Volunteers keep parkrun on its toes

The parkrun held through Hout Bay’s greenbelt on Saturday mornings wouldn’t happen without volunteers, and they say they are finding it hard to maintain the route.

Adults, children and dogs set off every Saturday, at 8am, from Ambleside School, in Milner Avenue, to tackle the free, individually timed 5km route.

Richard Lowndes, of Fish Hoek, has completed 298 parkruns including three in Hout Bay, and says the single-file tracks there are overgrown, and he suggests opening them up to make the run better.

“I used to run around this area before it became unsafe. It's good the parkrun has made it possible to run there again in safety.”

Hout Bay runner Paul Visser has completed 111 parkruns and volunteered 28 times. He and other volunteers have been maintaining paths on the grass and reeds using weed-eaters and brush cutters.

The Friends of the Rivers of Hout Bay had also helped on sections that were nature sensitive, he said.

The first Hout Bay park run took place in October 2017 (“Parkrun meanders its way to Hout Bay”, Sentinel, October 13, 2017) and drew 600 people. The municipality now grants an annual event permit for it.

One of Hout Bay’s parkrun directors, Frank Nebe, who designed the current route, said it was a battle to keep it from becoming choked by vegetation.

The first section crosses the Disa River, a trickle in summer but a slippery mud bath in winter. Mr Nebe said participants used to cross the stream on packing crates which he later replaced with PVC piping.

The next section of the route, repeated after the western loop towards the ocean, is a soft sandy jeep track. The prettier loop is single track, often overgrown and bumpy, he said.

As for safety, Mr Nebe said they had had a few twisted ankles, a bag snatch and a mugging, but despite the challenges he said the event was still well attended with about 60 to 70 participants.

Nomphelo Popo, of Mandela Park, is a member of Hout Bay Harriers, and pointing to Chapman’s Peak Drive she said she had run there earlier and then completed the parkrun.

Suzette Esterhuizen, of Kronendal, carrying her granddaughter, Araura, Esterhuizen, said she had completed her 100th parkrun the previous week.

Volunteer trail walker Alan Hutton said he found the events to be sociable and he enjoyed getting to know the locals.

Because parkruns are not-for-profit operations, with free entry, the organisers are dependent on funding from the private sector as well as on volunteers to act as route marshals. For more information or to register for an event, visit parkrun.co.za To help, contact fred@digitalsafeguard.co.za