Sport
6 March, 2023
Sporting organisations urged to consider parkrun
Sporting organisations are being urged to consider par-ticipating in the Goldfields Reservoir parkrun as a means of building their fitness and team spirit. Goldfields Reservoir parkrun volunteer, Debbie Macer, was able to see first-hand the impact...
Sporting organisations are being urged to consider par-ticipating in the Goldfields Reservoir parkrun as a means of building their fitness and team spirit.
Goldfields Reservoir parkrun volunteer, Debbie Macer, was able to see first-hand the impact that parkrun had on the Maryborough Football Netball Club, who participated in parkrun two weeks ago, and urged other sporting organisations, football clubs and netball clubs to give it a go.
“We reached out to Coby Perry and the Maryborough FNC as an idea to get our numbers up. When they turned out, it was a great feeling. It was a great community event where you felt connected with other parts of the community, instead of just our parkrun regulars,” she said.
“It was a really nice event and a great get-together for Maryborough. It’s a bit different going out at 8 am on a Saturday morning, and to see them all gel at the Bull and Mouth after was great. Their team spirit really showed through. You could see they connected with one another.
“There were a few people from Maryborough who ended up coming back on the weekend just gone.”
Macer said there were many benefits to participating in parkrun, with the event free to run, while also providing physical and mental boosts.
Parkrun is a five kilometre run which consists of three laps around the Goldfields Reservoir, with participants given the option to either walk or run the course.
“Parkrun is a wonderful organisation. It’s completely free and really inclusive. We love to reach out to all sorts of organisations like Rotary, council and other sporting organisations. It’s really open to all sorts of people. You don’t have to run it all the time too. It’s physical fitness but it also has a lot to do with mental wellbeing and community spirit. The fact that it is free makes a huge difference,” Macer said.
And with people coming to Maryborough from across the country to participate, Macer said that being able to get to know different people is also something that parkrun offers.
“We also get lots of tourists coming to Maryborough to do parkrun. We’ve had people from Western Australia, the Northern Territory and just this weekend, we had people from the Sunshine Coast. It’s a wonderful place to meet and greet others from all over the place and tell them about Maryborough and the community,” she said.
Macer had a message for any sporting organisations who considered participating at parkrun.
“I would say that it’s something a little different to encourage people to come increase their fitness and the team spirit. They would all be very welcome to our parkrun,” she said.
The Goldfields Reservoir parkrun starts at 8 am every Saturday mornings off Reservoir Road.