His spirit will live on at his favourite volunteer spot

Parkrunners and walkers will always have a smile and fond memory as they round the big tree on the Roodepoort parkrun course; a spot that was, until very recently, occupied by Eldred Braun every Saturday morning.

The 75-year-old Eldred passed away on October 25 after a short battle with cancer. His wife Wendy, said, “Eldred was the most amazing husband, father, Dampa [the grandchildren’s nickname for him], and friend anyone could wish for. A more thorough gentleman you could not wish to meet. We were married for 51 years, seven months to the day but have been together since we were 17 and 19. I was truly proud to be his wife.”

Wendy added that they completed their first parkrun at Roodepoort on July 5, 2014, “Eldred completed 36 runs at Roodepoort as well as two in Australia when we visited our family there.”

Eldred started volunteering on June 20, 2016, and he was on his post for 118 Saturday mornings, always smiling, ready to share a joke or two and offer some motivation and encouragement as well as a great tune or two.

“He initially started volunteering to motivate me to complete my 50th run, but the volunteer group became like family and we both continued volunteering. We were always short of volunteers despite some participants completing hundreds of runs/ walks without ever volunteering. So, this became a way of life on a Saturday with our two grandsons Logan and Cade. Cade was in charge of providing water for the dogs at ‘Castle Corner’ and Logan helped round up everyone before the start of his race. We, as a family, set up and took down after each race. Our son Stephen also started volunteering but had to stop as his sons became involved in sports. We have met really special people,” Wendy said.

She added that Eldred’s first volunteer spot was at the train, but he later moved to the big tree, where ‘Castle Corner’ was born, much to the amusement of the participants, as it was always out of stock.

“He also started the honours board, and he enjoyed it immensely to put every runner or walker who would be completing a milestone for that week, name and surname on there. This board will now remain a part of Roodepoort parkrun, as a means to honour Eldred’s memory”, she said.

Wendy concluded by saying, “We, as a family, lived by his school motto Esse Quam Videri, which means ‘it is better to be than seem to be’. I know that he made a positive impression on everyone he met. We will always love him. Life will never be the same without him and we truly long for and miss him.”

Eldred leaves behind a loving wife, doting children and grandchildren.