Parkrun crosses the million mark
A South African parkrun finish line has now been crossed over 13.4 million times.
Locals, visitors and tourists from Canada and Portugal took part in the recent Uvongo parkrun, a milestone event in which the one-millionth person competed or volunteered at the event in South Africa.
Perfect weather conditions saw a large number of runners and walkers take on the popular 5km run at St Mike’s beach at 08:00.
Patrick Riley (81) from Ramsgate took part in his 234th parkrun, and Pemberagi Nyamande in his 50th.
Parkrun is a free community event where you can walk, jog, run, volunteer or spectate. There is no time limit, and no one finishes last. Everyone is welcome to join in.
There are currently 220 parkrun events around the country taking place every Saturday, with more locations being added all the time. You can go along to any event in the country.
Event director of the Uvongo parkrun, Shane Wolley, welcomed everyone for the milestone event and thanked both volunteers and runners for their contributions.
He added that parkrun is free, and one only needs to register once, whether walking, jogging, running, volunteering or a combination.
Bruce Fordyce, President of parkrun South Africa, said back in 2011, they had a relatively uninspiring start to parkrun SA.
“Twenty-nine believers attended our first parkrun, and we had held eight parkruns by the end of that year. This year, we will have held 10,000 parkruns. Over 1.5 million people have registered for parkrun, and our registrations for the year are the most they have been since 2019. A South African parkrun finish line has now been crossed over 13.4 million times. There is a growing list of new parkruns, and parkrun prospects are keeping us busy. In addition, we have signed a memorandum of agreement with the Department of Health and are looking to start more parkruns in disadvantaged and rural areas,” said Fordyce.
For further information, visit www.parkrun.co.za/uvongo or contact Shane Wolley on 083 5661275.
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