INVERLOCH parkrun ran its 500th event recently.
The milestone is a testament to the community-based event, which first arrived in Inverloch in 2014.
A total of 271 people finished the 500th run, aided by 14 volunteers.
A blue theme marked the occasion, and regulars and visitors alike turned out to enjoy the morning.
In Inverloch, parkrun has grown substantially over the years.
Founders of the Inverloch chapter hoped to see 40 people take part each week in the early days.
Since then, 9968 different people have finished the course along the foreshore a total of 56,296 times.
“At parkrun, we do have a lot of regulars, as well as tourists who come along. Some parkrunners like to participate in parkruns starting with every letter of the alphabet. Not a lot of towns start with the letter ‘I’, so we get quite a few who come to Inverloch,” run director and parkrun ambassador Tony O’Connell said.
Tony has been instrumental in starting up parkruns in different communities.
Inverloch’s parkrun was the 14th established in Victoria – the state now has 120 events running each week.
Tony has helped to set up 20 community parkruns, all with the ambition of providing a great fitness initiative and social outing.
“A lot of people will grab a coffee together afterwards and have a bit of a catch-up. It’s great for mental health,” Tony said.
“There’s a group of about 20 people who will meet at the Beach Box Café for breakfast after parkrun as a way to continue enjoying their Saturday morning.”
A wonderful mix of ages can often be seen participating in parkrun.
“Children have to be at least four years old to register for a barcode, and we have seen a few participants as young as that. Some of our regular parkrunners are in their mid-90s. There’s no time limit – you just go at your own pace,” Tony said.
“We had a couple of girls who were aged around 12 who would finish the course rather quickly, and they would go back and finish the course again with a gentleman who was in his 80s, which would make his day. There are few other activities that encourage that sort of interaction between different people.
“We are also starting to see children growing up with parkrun. Their parkrun parents would’ve pushed them in the pram, and now they can start registering as well. There is such a community feeling at parkrun that some parents are given a breather to run the course themselves while other people they’ve become familiar with push the pram. It’s a very safe, welcoming and friendly environment.”
Inverloch parkrun was shutdown for a period during COVID, but the time away did not impact participation.
“There was some hesitation about being in a big group, but most people were excited to return. It didn’t take long for the numbers to get back up,” Tony said.
Inverloch parkrun has also had a positive impact on the local economy with tourists choosing to stay and enjoy the town for longer.
“In the early days, we had people come here just for parkrun and head home. Now we are finding more people are making a weekend of it,” Tony said.
“As one of the original founders, I love the feedback we get from visitors. It’s nice to hear they enjoy the friendly, welcoming environment with lots of cheering along the course.
“It’s all about getting involved and the social connections that can develop. We’ve seen big groups come along and only three will run the course while the rest walk and enjoy the getting out there and being active with like-minded people.”
A huge thank you was issued to the volunteers who donate their time to ensure a successful event each week.
“We have a core group of run directors who really are the heart and soul of our parkrun,” Tony said.
“We are also very grateful for the fact that we can confidently fill roles each week. All we have to do is ask and someone is willing to step up – it’s a great culture and we really do thank everyone who gets involved.”
Tony said parkrun is likely to keep growing, with the hope that more parkruns will be established across Gippsland.
Since Inverloch’s parkrun was introduced, parkruns have also started up in Phillip Island, Koonwarra, Mirboo North and Korumburra.
In Victoria, parkrun starts at 8am on Saturday morning and are always ready to welcome new participants.
