My 200th parkrun: From Barely Making It Back to the Car
Updated: 6 days ago
On 9 January 2016, I did my first ever parkrun. North Lakes. Three laps around the lake. Five kilometres. Five bloody long kilometres.
I was extremely overweight, trying yet again to lose weight and get healthy. That probably sounds harsh, but it is the truth. I was big, I knew I was big, and being the hypochondriac that I am, I was also convinced I was eventually going to have a heart attack and die if I didn't do something about it.
So, Mum announced we were doing parkrun. And by Mum, obviously I mean me. The munchkins came with me. They were young, but even then they supported whatever ridiculous thing Mum had decided we were doing that weekend.
I gave that first parkrun everything I had. By the end, I could hardly walk. I remember taking my shoes off and slowly hobbling back towards the car because my feet hurt so much. Actually, I don't think we even made it straight back to the car. We had to sit on the ground for a while first because I was absolutely exhausted.
That first 5 km felt enormous.
I certainly wasn't standing there thinking, Well, there's number one. Only another 199 to go. I was just trying to survive number one.
Big, But Always Trying
That probably sums up that version of me better than anything. Big, but always trying.
I was forever trying something to lose weight or become healthier. Parkrun was just another one of those things. And if you'd asked me in January 2016 whether I thought I'd still be doing it ten years later, I probably would have laughed at you. I only completed five parkruns in that entire first year. Five.
It wasn't an instant love affair. I didn't discover parkrun and suddenly become a runner. There was no inspirational movie montage where everything changed. Life carried on. I went sometimes. Then I'd disappear. Then I'd come back.
My 25th parkrun didn't happen until November 2018. My 50th wasn't until May 2021. Then something started to change. I reached 100 in January 2024. And on 12 September 2026, on the other side of Australia at Mt Clarence parkrun in Albany, Western Australia, I crossed the finish line for number 200.
Somewhere along the way, parkrun became my thing.
The Kids I Drag Along With Me
Parkrun is definitely my thing, not the kids'. Let's make that very clear. They rarely wake up on a Saturday morning thinking, You know what would make today better? Getting up ridiculously early and doing a 5K. It's more: Mum has announced we're doing parkrun. 😂
But over the years, one or more of them have so often come because they know I enjoy it and they want to keep me company. Sometimes we run. Sometimes we walk. Sometimes we talk our way around the entire 5 km. And I love all of those versions.
In 2016, I was there because I wanted to lose weight. In 2026, I go because I genuinely enjoy it. I love starting my Saturday morning that way, and I miss it when I don’t go. Having my munchkins with me for number 200 made it even more special.
We even have a family parkrun personal best (PB) list saved on my phone. Every time someone beats their own record, the list gets updated. Tearri, I am coming for you. Ethy, you are safe 😂
Grundy - 24:44
Chooky - 29:42
Tearri - 28:41
Kirraleigh - 33:02
Ethan - 21:27
And Then There Was Grundy
Grundy started parkrun the following year. He worked most Saturdays, so if he wasn't working, he'd sometimes come along with us. Over the years he completed 27 parkruns at 10 different events. As he got sorer during the last few years, walking 5 km became too much. So, his role changed. He became my driver. 😂
I'd run. He'd take photos when I went past him. And when I finished, there would quite often be a coffee waiting for me. Which, frankly, is excellent race support.
Once, he even got up at some completely ridiculous hour and drove nearly three hours just so I could collect my Q for my 👉 parkrun alphabet challenge. That's love.
Some of my parkrun memories aren't about times at all. They're George Town in Tasmania. They're travelling together and fitting a parkrun into one of our trips. They're Urunga in New South Wales on a fishing holiday. They're Queen Elizabeth parkrun at Casino on that same trip.
By then, Grundy couldn't walk the 5 km with me. But he was there. And afterwards we'd go and have breakfast together. Those mornings matter differently now.
Number 200
I thought my 200th parkrun might feel huge when I crossed the finish line. Instead, in some ways, it was just another run. Mt Clarence was beautiful. The kids were there. Ethan came back and ran the final 1.5 km with me, taking photos along the way and getting one of me crossing the finish line. I finished in 38:44. Parkrun number 200. I was proud.
