THE day that the Inverloch parkrun started, on Saturday, September 13, 2014, Nathan Castle of Inverloch, was there.
Last Saturday, July 29, 2023, it was the event’s 407th running and Nathan was passing the unofficial milestone of 400 parkruns… an amazing feat of consistency, especially when you consider that he missed most of those Saturdays in the first year, not completing his 50th parkrun until Inverloch’s 59th event, on Saturday, October 18, 2015.
But there are occasionally “bonus” parkrun dates, like on New Year’s Day, and Nathan has got most of those lost dates back, and then some, as he aims to become one of a select group in Australia, those to complete 500 parkruns, the holy grail of the movement.
Along the way, he has also clocked up dozens of volunteer events, most notably being the person to sweep away the drifting sand that often blows up from the Inverloch beach, getting it off the course before the run.
He’s already notched up a number of parkrun goals, including the “parkrun alphabet” challenge which he completed in March 2018 with a morning run at Zilimere in the suburbs of Brisbane.
An avid “parkrun tourist”, he included a couple of overseas destinations in his alphabet including Kraków in Poland and Fælledparken (Copenhagen) in Denmark, having also completed runs in Yorkshire England, Malmo in Sweden, Munich Germany and the Mole Valley run through the Denbies Wine Estate in Surrey, among others.
His alphabet goes something like this: Albert Park (Melbourne), Bairnsdale, Castlemaine, Darwin, Echuca/Moana, Fælledparken, Golden Beach, Hamilton, Inverloch, Jells, Kraków, Lillydale, Mullum Mullum, Newborough, Orange, Portland, Quinns Rocks, Rockingham, Studley, Traralgon, Urunga, Varsity Lakes, Warragul, You Yangs, and Zilimere.
There’s no ‘X’ parkrun location.
But he rates his “most out of the way” run as Whitemark on Flinders Island in the wilds of Bass Strait.
He’s run in every state of Australia, top to bottom and is likely to reach the 500 milestone in June 2025.
“It’s just a great idea, great for fun and fitness and it’s free. Parkrun is for anyone who can complete 5km by foot either walking, jogging or running.”
Saturday’s parkrun at Inverloch was well attended, on a pleasant morning, with the wind dropping and a glorious view of Anderson Inlet, the beach and the ocean as you neared the finish line.
The day featured a 100-run milestone by Derek Cooper and a first across the line result for 12-year-old Ben Bellairs of Inverloch, in his second-best time of 19.20 minutes. He set a PB the week before of 19.09.
Inverloch parkrun starts at 8am sharp every Saturday, in Rotary Centenary Park, Ramsey Street, just follow the coastal pathway.
