Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 114, January 2019 | Page 18

KALMER’S
CORNER
Our Modern Athlete Brand Ambassador’s Blog
By Rene Kalmer
THE POWER OF THE PARKRUN
It was wonderful to both finish 2018 and start 2019 with a new parkrun, and now I’m looking forward to a great running year!
Christine and I were actually looking forward to a ‘non-running weekend,’ but
luckily we had packed our running shoes for our two-hour post-wedding long run
on the Sunday, because at the family braai the evening before the wedding, we
quickly realised that the whole of Vryheid seemed to be very excited about our
appearance at the parkrun. The dentist, pastor, butcher, headmaster and mayor
all told us how excited they were to have us at the run! No pressure, then... but we
couldn’t disappoint the community by not pitching for the run.
And what a pleasant run it was! It was wonderful seeing the whole community rock
up for the run, and I once again realised the great concept behind parkrun, and how
it brings together all shapes and sizes, young and old, to join in on the fun while
introducing people to exercise and having a healthier lifestyle. Also, seeing all the
volunteers passionately assisting along the route was awesome. Well done, Vryheid!
Christine and I managed to finish first and second amongst the women, whilst our
husbands didn’t disappoint by as usual finishing at the back of the pack, no doubt
making sure that all the other runners finished safely. We did, however, confuse
some of the marshals when we headed off for a second lap to complete our
training for the day...
After the run we were also humbled by a young gentleman who had travelled
more than 40 kilometres to Vryheid to meet us. He is the coach from a local club
and wanted to find out about possible sponsorship or assistance for some of his
runners. He also gave me his address to send him old copies of Modern Athlete for
his young, upcoming athletes.
18
ISSUE 114 JANUARY 2019 / www.modernathlete.co.za
New
Adventures
Back home, we
kicked off 2019 by
running the new
Ruimsig parkrun!
Great route, great
venue, and on the
run Andre even
met up with one of
his former school
friends, Wouter,
who has done 44
parkruns, but at 25
different venues. Our aim for the year will also be to see how many new parkrun
venues we can do during 2019, and I’m also going to try claim back my Delta
parkrun route record!
In 2018, parkrun celebrated its seventh birthday in South Africa. The numbers
have grown from 26 registered runners at the very first one to more than 900,000
registered runners at more than 170 parkrun venues all over the country. I’m
looking forward to see what the stats will be in another seven years’ time.
My advice to all new runners would definitely be to join a parkrun near your home.
It is a great way to get introduced to running, to create a habit of getting out of bed
on a Saturday morning, and to measure your fitness on a weekly basis. Although
there are hundreds of runners at most parkruns, in the end you are running against
yourself, and it is great to see how your times can improve by doing just a little bit
of training during the week. It is also a great way to spend time with family and to
meet new people, and whether you are sprinting at the front or walking with your
dog at the back, you can claim your Vitality points by finishing the parkrun.
The parkrun is also a great stepping stone towards increasing your running goals
and racing distance. Many of my friends and family have started off by first joining
a parkrun, then
invariably being
bitten by the
‘running-bug’ and
progressing to
completing their
first 10km, half
marathon or even
marathon. The most
important thing is
that you enjoy it!
Wishing you all
a happy running
2019!
A
t the end of
2018, the
Kalmer sisters
together with our
hubbies, road-tripped
to KwaZulu-Natal
for a good friend’s
wedding in Vryheid.
En route to Vryheid
we got a message
from the bride-to-be
Yolandi containing a
snippet from the local
Vryheid newspaper
with the following
headline: “Olympic
Games runners to
join Vryheid parkrun,”
accompanied with
a photo of Christine
and myself as well as
hubby Andre. Not a lot
of readers know that Andre is a member of the a cappella music group, Navi Redd,
hence he was also listed as a visiting celeb by the newspaper.