As an avid Comrades runner I had never quite seen the point of parkrun, mostly due to the fact that it was “only” 5km in distance but oh boy was I wrong. After taking part in my first parkrun at North Beach parkrun, amongst over 2,000 participants, the day before my 20th Comrades in 2017,…
My “story” starts nearly 30 years ago when I was first diagnosed with Crohns disease. It’s not something people can see or understand. The constant running to the bathroom, the restrictions on what you can and can’t eat, the pain, the medications and their side effects.Over the years, I had 3 operations, which has left…
William Lessingh did his 50th parkrun on the 23 February 2019 where after he went on to get married to fellow parkrun tourist Chanté Nurden (now Lessingh) later in the day! He was supported by his father in law to be, Craig Nurden, Craig’s brother Dean Nurden and their 84 year old father Ken Nurden who now holds…
I am a volunteer and runner at Botanical Garden parkrun, Pretoria and I recently went on a 10 day backpack trip to visit my daughter, Chantene, in France. After I landed at Nice airport, we both got on a bus to Milan, Italy to attend the parkrun there. I even emailed the parkrun to find…
Giraffes are a regular sight at Umfolozi parkrun, but recently parkrunners were surprised to see five join them on the course! A year ago, on 28 January 2018, I suffered a cerebral aneurysm. Fortunately the weakened artery wall could be fixed and the immediate risk was eliminated. One of the lingering…
I would like to extend my gratitude to parkrun for this fantastic initiative that has made a significant change to my life. This time two years ago I weighed 132kg and was in poor health. I finally got my head right, went on a structured eating plan from the end of January 2017 and…
This is 90-year-old Eileen Robb with Staci Katsivalis. She is the mother of Alan Robb, 4-time winner of the Comrades marathon who also ran the race 42 times. Alan volunteers and runs at Port Alfred parkrun. Eileen completed the Atholl parkrun in Johannesburg where she lives. I came across this picture my daughter…
Recently three firefighters ran the Soweto Marathon in full gear, all in memory of their fallen comrades that had lost their lives in the tragic Johannesburg building fire. With the recent fires in the Western Cape and California I am sure that we are all hyper aware of the devastation caused. On Saturday the…
Ilze Lopes had a double stroke, 5 weeks ago she could not move, walk or even see. She completed her parkrun with the help of Grant Lopes, who held her upright in trying times, but she walked by herself most of the way, and completed her parkrun at Somerset West. Ilze was wheelchair-bound just…
This newsletter’s volunteer heroine is Madz Loots. Madz is married to Jacques and has three children. She has run 159 parkruns and has volunteered in numerous roles over 150 times. She was originally a Kimberley parkrunner and Kimberley is her home run. Now she is one of our most energetic and enthusiastic ambassadors working…
