The motivation I needed

Nick Frauendorf and his partner completed their first parkrun on the 30 January last year. By joining in and mostly walking, they both became fitter and faster. It led Nick to make friends and find the motivation to become healthier and happier. 

I set my goal to complete 25 parkruns during the year. At the age of 44, I finished 44 parkruns and I’m extremely proud to say that I did not miss any apart from the four where it was cancelled due to lockdowns.

Although I ran at school, I started my real love for running in South Africa in 1997 after a friend put me on to long-distance running. I worked my way up to run several marathons and ultra-marathons until the end of 2000. That is when I just completely stopped. Shin splints, immigration, work, study, weather and more all became my excuses.

A couple of years ago someone in South Africa told me about parkrun. Although I was aware of it, I did not look into it until a friend of ours here in Perth started doing it in early January 2021. It was the motivation I needed.

parkrun has become an integral part of our lives, especially mine. It is the highlight of my week.

I have made friends at some of the parkruns and find that people are often up for a chat before and after the event. My partner does not appear as excited about parkrun as I am, however he does not complain and he does try and better his time from time to time. Perhaps he just keeps his excitement inside.

Nick Frauendorf