The Ebotse parkrun was once again the place to be on the morning of July 21.
The weekly timed run or walk event continues to draw the crowds with almost 700 people running the 5km route which starts at CR Swart Park at the Rynfield Dam on Saturday.
This Saturday there were a number of noteworthy participants at the Ebotse parkrun, including the presence of two Comrades Marathon women’s champions.
The most recent Comrades women’s down run champion, Ann Ashworth, and her husband, David, ran the route while frequent Ebotse parkrun participant Frith van der Merwe also ran on the morning.
Ashworth, who has been in the news recently for her outspoken comments against Athletics South Africa (ASA) for refusing to compete in South African colours after she was named in the national team for the World 100km Championships in the wake of her Comrades win, obviously used the run to clear her head as she racked up a parkrun personal best (PB) at Ebotse while running alongside her husband, himself an experienced Comrades runner with nine Comrades medals.
Speaking to the City Times after her run, Ashworth said: “It was great.
“I really enjoyed coming back to Ebotse.
“I last ran here about five years ago and it’s as cool as ever.”
When asked how it feels to be a Comrades champion, she said: “It was just an unexpected, but wonderful day and everything just went right.
“I was just really lucky that everything went according to plan.”
Her Comrades win has thrust her into the spotlight. When asked how it feels to become a sporting celebrity overnight, she said: “It’s crazy because I’m still the same person and I still feel the same.
“I still go about my daily business, but now people think I’m famous, which is a bit crazy, but it has been wonderful.”
It was the first time that the Comrades women’s champion of 2018 had met the Comrades women’s champion of 1988, 1989 and 1991 and Ashworth was delighted to meet the legend.
“Frith is like every little girl’s role model and dream athlete.
“It’s just such a privilege to be able to meet her and to run with her.
“It’s just really, really cool.”
Asked if she would be targeting van der Merwe’s down run record in the future, Ashworth said: “Ja, maybe one day if I’m not too old.
“We will see how it goes.”
Van der Merwe, still the Comrades Marathon women’s down run record holder with her time of five hours and 54 minutes in 1989, ran the route for personal reasons of her own.
The three-time Comrades champion, who nowadays prefers to stick to running parkruns, ran her parkrun in tribute to her mother Beth, who died last week at the age of 81.
It was perhaps ironic then that the teacher at St Francis College was running her 81st parkrun on the morning.
“I thought a lot about my mom today and I did this parkrun for her.
“She was always such an important part of my running career.
“She used to go with me to every single road race and stand at the end waiting for me with a towel and a Fanta Orange.
“Even Bruce Fordyce phoned me a few days ago and said he had that memory of her.
“She was an integral part of the road running circle.”
LISTEN to Logie G’s Weekend Sports Wrap on Caxton Radio Benoni to hear the chats with both Comrades champions:
https://soundcloud.com/benoni-city-times/caxton-radio-benoni-logie-g-weekend-sports-wrap-july-23
Painting the park purple
Despite the presence of two Comrades champions, there were also others who were making their presence felt at the Ebotse parkrun.
The Scouting fraternity on the East Rand joined together to take part at the parkrun with cubs, Scouts, rovers and adult leaders donning purple attire (the colour of Scouts) to ‘Paint the parkrun purple’.
The object of the exercise was to let people know that Scouting is alive and well and still relevant to the youth of today.
“By doing this hopefully we can try to attract more young people to the movement,” said Mike Weeks, East Rand Scouts District Commissioner.
LISTEN to Logie G’s chat with Weeks on Caxton Radio Benoni here:
https://soundcloud.com/benoni-city-times/logie-g-speaks-to-mike-weeks-east-rand-scouts-district-commissioner-at-the-ebotse-parkrun
For more information about Scouting visit scouting.org.za or gauteng.scouts.org.za.
** For for information about parkrun in South Africa, visit parkrun.co.za
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