her 250th parkrun, Thomas Groenewald clinched his 400th, and Glen Duncan finished his 450th.