A peaceful and excited atmosphere prevailed when Randburg Harriers became the first running club to launch a myrun on 26 May.
During the event, roughly 200 community members made their way on a marked route at their own pace and under the guidance of a handful of marshals, all around the Randburg Sports Complex.
The fitness company, myrun, hosts free and safe 2.5km and 5km run/walks at various locations around South Africa. It works similarly to parkrun in that it is free and community-focused, but myrun is not held in parks but still in other safe environments every Sunday morning at 8am.
To run a myrun, community members need to register at the location prior to the run and purchase an electronic wristband for a once-off fee of R50, which will record the time of the runner each week and send them their time electronically.
The locations where myrun events are held are available on their website.
“The goal is community fitness and wellness,” myrun managing director Leigh Buckle said at the Harriers launch. “It is not focused on being the fittest or fastest. That is why we offer the 2.5km as well, to get everyone out.”
She said myrun partnered with Randburg Harriers as its first running club partner so that the club could also use the company’s electronic equipment for the weekly club runs. Buckle expects myrun will partner with more running clubs in the future.
Harriers events coordinator Liesl Koch said the running club is very excited to host the family event.
“The run is safe and within the bounds of the sports complex, so [there’s] no real danger from a traffic perspective,” she said. “It’s right in the community of Randburg so it’s a nice accessible venue. It’s aimed at families because its safe and shorter.”
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