The Roodepoort parkrun on 4 January saw 761 people gather at Len Rutter Park in Florida for a 5km morning run. The parkrun hosts athletes of all fitness levels and ages that band together to improve their fitness, beat their records, train for events and keep healthy.
Runners gather at the starting line at 8am to run the course, or take a walk with their families. They use a barcoded system to keep track of their completion times, and the number of parkruns they have finished.
Volunteers work hard to keep time, register people, and ensure the safety of the runners. After the event has begun each Saturday, time keepers tend to wait anxiously to see which of their regulars will finish first on that particular week.
4 January was the second parkrun of the new year and the first time back for many who attended. The festive season had noticeably taken its toll, as people got back a lot more tired than usual, blaming their bad Christmas and New Years’ habits.
The first place male runner is a regular at the parkruns, and he completed the 5km course in a time of 18 minutes, 25 seconds. The first-place female runner, Phyllis De Fouw, is a regular runner in the veteran category (between age 45 and 49). She alternates between the Ruimsig and Roodepoort parkruns and finished with a time of 23 minutes, 6 Seconds on Saturday.
Not only is Phyllis a regular parkrunner at both parkruns, but she is also an athletics coach in Ruimsig and has participated in marathons and the SPAR Grand Prix (where she placed 13th). This year, Phyllis is using the parkruns as a training ground so she can do another marathon.
The weekly parkruns are not only a place of exercise, but also a community event that sees runners and walkers support each other in their health and fitness goals, and perhaps enjoy a post-run cup of coffee.
