Outstanding 350 milestone for Roodepoort parkrunner
Graeme started running in February 2014, when he realised there were benefits to Discovery Vitality.
On Saturday, August 6 the Roodepoort parkrun congratulated one of their own, Graeme Adamson for reaching an outstanding milestone when he completed his 350th parkrun.
The 54-year-old who recently moved from Weltevreden Park just across the border to Randpark Ridge said getting to 350 parkruns is easy, one just needs to pitch up at parkrun week after week, and run or walk it.
When asked how he did it and what kept him going, Graeme revealed that he kept going because he wanted to get fitter.
“I made it a part of my life, so Saturday mornings are for parkrun. I kept going because I wanted to get fitter, and then the parkrun targets bit me: get to 50, get to 100, get to 250, get to 20 or 50 different parkruns.
“I’ve always had a target; my next targets are 100 different parkruns. I’m at 88 so far and of course I’m aiming for 500 parkruns – that’s a long way away though. Something else that really kept me going with parkrun was the people. The social aspect of parkrun is amazing; it’s so nice to see people every Saturday and chat to them, and to talk to the volunteers, and volunteer too.
“Running on your own can be lonely, but with a group of like-minded people, it’s social and challenging at the same time,” he said.
With Roodepoort parkrun being his running home, Graeme does not train with a club, but runs during the week to meet targets for his own enjoyment and participates in some races and trail runs.
Parkrun seemed the easiest way to get 500 points every week for Vitality, so he joined up and went for his first parkrun, which he did in just under 42 minutes, despite not having ran more than a couple of hundred metres in 25 years.
“I struggled to walk for a week or two afterwards; I carried on though, every week,” Adamson said.
His hobbies besides running are building scale-model aircraft kits, reading and working on computers and technology.
Graeme was asked two questions about how he experienced parkrun.
• Any words for young runners?
For young runners: keep at it! It will help you in years to come, physically and mentally, and it’s far easier to stay fit than to get fit when you’re old. Set targets, and try to meet those – things like kilometres per week, per month, or per year; or races entered; or parkruns done.
• What advice would you give to someone who wants to start running?
It’s fine to start slow until you can manage. Look for one of the Couch-to-5K programmes available online for a nice guide to get to a 5km run without getting hurt, and then keep going. When I started running, I said to myself: ‘Run when you can, walk when you can’t’. In other words, slow down if you’re struggling or hurting, and carry on running when it’s better.
