When Tom Kovacs posted in a Gisborne Facebook page asking if anyone might be keen to volunteer with a local parkrun, he was surprised by the response.
More than 30 people said they’d be interested, and that was good, because in order to get a 5km parkrun off the ground you need volunteers ready to go.
“parkrun in general is a community run event for the local community, ther’s ones that run in other suburbs closeby like Sunbury, Woodend and Lancefield … they run every week, the biggest problem we have is it’s run by community volunteers,” he said.
parkrun is free, and is a collection of five kilometre events for walkers, runners and volunteers that take place every Saturday morning at more than 2000 locations worldwide.
His plan hasn’t been confirmed yet, but he’s got a good feeling. His proposed course weaves through the Gisborne Botanic Gardens and around Jacksons Creek.
Mr Kovacs fell in love with the initiative when he was living in Melton, and then took his routine up to Sydney.
He wears a prosthetic leg after a motorcycle accident in 2021, and his goal while he lay in hospital was to complete a five kilometre parkrun course within a year.
“It’s awesome, and the community … embraced me and helped me get back. They were happy I walked a parkrun when I first came back,” Mr Kovacs said.
“parkrun was a great support to help people rehabilitate. It’s free.”
To get in touch about volunteering, email: tom_kovacs@hotmail.com
Elsie Lange
