Parkrun Australia

Parkrun is a 5km time trial held in many locations around the world; there are currently 278 events in Australia with 27 Parkruns in WA, 19 are in Perth city and suburbs and 8 in the country. They are organised by volunteers and start at 8am every Saturday morning.

Park Run Perth is a great way to improve your fitness levels, make new friends and explore different parts of the city.

Courtesy Parkrun Australia

Now don’t be alarmed because it is 5 kms, it is emphasized at the start that it is not a race and you do it at any pace you like. Many people walk, there are parents with prams and kids as young as 5! We met one lady at Bowral NSW Parkrun who was 88 and just completed her 100th run, a wonderful effort!

There are many reasons why people love Parkrun. For some, it is a great way to get some exercise and fresh air on the weekend. Others enjoy the social aspect of meeting new people and catching up with friends. And for many families, Parkrun is a fun and affordable way to spend time together.

Most runs are dog friendly, just check the webpage for your local event ie “Carine Glades Parkrun” and check if you can take your pooch along for walk.

Courtesy Parkrun

If you don’t think you’d like to walk 5km or you may be carrying an injury – why not just turn up at your local event and volunteer. These events are run entirely by volunteers so you’re bound to be welcome? it will get you outdoors on a Saturday morning, you will be contributing to your local community and EVERYONE LOVES A VOLUNTEER!

Locations are usually in lovely parklands or along the coast, on maintained paths and cycleways. When we started Parkrun over a year ago while caravanning around Australia, we were just averagely fit, but we manage to jog the run now! We are in our mid 60’s, we have now completed 40 runs at 28 different locations and have enjoyed every one.

If you are interested in Parkrun you need to go to the Parkrun Australia (click on link below) and register. Just print out a bar code, then at the finish line you will be given a tag which represents your finish time, which you then get scanned together with your barcode. Later that day you will receive an email with your finish time, where you finished in your age group and your place overall in the field.

For more information go to Parkrun Australia webpage for locations and more details, you can plan your holidays or weekends away around these runs, a great way to see some of the best spots around WA, Australia and indeed the world!

WARNING it can become addictive we are now working our way thru the Alphabet as Parkrun tourists! May mean a trip to QLD to pick up a Z from the Zillmere event?

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