Bruce Fordyce visits Ferryvale Parkrun
Nine-times Comrades Marathon champion Bruce Fordyce who started parkrun in South Africa during November 2011, graced members of the Ferryvale Parkrun in Nigel January 1 to endorse the sport which is said to create a healthier and happier South Africa - one community at a time.
The first ever local parkrun (Blue Valley parkrun) kicked off in May last year at the Farm Bultfontein just outside of town. With 180 runners participating in the first run, it soon became a huge success with growing popularity. Since then, the name has changed to Ferryvale Parkrun and the venue moved to Jim Fouche Park in Hendrik Verwoerd Street, where runners gather every Saturday to participate in a 5km run.
Compared to a typical running event, parkrun has many advantages. It doesn’t cost participants any money. There are no registration fees or licence numbers. It is open to all ages. It takes place in a safe environment, away from roads. Runners need not belong to a club. The runs are always five kilometres long, and they always take place at 08:00 on a Saturday morning.
To take part, all a person needs to do is to log onto the parkrun website www.parkrun.co.za and register. The person will then be issued with a barcode which could be used at any parkrun event, anywhere in the world. The barcodes are used to log data and they help participants track their progress. Results are posted to the parkrun website and are also sent by SMS.
For more information about Ferryvale Parkrun, send an email to ferryvale@parkrun.com or phone Nokkie du Toit on 082 778 1139 or Nico Willemse on 083 450 6178.
You can also visit their website for more information.
