Encouraging people to live a healthier lifestyle is the goal for Brakpan parkrun’s new director Jillian Sotto Corona.
Sotto Corona comes into the role with many years of experience, having been the former secretary of Boksburg Athletic Club.
Sotto Corona and Damien Tomovic were elected as the new directors on Saturday. They replace Gordon Lindsay and Izak Stins who are credited with getting the parkrun going after the Covid-19 lockdown.
“I’m quite excited to head up this one (parkrun),” she said.
“It’s quite small at the moment but I hope with my experience and knowledge we can get it going nice and strong.”
The new director’s experience as a sports administrator could prove to be beneficial in Brakpan.
“My experience is in sports, especially triathlon background and running. I really hope we can bring in more participants to the Brakpan parkrun,” said Sotto Corona.
“Especially the children. I noticed in Brakpan there are a lot of children running around in the street. A lot of degradation happening at the moment. Just try to implement a healthier lifestyle back into the community.”
She is under no illusions as she acknowledges the challenges that come with her new role.
“Saturday is obviously a family day and it’s time to go shopping and stuff like that,” she said.
“To make that commitment for someone that’s a non-runner is quite difficult. We’ve got to do a lot of marketing.
“Be in people’s faces. Fortunately today we have Facebook and Instagram. At this stage, we are over the serious Covid stage and people are looking at their health.”
Sotto Corona said that the parkrun is seeing a bigger turnout of runners after the Covid-19 lockdown.
“Covid was bad for the running industry in general. I think only towards the middle of this year did we see the running and road races pick up. You know that’s for the eager road runners,” she said.
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She expects that there will be a bigger number of people turning up for the weekly run in the new year.
“I expect people will have New Year’s resolutions to get fit and healthy. We’ve had the Covid scare now we have to market it (parkrun),” said the administrator.
While they are hoping for a big 2023, the new directors are encouraging people to join them on Saturdays throughout the festive season.
The parkrun takes place from 06:30 to 09:00 on weekends.
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