Visually impaired runner completes 100th parkrun
'Tourists' and volunteers all pitch in to make parkrun a special occasion.
Every four years our calendars add a day to keep the balance between our clocks and the Earth’s rotations. Every 28 years that day falls on a Saturday, meaning 29 February 2020 was the first leap year Saturday since parkrun’s inception.
Milestones are a plenty on any given Saturday but this leap year was special for loyal Roodepoort parkrun attendees, the visually impaired couple of Jessica and Johannes Gribb. While Johannes is up to 106 parkruns, it was his wife’s turn to notch up that three-figure mark on this unique leap year Saturday run.
Partially impaired, Jessica and Johannes are always accompanied by fellow parkrunners along the course. ‘Tourists’ Liz Fung and Kelly Nel, who are identified by their orange caps, have attended almost 90 different parkrun venues and were Johannes’ guides for the day. “It’s just a great way to see different parts of Johannesburg and South Africa,” said Liz who has done parkruns as far away as East London and the Drakensberg.
Jessica was accompanied by Wendy Braun and Kathryn Symonds, and was an incredibly popular figure post-run as parkrunners all wanted a photo with the centurion and local inspiration.
The next parkrun that could possibly be held on 29 February will only come around again in 2048, but don’t wait until then to get your barcodes and lace up those running shoes.
