Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 131, June 2020 June 2020 | Page 26

ROAD RUNNING
as a volunteer, where I proudly wear my purple ‘25
Volunteer’ T-shirt. I have now volunteered more than
30 times, and I love volunteering, because it’s so
wonderful to cheer on parkrunners of all shapes,
sizes, colours, cultures and creeds, all doing their
own personal challenge of a run or walk. I love all
their happy greetings and smiling faces, and it’s all
worth it when I hear, “Thank you, marshal” hundreds
of times in one day! For almost 10 years, others have
marshalled for me to be able to participate in events,
and I’m thankful for them too.
As a matter of fact, the ripple effect of my parkrun
endeavours goes on and on… My husband and
family are now all registered runners, and we’ve also
encouraged a large group from our Church to get
involved. parkrun has hugely contributed to my fitness
level, opening up opportunities to participate in sport
events with my family, which brings me much joy.
I’m definitely a huge parkrun fan, and I must say, I aim to
be doing them for the rest of my life – I certainly hope to
still be running after I’ve turned 100! So, for any ‘oldies’
out there, you’re never too old! Whether you walk or
run, enjoy the journey and cross the finish line strong!
I’m hoping through sharing my story, that other will be
encouraged that they’re never too old to be sporty!
Parkrunning from Depression
This is my story of how parkrun helped me deal with depression and turn my life around. – BY ANTOINETTE JORDAAN
I’m the Event Director at Breede Valley parkrun,
in the beautiful town of Worcester in the Western
Cape. I moved to Worcester back in 2015, and I
knew nobody here except for my brother and his
family. I work from home, so basically I see nobody
all week long, and then perhaps my family over the
weekend. At first it was all good – new house and all
that - but after the first few months, I started spiralling
into a deep depression.
I just circled further down into that pit of doom. The
less I went anywhere, the less I wanted to go. I didn’t
want to see people, I couldn’t handle the world, the
noise, any of it. Depression isn’t a logical thing at all.
People in depression tell themselves to get over it,
then feel terrible because they can’t, because they’ve
just proved to themselves how useless they are.
At one point, my sister-in-law staged an intervention
and basically dragged me by my ear to a therapist.
After a few sessions, the suggestion that was
repeated stuck: Go out and meet people. Somewhere
a nerve-ending in my brain connected with a vague
memory of a friend of mine telling me to register for
parkrun. “It’s a fun thing, Antoinette, and it’s free.
Come on, it will be good for you, and I will be there.”
That’s what she had said. I dug around in my mailbox,
and lo and behold, there was the registration… now
two years old, or something like that.
Trying Something New
First I checked to see if Worcester had a parkrun.
Nope. So… what if I started one? Oh my word, can
I do that? Do I have what it takes? Really, woman,
put on your big girl panties and do something. So I
e-mailed the parkrun address to find out how to do it,
and oh, by all the shiny little stars out there, who mails
me? Bruce Fordyce himself! That can go to a girl’s
head, you know. (Did I just fangirl? I guess I did!)
He told me to connect with Debbie Germishuys, who
was starting parkrun in my valley. I did so, and the
rest, as they say, is history. I was trained up to be
the token girl, then got promoted to funnel manager,
and at one point I even did the back-up timing. Every
Saturday, even though I loathe getting up early, I
would get up and go to parkrun, to make sure that
people could come and parkrun. I would cheer and
scream my lungs out, even when we stood in the
freezing cold, or on very hot days, and I met so many
wonderful folks. I have managed to build a few strong
friendships in the process.
But, the real story is that parkrun dug me out of a very,
very deep hole. It brings me the human interaction I so
Antoinette Jordaan
desperately need in my life, and a sense of community
that I have never experienced before. I believe in
parkrun and the good it does in the community. I
have seen, over and over again, how people connect
at parkrun and motivate each other. How it literally
carries people like me, who struggle with depression.
Still There for Each Other
The lockdown has brought all my old demons to bear,
and it has been a real struggle. I’m sure I’m not alone
in this, and for those that are struggling – hear me –
parkrun is still there for us. Reach out to those that
you ran or walked with. If you don’t have their contact
details, reach out to your volunteer team. Keep the
communications up, and if you can, get up and do a
virtual parkrun – and tell your parkrun team about it.
Your volunteer team is still your biggest cheerleader,
so tell us and let us cheer you on!
These articles were originally published in the bi-weekly parkrun South Africa e-newsletter and are collectively republished here with their permission. For more info on
their 227 different weekly 5km runs all over the country, go to www.parkrun.co.za/events.
Images: Courtesy parkrun South Africa
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ISSUE 131 JUNE 2020 / www.modernathlete.co.za