Karien, avid runner and blogger, was in Cape Town this weekend as her husband was cycling the Argus, so she contacted us at Run Cape Town to organise a running tour for Saturday morning.  As Karien is currently running with her 2 year-old daughter in a stroller in tow, we decided to give the Green Point parkrun a whirl – it’s a free, safe event, with a fairly easy/flat route to negotiate with a stroller – a perfect option!

The parkrun is a global initiative, offering free, weekly, 5km timed runs in parks and green spaces all over the world.  The runs are open to everyone, are free, and are safe and easy to take part in – you don’t need to be a super athlete to join in – people of every ability are encouraged to participate; from those taking their first steps in running to Olympians; from juniors to those with more experience: everyone is welcome!

And the run was lovely!  We started between Bay, Bill Peter’s and Vlei Roads in Green point at 8am, and joined 158 other runners in the 5km timed run.   The route was great – we ran along the Green Point fanwalk past the Cape Town stadium, then along Fritz Sonnenberg and Bay Road before entering the Green Point park and running through this beautiful urban park in the middle of Green Point.

The run is incredibly organised and “well-run” (heh!) – participants register online before the event, and receive a barcode which you need to print out and then carry with you, to present to the volunteers at the end of the run, in order to receive your time.  There are friendly marshals along the route and traffic cones to ensure you don’t lose your way, and as the event is well-supported you get to run with a chilled, sociable group of runners.  After the run you receive an email with your time – we came 108th/109th with a time of 33 minutes!  This is a wonderful opportunity for everyone in the community to come together and be inspired to take up running, in a sociable, non-threatening atmosphere.   I can HIGHLY recommend it!

For more information about parkruns in South Africa visit www.parkrun.co.za – there are various parkruns all over Cape Town including Fish Hoek, Rondebosch Common and Big Bay, as well as the whole of South Africa.

And if you’d like to read more about Karien and her family’s running- and healthy-living adventures on the southern tip of Africa, you can read and subscribe to her blog at http://www.runningtherace.co.za/.