Resources
A weekly routine
Bek Milne is fifth generation military and has served for more than 20 years, which has included 18 house moves. Bek explains how the structure and routine of parkrun makes perfect sense for veterans and their families, and how volunteering at parkrun is a great opportunity to find your place and your people in your new community.
A parkrun personality
Emma lives with Williams Syndrome, which means she has some intellectual and spatial awareness challenges. But it also gives her some special qualities as a volunteer, including the ability to recognise new parkrunners and to put them at ease.
A feeling of accomplishment
Michelle was a fit and active younger person but she stopped when she had kids. Following a relationship breakdown and the pandemic lockdowns, a parkrun started close to Michelle’s house and she has been volunteering there ever since.
Where I belong
When Belinda was 18 she contracted a bacterial infection that severely impacted her ability to walk. Determined to keep moving, Belinda started walking at parkrun to complement her wheelchair sports, and before long she was volunteering at parkrun as a Run Director too.
parkrun your way
Rachel started parkrun because she wanted an activity that wasn’t focussed on weight loss, and as a student at the time it helped that parkrun was also free! Over time, Rachel began to volunteer and eventually became a Run Director at her local parkrun.
The confidence to try
Merrilyn has volunteered at parkrun more than 440 times and has never completed the 5km course. Merrilyn reveals how parkrun has had a transformational effect on her mental health and given her newfound confidence.
Tears of pride
Laurinda cried the first time she went to parkrun and swore she would never return. But thankfully Laurinda did come back, and began to enjoy it so much that she volunteered to start another parkrun on the other side of town.
My tribe
Janet and her husband moved to Australia in 2014. As retirees they had to actively make the effort to make friends in their adopted homeland, so they went to parkrun to try to meet a few people. Eight years later they have an enormous circle of friends!
Part of who I am
Janine explains how becoming a Run Director at parkrun has increased her confidence and had a positive impact on her life.
My happy place
Maria’s home parkrun is two hours from the nearest town. On a Saturday morning, Maria loves nothing more than walking into the desert to spend time with the native wildlife and direct people around this outback parkrun course as a volunteer marshal.
Feeling empowered
When Leela changed her gender marker from male to female it reinforced to her how inclusive the parkrun community is, and she now uses volunteering as a way of supporting others starting their own parkrun story.
Finding my people
Amy was teased at school about the way she ran, so when she did go running she did so alone. Amy was incredibly nervous before her first parkrun, but she quickly made friends and discovered that, for her, volunteering at parkrun is better than running.
A place to go
Melanie tragically lost her teenage daughter to the flu and became very sick herself, spending three days in ICU and three weeks in hospital. Unable to walk when she was discharged, Melanie registered with parkrun and built up to walking 5k. Melanie now walks and volunteers at parkrun, and it's the people she's met there who keep her coming back.
A magic potion
Beck was a Canberra parkrunner who was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer at just 47, having never been a smoker. Before she passed away at the age of 50, Beck was determined to share her story of how parkrun gave her a sense of normality during her treatment and had a positive impact on her mental health.