🏃‍♀️ Point Vernon Foreshore Reserve parkrun: My Second Visit

My first visit to Point Vernon Foreshore Reserve parkrun with Kirraleigh -- the ridiculously hoy summer version.

I first visited Point Vernon Foreshore Reserve parkrun on a ridiculously hot Queensland morning earlier in the year, tail walking with my youngest daughter Kirraleigh. This time I went back for a completely different experience.

Different season. Different daughter. Very different weather.

And apparently my reward for complaining about how hot it was the first time was to come back on a morning so cold I thought my nips were going to fall off. Fair enough.

This was my 197th parkrun, Point Vernon Foreshore Reserve's 45th event and my second time doing the course. Tearri, my eldest daughter, came along with me and there was no serious running planned. It was just a Saturday morning 5k, plenty of chatting and coffee afterwards. Which, to be fair, is the best way to start any Saturday morning.

A quick disclaimer before I get into it: I've now done well over 190 of these things, so my bar for “spectacular” is probably higher than it should be. That doesn't mean a course isn't worth your Saturday — it just means you should take my comparisons with a grain of salt.

Why I Went Back

Round two at Point Vernon -- this time with Tearri, and considerably more clothing.

I don't usually rush back to parkruns I've already completed because there are far too many others still sitting on my list. But my first visit to Point Vernon had been in the heat of summer, and I was curious to see what the course was like at a completely different time of year. Well, I certainly got different.

There were 113 parkrunners out there for the morning and, as always, the volunteers were lovely.

That's one thing I will say over and over about parkrun. You can turn up somewhere you've never been, or somewhere you haven't visited for months, and there will be a group of volunteers standing there at stupid o'clock on a Saturday morning making the whole thing happen.

The Point Vernon Course

Point Vernon Foreshore Reserve parkrun is an out-and-back style course following the pathway beside the road. You head down the path, turn around, come back past the start area, continue up a small hill to another turnaround and then head back down to the finish. You're near the water the whole way, with glimpses of the bay through the trees, though I wouldn't call this a course that runs right along the ocean.

The path sits back from the shoreline, with grass, trees and open ground between you and the water in sections. There's also no shade to speak of — which, in hindsight, explains a lot about how brutal that first hot-weather visit was. If you're doing this one in summer, get there early.

Maybe I'm spoilt because I see the ocean all the time, but the views aren't what would bring me back to this particular parkrun week after week. It's a fairly straightforward suburban foreshore course, flat and easy underfoot (pavers aside — more on that shortly), which actually makes it a great option if you want a low-pressure, no-surprises 5k. Nothing wrong with that. Not every parkrun needs to be spectacular to be worth doing.

Find The Even Pavers

Find. The. Even. Pavers. You'll understand when you get there. 😂

Now THIS is what I would want someone to tell me before doing Point Vernon.

The course is basically one long game of: Find. The. Even. Pavers.

The pathway is made from paver bricks and there are quite a few uneven sections. Some are worse than others, and I definitely found myself watching the ground.

If you're running, particularly if you tend to shuffle your feet when you're tired, I'd keep an eye on where you're putting them. It wouldn't stop me doing the course, but it's absolutely something I'd want to know beforehand.

From Bloody Hot To Bloody Freezing

My two visits to Point Vernon could hardly have been more different.

The first time I was tail walking with Kirraleigh and it was HOT — properly, punishingly hot, with not a scrap of shade anywhere on the course. This time I was walking with Tearri and freezing. The wind coming off the water made the cold feel considerably worse, and I spent a decent chunk of the morning wondering why I'd apparently dressed for an entirely different climate.

So having now experienced Point Vernon at both ends of the temperature scale, my useful advice is very simple: check the weather before you leave home, and if it's a scorcher, remember there's nowhere on this course to hide from the sun.

Ground breaking travel advice from Chooky Chasing Life.

A Saturday Morning Walk With Tearri

There was no racing happening for us this morning. No chasing a time. No training session. We walked, talked and did our 5k. And I loved that.

I'm genuinely a Saturday morning parkrun fan. Sometimes I want to run. Sometimes I want to chase a time. Sometimes I'll volunteer. And sometimes I just want to walk 5k with one of my munchkins and go for coffee afterwards. This was one of those mornings. It doesn't need to be more complicated than that.

Who'd Enjoy This One

If you're after dramatic ocean views, this probably isn't the course that keeps you coming back. But if you want a flat, easy, well-organised 5k in a coastal setting, with toilets on course and a cafe across the road, Point Vernon ticks every box.. It's a genuinely good option for first-timers, for anyone walking or pushing a pram, or for locals who just want a reliable Saturday habit without any fuss. Just watch those pavers, and bring a hat if the sun's out.

The Practical Stuff

If you're thinking about doing Point Vernon Foreshore Reserve parkrun, here's what I noticed from my two visits.

Course: 5km out-and-back style course with a small hill towards one end.

Surface: Paver bricks, with quite a few uneven sections. Watch your footing.

Shade: None to speak of — dress and hydrate accordingly if it's warm.

Toilets: Yes. There are toilets directly along the path, so that's an easy one.

Water: I don't believe there is anywhere along the course to get drinking water, so bring your own.

Weather: Don't assume Hervey Bay equals warm. I've now done this course ridiculously hot AND ridiculously cold.

Volunteers: Lovely, as always.

Parking: Car park close to the start, plus on-road parking

Coffee: Brew & View Cafe is straight across the road.

We headed off afterwards for coffee because Saturday morning parkrun without coffee afterwards feels like an unfinished job.

Coffee waiting straight across the road -- exactly where it should be after parkrun.

Would I Go Back?

Part of parkrun tourism is discovering the courses you absolutely love, the ones you want to return to, and the ones you're simply glad to have experienced. Point Vernon sits comfortably in that last category for me.

I've done it twice now, in completely different conditions, and I don't feel any particular need to make it number three purely for the sake of it. But if a friend said, “I'm doing Point Vernon Saturday, want to come?” — absolutely, I'd happily go. And if you're local or new to parkrun, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.

The Point Vernon foreshore -- the bay is never far away.

If I'm choosing where to parkrun and there are other courses around that I haven't done, I'm probably going exploring. And I think that's okay to say.

Still, this particular morning gave me exactly what I wanted from it. Five kilometres. A good chat with Tearri. My 197th parkrun. And coffee afterwards.

Can't complain about that.

Before You Go...

This was my second visit to Point Vernon Foreshore Reserve parkrun and part of my ongoing parkrun tourism adventures. Want to know how a little Saturday morning 5k became a worldwide obsession?

👉 Read: The Global Rise of parkrun

And I'll be back exploring another parkrun soon.

Until next Saturday...

Keep Chasing Life 🧡

Chooky xx