Need2Know: What is Parkrun?

Seen or heard the word Parkrun and wondered what is was and where?

Parkrun (styled as parkrun) is the name given to a collection of fivekilometre running events that take place every Saturday morning in eighteen countries across five continents (Namibia and Swaziland are listed under the South Africa Parkrun country website).

Each Parkrun territory has its own sponsors. Events are run by volunteers, and participation is free of charge.

Runners are required to register online in advance for a unique athlete number and to print their own identification barcode for use when taking part.

Runners' results in each event are processed and uploaded online after the run by volunteers. Each registered runner has an individual page cataloguing the details of each event in which they have participated.

Junior Parkrun (styled as junior parkrun) is a spin-off event which provides a 2 km run for children aged 4–14 weekly on a Sunday morning.

New Zealand parkrun had its inaugural start in Lower Hutt, Wellington on the 5th May 2012. Richard McChesney, a very keen parkrunner, had been living in the UK for a number of years and was very excited to bring the parkrun concept back with him when he returned to Lower Hutt. Cornwall Park followed soon after in the July initiated by the de Charmoy family.

Paul Sinton-Hewitt, who started his ‘parkrun’ phenomena in 2004 at Bushy Park, could not have predicted how something so simple could evolve into a way of life for so many.

It’s just mates meeting for a run, but that’s exactly how Noel and Lian de Charmoy met Paul many years ago in Johannesburg. Even separate hemispheres can’t dull old friendships so when approached to get parkrun New Zealand on the map, Lian and Noel agreed and with great family support from daughters Caitlin and Kelly, parkrun has become a welcome feature in communities across New Zealand.