Five-year-old racks up 50th parkrun on his birthday
Daniel Cason, 5, recently completed his 50th 5km run at the Blue Lagoon Parkrun on the same weekend as his 5th birthday,
FOR The Cason family, Parkruns on Saturday mornings are a family affair.”We have been doing parkrun for almost two years,” explained mum of three, Alicia.
Alicia, who works at Little Noddy pre-school in Morningside, and husband William felt they needed to give their family some time away from the modcons and screens of everyday life. “Today’s kids are stuck on phones tablets and TV,” exaplined Alicia. “So, we have dedicated our Saturday mornings to doing parkrun. It’s fantastic to see the children active, out there and moving.”
Alicia is also helping to organise a Youth Day Parkrun at the family’s ‘home’ parkrun, Durban Point: “Hopefully the run on Saturday, 16 of June will spark that passion in other children and parents!”
The family has three sons, David, 7, Daniel, 5, who recently completed his 50th 5km run at the Blue Lagoon Parkrun on the same weekend as his 5th birthday, and Dante, who, at 2, is still being carried some of the time, but will probably take to the running like a duck to water when he gets a little older.
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“It is surprising how many parkruns there actually are everywhere,” said Alicia. “The first thing we do when going away for a weekend is check if there is a parkrun.” Since they enjoy travelling as a family, they have managed to complete no less than 17 parkruns in different parts of the country.
Alicia also said that the people at their regular Durban Point parkrun venue have become like an extension of their family. “What an amazing group of volunteers. They are always so passionate and friendly and helpful. It is always a treat to see our parkrun family every week,” she said.
Parkrun organise free, weekly, 5km timed runs around the world. They are open to everyone, and are safe and easy to take part in. For details about the parkrun closest to you, or to find out more, go to www.parkrun.co.za.
The runs are managed by volunteers and set targets to encourage those participating to extend themselves and do more runs.
