PORTARLINGTON parkrun will celebrate its second birthday this weekend.
\nSet up by Fiona Gilks two years ago, with the help of volunteers and support from the organisation, Portarlington parkrun has attracted locals, holidaymakers, state, interstate and international participants.
\nEvery Saturday morning, people gather around a pop-up start line on the Esplanade, opposite Parks Hall in Portarlington, for the free, weekly, timed event.
\nThey listen to some instructions and then go for a two-and-a-half-kilometre run, walk, stroll or amble east along the Esplanade, taking on a small hill before heading down to the long straight which skirts the bay.
\nThen at 2.5km a flag and marshal indicate the half-way point.
\nVolunteer Yvonne Varley said this was when most participants discovered an infamous headwind, which, combined with the upward incline, provided a challenge to those who chose to run.
\nMs Varley said come hail, shine or heatwave, this community event attracted participants of all age groups.
\nShe said participants could go as fast or as slow as they liked, with family, friends, dog and pram, and that many came for the social side, taking time to chat and enjoy the views.
\n\u201cJust because it says parkrun doesn\u2019t mean you need to run either – everyone is welcome!\u201d Ms Varley said.
\n\u201cPeople come for all sorts of reasons: some to get faster, some to keep fit, some to walk the dog but most people come for the social side.\u201d
\nMs Varley said average numbers were around 49, although they attracted more than 200 participants for the New Year\u2019s Day event, when having completed the parkrun at Balyang Sanctuary, runners then came to the later Portarlington one to do a run again.
\n\u201cIn the winter numbers can be low but over the summer and school holidays, visitors to the Bellarine will often participate as well,\u201d she said.
\nMs Varley said volunteers and parkrun organisers were not paid for their time.
\n\u201cThey come because they enjoy being part of something for the community and, of course, because it is great fun,\u201d she said,
\n\u201cVolunteers do the timing, handout tokens and scan these together with the barcodes (which link your athlete\u2019s barcode to the run time), marshal and tail walk.
\n\u201cThe person in charge on the day, run director, then combines the data and this is published online as well as e-mailed to those who are registered parkrunners.\u201d
\nMs Varley said in the future she would love the number of participants to grow throughout the year.
\n\u201cIt has been good to see so many young people joining in the event more recently and it would be good to see more of them and their parents, going into summer.
\n\u201cWe would also like to see more people stepping up to try some of the volunteer positions.
\n\u201cSome people are worried about doing the wrong thing with the timing and scanning, but there is nothing that cannot be fixed up and we give extra support and training to those who do give it a go.
\n\u201cWe hope to continue to run the event for as long as the parkrun organisation exists.\u201d
\nFor more information, follow \u201cPortarlington parkrun\u201d on Facebook.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PORTARLINGTON parkrun will celebrate its second birthday this weekend. Set up by Fiona Gilks two years ago, with the help of volunteers and support from the organisation, Portarlington parkrun has attracted locals, holidaymakers, state, interstate and international participants. Every Saturday morning, people gather around a pop-up start line on the Esplanade, opposite Parks Hall in […]<\/p>\n