What’s up with parkrun?
Although some lockdown regulations have been eased, there is no news yet as to when parkruns will commence once again.
In light of the Covid-19 virus, all parkruns across South Africa were cancelled with immediate effect in March. This included the Mountain Drive parkrun in Graaff-Reinet. At the time, Bruce Fordyce, President of parkrun South Africa, said in a statement that the closure was expected to continue through April. As lockdown continued, it has since been almost six months since locals last participated in a parkrun.
"We have no news yet, but will let parkrunners know as soon as we do," said Lusan Luscombe, one of the local parkrun organisers. Luscombe added that locals will be informed at least three weeks ahead of a parkrun if the event was to be rebooted.
According to Tom Williams, Chief Operating Officer for parkrun Global, parkrun’s initial preference was to only start entire parkruns countries at a time. "However, it has since become clear that sticking to this preference may result in some locations being delayed," said Williams.
The first parkruns likely to restart include remote places such as Cape Pembroke Lighthouse parkrun in the Falkland Islands, as well as parkruns in Australia’s Northern Territory. This will be done under strict guidelines.
Parkruns will not reopen if not in line with government or public health guidelines for their region.
Locals are advised to follow Mountain Drive parkrun on Facebook for further updates.