Off and running in Inverloch

INVERLOCH is the latest town to get swept up by the worldwide parkrun craze; a free five-kilometre timed run every Saturday morning in a local park run by volunteers and open to anyone.
Inverloch launches Gippsland’s first parkrun on Saturday, September 13 at 8 am with a briefing at 7:45am.
Runners and walkers of all ages and fitness levels are invited to complete the 5km timed course.
Inverloch parkrun is the 94th in Australia with several new events planned each month.
Globally, there are more than 450 parkrun events worldwide with over 450,000 registered members.
Inverloch parkrun event director Tony O’Connell anticipates 50 runners will complete the course in Saturday’s event and is confident more will get on board as word spread throughout the community and amongst holiday makers.
Tony was inspired to establish parkrun in Inverloch after attending his first parkrun event in Merimbula, NSW whilst on holidays.
“It was great to see runners and walkers of all ages and abilities participating in a healthy social event.
I’m excited to be a part of bringing parkrun to Inverloch and I know this weekly event will continue to grow because it offers the local community and visitors the chance to come together on a regular basis and get physically active in a safe and friendly social environment,” said Mr O’Connell.
“Plus it’s a great opportunity for everyone to meet afterwards at a local cafe for a coffee and a chat.”
Tony has been joined in the planning of the Inverloch parkrun by Run Directors Glenn Sullivan, Lynden Costin, Les Corson and Kat Denny.
Lynden said parkrun is not just for runners.
“We welcome walkers, people with prams, in fact anyone who wants to get out and enjoy the fresh coastal air.”
Founded by Brit, Paul Sinton-Hewitt, parkrun began its journey in 2004 with just 13 runners in a suburban area of London called Teddington.
The response was overwhelming and what started as a bunch of mates running a weekly five kilometre timed running event quickly grew into something much bigger.
Australian Tim Oberg was based in London for nine years and was captivated by the emergence of parkrun.
He met with Sinton-Hewitt to pitch in the idea of taking parkrun ‘Down Under’ and he hasn’t looked back since.
“I knew parkrun had potential from the outset.
Bass Coast Shire Council has strongly supported the event, assisting with the planning and logistics for the Inverloch site.
Local and outside sponsors are backing the event and parkrun is very pleased for their support.
The key to parkrun’s success is the timing technology.
Runners register online and then print a barcode which is scanned at the end of each run and matched with the runner’s finishing time.
All results are posted online so runners can compare their performance with their friends and against previous times.
Inverloch parkrun is free to enter and starts with a briefing at 7:45am and the run at 8am every Saturday at Rotary Centenary Park on Ramsey Boulevard. For more information visit www.parkrun.com.au/inverloch

Coastal air: Inverloch is the latest town to be swept up in the worldwide parkrun craze.

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Posted by Sarah Vella on Sep 9 2014. Filed under Sport. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry