The old saying goes, “behind every successful man there stands a woman”, but in the case of Grahame Gronow, it was two women parkrunners leading him to become a legend of Hervey Bay’s parkrun volunteer team. In 2014 Grahame’s daughter Kelsey was one of Hervey Bay’s first participants. Kelsey persuaded mum Lyle to go…
As the gaze of the sporting world falls onto the Tokyo Olympics, regular parkrunner Judy Pollock will be taking a keener interest than most. At the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Judy won a bronze medal in the 400 metres, the first of her three Olympic Games. Between 1965 and 1967, she set world…
Margie Davis has the enviable record of a volunteer ratio of 1050% and growing! Margie started with the fledgling Charleys Creek parkrun in September 2019 after she heard about the event. Her love of people and volunteering has taken over and is now an expert on nearly all the roles. She has embraced…
My name is Pattie Hogan and I have been participating in Taree parkrun in New South Wales for almost six years. I am 71 and have volunteered 98 times. In May 2015 I read in our local paper that a parkrun would be launching near me, and that I could run the 5km or walk…
83-year-old Noel Darr is a Vietnam Veteran and retired load-master who served in the Royal Australian Air Force. When Noel retired in 1994 he held the world record for the number of hours flown on the Hercules E Model and was awarded the Order of Australia medal for services to the military. On Saturday Noel…
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…
In the Central West region of New South Wales, Orange resident and 78-year-old parkrun enthusiast, Walter Jones, counts his lucky stars after completing cardiac rehabilitation with flying colours following the diagnosis of a partial blockage in a branch artery. With more than 100 parkruns under his belt, Walter said parkrun has been a wonderful addition…
As parkrun returned in Tasmania last weekend, Val Warwick returned to volunteer as photographer in the pouring rain and wind at Devonport parkrun. Never considering herself to be athletic, but being married to a runner, she was introduced to parkrun. After volunteering, walking, jogging and running all over Australia she feels completely embraced by…
When 75 year old Mary Gehrmann completes Rocks Riverside parkrun in Brisbane, she’s always proud to come in first place – in her age group, that is. Mary took up parkrun in 2016 at age 71 and came from a background of little to no physical activity. She is now encouraging more in her…
One walk was all it took to get 94-year-old Honourable Adrian Roden hooked on parkrun, relishing new opportunities to be active and healthy. Judge Roden completed his first parkrun in North Sydney in February last year, and has now completed 30 parkruns, placing him slightly ahead of the schedule he set for himself. …
