Mayor’s column: Parkrun comes to Nelson

I am delighted that this Saturday the parkrun event is being launched in Neale Park at the North Road entrance. The 5km run or walk adjacent to Queen Elizabeth II Drive and Nelson Haven is to be held every Saturday at 8am. It’s about our community being active, connected and enjoying our parks.

I love that our region was rated this year as the most active in NZ. This reflects our wonderful climate, strong sports clubs and the values our community puts on lifestyle and fitness. Sport NZ guidelines are for adults to do 2.5 hours of exercise per week. We topped the country in having 39% achieve this but it also highlights that we can do better.

It’s 20 years since parkrun was founded on 2 October 2004 at Bushy Park, Teddington, in the UK. It has become a global phenomenon with 2300 locations (55 in NZ including Neale Park) in 23 countries and 10 million runners each Saturday. It’s based on the simple principles of being free, fun and friendly. Once you register and have your parkrun barcode, you can easily join a parkrun in other centres when travelling. It’s a volunteer community event with no commercial sponsorship.

Nelson has a proud heritage of running with Olympians such as Harold Nelson, Rod Dixon, Toni Hodgkinson, Julian Matthews, and Paralympian Liam Malone. We are to host the inaugural Spectacle from December 13 to 15. The parkrun is complementary with a focus of participation over pace. The times are recorded but people are welcome to walk, jog or run, with volunteering also recognised and celebrated. I will view it as more of a success if the average times are slower as it will indicate a wider group of non-competitive participants like me.

I want to thank the volunteers, led by Ruth Rogers, and supported by Council in getting parkrun here. Finding a park route that meets the standards set by the global organisation has not been easy. If Neale Park is a success, I would like us to explore having a second parkrun at Saxton Field, closer to Stoke and Richmond residents.

Join us any Saturday. Visit here for details and registration.