The first sign of winter greeted parkrun participants at event #515 last Saturday, with 149 finishers making the most of the fresh conditions.
Once again, the event hosted visitors from near and far, with representatives from Cairns, Bendigo, Melbourne and Christchurch.
One of those visitors provided a special cause for celebration. Adronis Ndihokubwayo, a name that needs no introduction to members of this community, returned to Castlemaine for his 100th milestone.
Now based at Point Cook parkrun, Adronis and was accompanied by his brother, Clovis Karabagega (also a former Castlemaine participant), along with their wives, cousins, friends and children for this momentous event. His achievements at Castlemaine are impressive, with 52 parkruns completed and a first finisher in 40 of them. What a record!
Adronis and Clovis, came out to Australia in 2016 from Burundi, Africa, and settled in Castlemaine in 2017 following Adronis’s clinical nursing placement. By all accounts, parkrun contributed to lasting friendship bonds. It was terrific to see so many of his family and friends out in support and heartwarming to welcome him back to his unofficial ‘home’ parkrun in the tunnel of love.
Keeping it in the family, cousin Blaise Nishimwe, a junior under 18, was the first finisher in a time of 18:04 at his first event in Castlemaine.
Well done to Katherine Taylor, the first female finisher, with a new PB of 21:26.
There were many achievements of note. Congratulations to the 13 participants who set a new personal best, including Dhi Singh (23:35), Mark Johnstone (24:00) and Alexa Duke (27:23). Alexa also claimed the highest age grade of 80.47%, with her time recognised as a national class performance.
Thank you to all the volunteers who set up every week without fail, rain, hail or shine.
Led by run director Jane Harding, the team was Alicia and Aureen as timekeepers, Gary who completed the course check, Geoff on finish tokens, Imogen as token sorter, Robyn and Sally, in her first parkrun volunteer appearance, as barcode scanners, Shana as report writer and Ronder (plus her pooch) as the tail walker.
If you are interested in joining the parkrun community by participating as a volunteer or finishing the 5km course at the Botanical Gardens, all individuals of all abilities and age groups are welcome. You can run, walk or jog your way through the 5km distance at your own pace. Walking is also popular and the tail walker is the final finisher and helping to ensure the gardens remain safely shared with members of the public.
Simply register at parkrun.com.au for a barcode and join the event at 7.50am where you can see the event flags near the BBQ and playground area. Do rug up as we head towards the cooler months and hope to see you at an event soon.
brothers) are joined by Adronis’ wife Damalice and their three children, Clovis’ wife
Sonia and their two babies, friend Akot with her children, with regulars David and
Donna Petrusma and their grandson are pictured at Saturday’s event.