The community is invited to come dressed in their tutus and sports gear as parkrun celebrates its ninth anniversary and 384th run on November 22 at President’s Park.

The event director, Marius Jonker, reflected on some of their big milestones. This included having 501 parkrunners on November 29, 2016 and over 700 participants on February 18, 2017.

“Another milestone is the opening of several more parkruns. Covid-19 affected our weekly attendance, but we still get 150 to 200 participants every week,” he said.

The event will celebrate personal milestones, including runners who have completed 250 parkruns, such as 84-year-old Mavis Venter. Jonker added that the long-term goal is to reach the 500-run mark.

“It is great to see participants actively running, jogging and walking the 5km. This is a measured event. We also strongly rely on our volunteers to be able to host an event; without volunteers, parkrun does not exist,” Jonker said.

The parkrun is the brainchild of Mariette Rossouw and Leani van Wyk, who liaised with the president of Parkrun South Africa, Bruce Fordyce, to start the initiative in the Springs community.

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“It celebrates fitness, friendships and bringing the community together. We believe that we have managed to attract visitors and tourists to Spring sites, to participate in exercise with fellow parkrunners and to build friendships in a safe environment,” he said.

Jonker added that they hope to see the future generations develop a love for the parkrun.

Anyone who wishes to participate must register on the parkrun website at www.parkrun.co.za/springs. Bring along the printed or saved barcode to obtain their results.