Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 66, January 2015 | Page 41

ER
N

A

DI
E

RT
PA

parkrun SA

Ma

M

parkrun SA
Join the friendly, free 8am Saturday
morning 5km in your area!
us
Parkrun foc

us
Parkrun foc
Sun, Sea & Sights

Kidd’s Beach parkrun
Facebook: KiddsBeachparkrun

Glorious Gardens

George parkrun
Facebook: George-parkrun

Images courtesy Chantelle Liddell, Benji Gane

In April 2014, the 29th official South African parkrun
was launched in the Garden Route Botanical Gardens.
The route starts inside the garden, goes out the
gate at the border of the forest at the foot of the
Outeniqua Mountains, crosses over two river bridges
and returns to the gardens, and includes a spiral
pathway up the ‘Medicinal Mount,’ where one’s senses
are enticed by all the medicinal plants grown there.
The last kilometre stretches around the garden’s
dam, with the awesome spectacle of the Outeniqua
Mountains reflecting on the water.
The debut event was completed by a group of 369
eager runners, and since then, the popularity of this
trail has quickly ensured that the current registration
number stands on a whopping 3400 runners. Due
to this popularity, the garden is seeing an increase
in the number of visitors coming through, which has
helped to prompt a new restaurant and tea garden
– and if tea is not your thing, the new beer brewery
may tickle your taste buds. So bring your dogs on a
leash, your baby in a pram, even your grandpa, as
the oldest local participant is 84 years old. All shapes,
sizes and fitness levels are welcome to participate.

– Chantelle Liddell, Event Director

Kidd’s Beach is a small coastal village about 30km south
of East London, and every Saturday, local runners and
walkers start meandering up Breezy Ridge to the start
of our parkrun. Picture a spectacular swimming beach,
single track trails through coastal bush, long stretches
of grass verge alongside the Indian Ocean and a river
path coming off the beach. It is the rule rather than
the exception to find yourself being paced by a pod of
dolphins, while fish eagles keep a watchful eye from the
dunes and the frontrunners often share the trail with
unsuspecting bush buck. Summer weather slows the
times down a bit as participants often choose to have
a quick swim in the sea before running the last kay
barefoot up ‘Pirates Walk’ to the finish.
Being ‘out of town,’ we are one of the smaller parkruns,
averaging between 80 and 100 athletes, but these
numbers double over the December period. However,
the modest numbers mean that we know just about
every name, and it has been unbelievable to witness
the lifestyle changes in our community, from weightloss to reversals in diabetes. But it’s the volunteers who
pitch up every Saturday to facilitate this initiative who
deserve the big