The free fitness event that will get you addicted to running

When it comes to the health and fitness world, “free” isn’t a word that you hear very often.

Most things cost money – and not just a little bit of money. These days, I do a fist-pump when I find a workout class that costs less than $25 per session. I’m also on a never-ending search for a decent water bottle that would get me change from a $20 note.

So when I heard about parkrun, I was apprehensive. A free running event? That happens every week? In parks all over the world? Yeah, of course. And my name is Santa Claus.

But I was wrong. Parkrun does exist, and it’s brilliant.

It happens every Saturday morning, at 7 or 8am. It’s exactly 5km and run entirely by volunteers. And it’s not a race – it’s a run. You’re only running against yourself, against the clock, aiming to beat your best 5km time.

So it’s pretty much like going for a run around the park by yourself… only you’re doing it with hundreds of other extremely motivated runners. It’s an awesome way to get the vibe of a running event without forking out any money, and it’s a great way to stay motivated – all that excitement around you is contagious.

Parkrun is the brainchild of Paul Sinton-Hewitt, who founded parkrun in the UK into 2010. It quickly spread out to other countries, with hundreds of thousands of runners signing up to take part all over the world.

Here’s how it works…

To sign up, I went on to the parkrun website and found the event closest to me – Sydney Park at St Peters. (There are plenty of other options available all over Australia if you have no idea where St Peters is.) The website then gave me my own personal barcode, which I printed off, ready to use at the run.

On the Saturday morning, I woke up and drove to Sydney Park with my friend. Unlike a big running event, there was plenty of parking and you only had to be there a few minutes before go time. There’s a spot to leave bags while you run, and I left my water bottle and jumper behind and joined the starting line.

The vibe at parkrun is obscenely friendly and chilled-out. No one is competitive (something which really puts me off, as I feel pressured) – everyone is just friendly and keen to chat about their love of running. My friend and I were surrounded by a huge variety of people – from kids, to elderly men and middle-aged mums with prams.

The race started, and we ran our way along the path that had been marked out in the park. There was the occasional volunteer positioned along the route to guide us along as well. We were to run exactly 2.5 kilometres around the park and up a hill, and then turn around and run straight back to cross the finish line.

And cross the finish line, we did. At the finish line, our times were marked by a stopwatch and we were given a chip to take to another man with a barcode scanner, who scanned in our times along with our personal barcodes.

By the time we got home, there was an email sitting in our inbox with our results. All the results are recorded on the parkrun website, so you can check back to see your Personal Best, as well as how your time compares with other people in your age group. Each run also earns you points, which goes towards a points competition held in the park.

Every runner also gets the opportunity to volunteer for parkrun – it’s encouraged that you volunteer three times per year in order to keep everything running smoothly for everyone, including yourself.

If you’re the kind of person who struggles getting motivated to go out and go for a run, Parkrun is the ideal way to motivate yourself. The vibe is so incredible that it keeps you wanting to come back every week – and it’s addictive to constantly set new personal bests for yourself. It’s also a great way to make new friends who hold similar interests in health and fitness.

And did I mention it’s FREE? You can save those pennies for a water bottle instead.

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