By Marissa Tiel
On a cool Saturday morning in early December, a group clad in spandex and running shoes begins to gather on the Okanagan Rail Trail near Clement Avenue. It乌鸦传媒檚 a small crowd at first but as the clock nears 9 a.m., more join in.
They mill around, chatting with friends and staying warm in the crisp morning air.
Before long, more than 50 people have gathered on the path and run director Bill Justus, clad in a leather jacket begins a countdown. With a ceremonial 3-2-1-go, they乌鸦传媒檙e off on the 122nd Okanagan parkrun.
Since August 2016, runners have been meeting in Kelowna for Canada乌鸦传媒檚 first parkrun, a free five-kilometre event that now takes place in more than 20 locations across the country.
The parkrun movement began in the United Kingdom, and Justus, a former military man, was tipped off from a friend who乌鸦传媒檇 moved across the Atlantic. She told him he had to bring the event to Canada.
RELATED: New pizzeria franchise at Sopa Square
乌鸦传媒淎nd I went, 乌鸦传媒榙o you know how many 5Ks there are?乌鸦传媒櫸谘淮綕 says Justus. 乌鸦传媒淎nd she said, 乌鸦传媒榥o, it乌鸦传媒檚 different.乌鸦传媒� And I said, 乌鸦传媒榟ow is it different?乌鸦传媒� It inspires people like you inspire people.乌鸦传媒�
Intrigued, Justus flew to the U.K. and took in a parkrun. What impressed him wasn乌鸦传媒檛 so much the 5K run itself, but the community it generated.
乌鸦传媒淚 could see the writing was on the wall that if we were乌鸦传媒揵ecause I am the age that I am, closer to 60 than 50 and the tail end of the baby-boomer generation乌鸦传媒搕hat if we were going to keep our next generations out of drugs and injections and all the other medical interventions we have to do to keep people living longer, physical activity had to happen,乌鸦传媒� says Justus. 乌鸦传媒淚乌鸦传媒檝e used running as an antidepressant my whole life; stress reliever. I乌鸦传媒檝e been fit, happy. I don乌鸦传媒檛 think I look like most 60-year-olds. Running is a testament to that. It乌鸦传媒檚 been very good to me.
乌鸦传媒淚 really wanted to give that to Kelowna.乌鸦传媒�
Doctors in the U.K. are now prescribing parkrun to their patients.
But getting parkrun to Canada wasn乌鸦传媒檛 all that simple. The organizing committee in the U.K. questioned whether the event could happen over the winters in Canada. Justus countered, saying the Brits run in the rain; Canadians run in the snow.
Then came convincing the municipality.
乌鸦传媒淲hen I first went after Kelowna, I got no. No you can乌鸦传媒檛 be on their runway, no we won乌鸦传媒檛 keep this parking lot open for you,乌鸦传媒� says Justus.
But he succeeded and the first parkrun took place on Aug. 20, 2016. It began at Truswell and Lakeshore Roads and more than 100 people showed up.
Attendance shrank a bit after the inaugural event, but within a few months, parkrun had outgrown their location. They moved to the rail trail behind Parkinson Recreation Centre and remain there today, with a slight modification to their starting location. Now an average of 57 people attend each Saturday.
For all its events, Justus has only missed four parkruns乌鸦传媒搘ell, five. He helped set up the Regina event one Saturday and forgoed his attendance in Kelowna.
乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 part of my life. It乌鸦传媒檚 part of who I am,乌鸦传媒� says Justus. 乌鸦传媒淚t feels weird if I乌鸦传媒檓 not here.乌鸦传媒�
The parkrun is a free five-kilometre event.
乌鸦传媒淩unning should be a pair of running shoes and that乌鸦传媒檚 what this is,乌鸦传媒� he says.
Participants are asked to register online. They get personalized barcode that they bring to the event. It乌鸦传媒檚 their ID and how they get their times recorded.
This weekend, Bob Ferch will use his barcode for the 100th time. He乌鸦传媒檚 expected to be the first Canadian to reach 100 parkruns.
乌鸦传媒淚乌鸦传媒檓 pretty excited about it,乌鸦传媒� says Ferch after wrapping up his 99th parkrun. 乌鸦传媒淚 was hoping to be the first to 50 and I didn乌鸦传媒檛 quite make it so I was determined to be the first to 100.乌鸦传媒�
Ferch hasn乌鸦传媒檛 missed a Saturday this year. He says there a quite a few other regulars and the event has a family feel.
RELATED: Simple falls causing serious injuries to people over 65
乌鸦传媒淚t builds a community of moms and dads going by with their strollers, elderly people getting out for the exercise,乌鸦传媒� says Justus. 乌鸦传媒淭here乌鸦传媒檚 no expectations to go fast. There乌鸦传媒檚 no expectations to run the whole thing. You can walk.乌鸦传媒�
That乌鸦传媒檚 not to mean the event can乌鸦传媒檛 be competitive.
乌鸦传媒淭here乌鸦传媒檚 races within races here and it乌鸦传媒檚 a run, it乌鸦传媒檚 not a race,乌鸦传媒� says Justus. 乌鸦传媒淏ut there are people out here that want to go faster this week than they did last week or they want to beat their buddy or they want to catch somebody they乌鸦传媒檝e been chasing and you乌鸦传媒檒l see guys come in here and they乌鸦传媒檒l be going blazing fast as they come through the finish line.乌鸦传媒�
New attendees like Madelaine Sumner are always welcome. She took part in her second parkrun earlier this month after urging from a friend.
乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 really fun and it乌鸦传媒檚 a great community,乌鸦传媒� she says. 乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 great to see people outside.乌鸦传媒�
The sun is starting to shrink shadows as the first runners cross the finish line. They catch their breath on the crunchy grass and cheer as the rest of the field trickles in.
乌鸦传媒淚t is infectious. It is mind-bending. It is life-changing and it乌鸦传媒檚 enjoyable,乌鸦传媒� says Justus of parkrun. 乌鸦传媒淵ou乌鸦传媒檒l make friends you never know existed.乌鸦传媒�
carli.berry@kelownacapnews.com
Like us on and follow us on .
