From sideline to 50 Club

66-year-old Brigitte Barnes (left) explains how she went from looking after children on a Saturday morning so other people could run to joining the 50 Club at Wynnum parkrun.

My husband David was doing parkrun when we moved to Manly, a bayside suburb of Brisbane. Through David’s work we met a couple, Nigel and Chiaki, who both do parkrun and I offered to look after their young children so they could both run the course. Then, one day, I decided to give it a go myself!

I am definitely not a runner, so I plugged in my headphones and started walking and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I wasn’t nervous at all and as I used to be a nurse I am used to spending time on my feet.

When COVID hit I started to cycle with my husband. It took me quite a bit of convincing but now I do it every weekend. We have a group called Cruisers and so now my weekends are quite full with parkrun Saturday and cycling on Sundays.

I would implore anyone who is looking for a way to keep fit and be active to give parkrun a go. You meet a lovely bunch of people and you don’t have to run – you can walk it like I do and I keep shaving a few seconds off every week which is really gratifying.

Joining the parkrun 50 Club gave me a great deal of satisfaction. I didn’t think I could do it but now I am aiming for 100!

Brigitte Barnes
parkrunner A4809500