But I was sad too. Because there was one person missing. I wanted Grundy there. And yes, I'm still angry at the world for taking him. There isn't a neat inspirational sentence I can put after that and make it okay.
I just wanted him there.
But I also know he would have understood exactly what that morning meant to me. He'd spent enough Saturdays driving me, photographing me and standing around waiting for me with coffee to know. So I let myself be sad. And then I looked at what I'd actually done.
200 parkruns.
28 different locations.
1,000 kilometres of parkrun.
37 volunteer credits.
Ten years since that first Saturday at North Lakes when 5 km felt almost impossible. That's worth being proud of.
Grief and pride, it turns out, can sit in the same body on the same morning.
Somewhere Along the Way, I Started Chasing Myself
One of my biggest parkrun moments actually happened before number 200. Breaking 30 minutes. I'd wanted it for so long. Then on 12 July 2025 at Maryborough, I ran 29:42. Sub-30.
I bloody did it. And the funny thing about finally reaching a goal is that almost immediately your brain goes: Okay...what's next? Now I want 28. Then maybe 27. That's one of the things I love about running.
You're really only chasing yourself. The woman beside me might run 22 minutes. Someone else might take an hour. Neither changes what I'm trying to do. My competition is the Chooky who ran yesterday. And occasionally she needs a good kick up the arse.
Why parkrun Tourism?
Because we get stuck in ruts. Same places. Same routines. Same weekends disappearing. So I decided I wanted to use parkrun as an excuse to get out and explore. Once a month, go somewhere different. A new town. A new course. Somewhere to walk, hike, eat breakfast and explore afterwards.
Two birds, one stone.
See more of this beautiful country and collect another parkrun while I'm there. When Grundy became too sick to travel, that goal understandably went on hold. Now I’m back out exploring. Mt Clarence became my 28th different parkrun location and my fifth different event in a row. And I have absolutely no intention of stopping there.
250 parkruns, 50 Volunteers, By 50
Of course I have another goal. Because 200 wasn't enough. 😂
250 parkruns with 50 volunteer credits by the time I turn 50.
I'm currently sitting at: 200 parkruns. 37 volunteer credits.
So that's another 50 runs and 13 volunteer credits to go. I'm slightly worried I won't get the 250 because I'm heading overseas and there are only so many Saturdays between now and then. But you know what? So be it.
Adventure awaits. I've already completed 35 parkruns this year. Last year I did 34. Compare that with the five I did in 2016 and it's pretty obvious how much my relationship with parkrun has changed.
Do I sometimes look back over those ten years and think about all the Saturdays I could have been doing parkrun? Yep. But I'm not particularly interested in spending the next ten years regretting the Saturdays I wasted in the last ten. I'd rather use the ones ahead of me.
There Are Still Letters to Chase
First, I want to finish my parkrun alphabet. I'm currently sitting at 18 of the 25 letters, with seven to go. The plan is to have every one of them ticked off before I head to London. Because while I'm there, there's one parkrun I already know I'm doing.
Bushy parkrun.
The 👉 birthplace of parkrun. There's something about that which feels beautifully full circle. From a woman at North Lakes in 2016 who could barely walk back to the car after finishing 5 km... to travelling halfway around the world and standing at the place where parkrun itself began.
I didn't start parkrun because I loved running. I didn't start because I had some grand ten-year plan. I started because I was scared of what would happen if I didn't start taking better care of myself. Two hundred parkruns later, I'm not doing it because I'm scared anymore.
I'm doing it because it's fun. Because I love the challenge. Because I love exploring. Because sometimes I want to chase a PB. Sometimes I want to walk beside my munchkins and talk for an hour. Sometimes I want to collect a ridiculous letter of the alphabet that requires someone to drive me three hours.
And sometimes I just want to start Saturday morning by putting one foot in front of the other. Parkrun number 200 is done. I'm proud of it. But I'm nowhere near finished.
Next stop: 250.
And somewhere along the way, a few more adventures.
Before You Go...
Catch up on the run-up to 200: 👉 number 198 at Pirrama and 👉 number 199 at Zillmere.
Come Chase Life With Me
What number are you up to? Tell me in the comments.
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Keep Chasing Life 🧡
Chooky xx
Embracing the slow. Chasing the now.
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