Roodepoort parkrunner joins the 500-club after achieving huge milestone

The famous music duo, The Proclaimers are well-known for saying they would walk 500 miles (and more!), and this is a sentiment that is surely shared by a local parkrunner.

Thandi Zililo (69) did her own 500 on November 25, when she completed it at the Roodepoort parkrun, becoming part of a small group of parkrunners and walkers to achieve this milestone, and the first one at this specific parkrun.

She participated in her first parkrun on June 16, 2012, and achieved a 25th place out of 29 runners and walkers. Since then, she has done 330 of her runs at Roodepoort, visited 112 other parkrun venues across the globe, and also completed 66 parkruns during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Thandi said she initially started doing parkrun to keep fit and healthy.

“What makes parkrun such a great event, is the fact that it is inclusive – it allows you to walk, jog or run – it is not a race and everyone finishes. The big motivator to continue with parkrun is the fact that every event is timed, which means you can track your progress and celebrate your improvements,” she said.

Even though she has participated in several different parkruns, Thandi said that she could not single out one venue that she likes more than another as they are all special in different ways.

“I love them all! But, if I could choose one parkrun that I would still want to do, it would be Bushy Park in the United Kingdom, where it all started,” she exclaimed.

Thandi mentioned that she had not set goals in mind when she started parkrun.

“The parkrun set my goals for me through the different parkrun milestone clubs [25, 50, 100, 250, 500], and I have completed them all now. The other short-term goal I have in my sights now is to complete the Staying Alive challenge. This is where you complete three parkruns starting with the letter B and three with the letter G. This can be done in six weeks. This is also how the addiction to parkrun starts,” she said, smiling.

She added that she is thankful to parkrun for dragging her from her couch on a cold winter morning and helping her to transform from a walker to a confident half marathon runner.

“You don’t have to be a runner to participate in the parkrun. It is a community event run by volunteers, encouraging wellness. But, it doesn’t only focus on the health aspect, parkrun is a family affair; welcoming everyone from your grandparents to your beloved fur babies. It is also the perfect place to meet new people, be motivated, inspired, and make friends for life,” Thandi said.

Thandi mentioned that the stories of other parkrunners motivate her, “Blind people do the parkrun, people with health issues and having the opportunity to rub shoulders with Comrades legends like Bruce Fordyce, Thelma Fouché and Spookie Germishuizen. Learning about parkrunners saying that I motivate them [Jabu Mkhize, Joanne Brozio, Thomas Groenewald, Deon Leon, Sbu Mgcobo and many others] keeps me going. But, what inspires me the most, are the volunteers; their support, discipline, endurance, sacrifice, and hard work to ensure everyone enjoys the parkrun, amazes me.”

She said that she doesn’t have any specific rituals or traditions before running, “Instead, I would say that I learnt to have enough confidence to try something new and to not give up easily. A marathon starts with one step, then another one, and another one, until you reach the end. Nothing is impossible if you put your mind to it and, where there is a will there will always be a way.”

Thandi described this huge milestone, one she shares with Bruce Fordyce, simply by saying, “My parkrun journey has been one of passion, commitment and dedication.”