KNYSNA NEWS - Rob Green has completed 500 parkruns, but this Knysna resident says the milestone itself was never really the point.

"I was doing something that I liked, and I'm not a big milestone person," says the 66-year-old.

Green's achievement did not, however, go unnoticed. Friends and members of the parkrun community made sure the occasion was marked, despite his preference for a quiet celebration.

His first parkrun

His parkrun journey began in 2012 when a friend told him about a new Saturday morning running initiative being introduced by legendary South African athlete Bruce Fordyce. 

Green went to Delta Park in Johannesburg with his sister Rosemary, who was visiting from the United States.

At the time, neither had registered, but the informal event made an impression. Green returned the following weekend to Roodepoort, where he completed his first official parkrun with his barcode. He was soon hooked.

A 'parkrun tourist group'

Already a keen long-distance runner, Green began combining his love of running and travelling by seeking out new parkrun venues as they opened. 

He and a group of fellow enthusiasts eventually formed an informal 'parkrun tourist group', travelling across the country to attend inaugural events.

One of the more ambitious trips was to Springbok's inaugural parkrun, which involved a flight from Johannesburg to Cape Town, followed by a six-hour road trip north.

As parkrun expanded internationally, Green added overseas venues to his list, completing events in the United States, England, Japan, Ireland and Namibia.

Among his memories are running at Loxton in the Northern Cape, where only four people took part, and Modderfontein, which attracted just under 2 000 runners.

Where the wild things are

The Thousand Hills parkrun near Durban stands out as the toughest he has tackled, with almost 200m of elevation gain.

George parkrun, meanwhile, remains a favourite because of its forest setting and the unusual conical labyrinth section in the botanical garden.

Not all his memories are quite as tranquil. At the inaugural Klerksdorp parkrun, Green found himself caught between a small herd of stampeding wildebeest.

"On later runs, they were used to park runners and kept well away," he recalls.

New horizons

Green moved to Knysna permanently in 2019 and chose to volunteer at Harkerville parkrun, which was then getting off the ground and needed volunteers.

Although his long-distance running days are now behind him because of deteriorating knees, he still runs about twice a week and supplements this with cycling and walking.

With 500 parkruns now behind him, Green has already set his sights on another milestone: completing 250 different parkrun venues. He currently stands at 233.

The achievement comes with a pink parkrun cap known as the 'Jabu', named after Jabulani Mkhizi, the first South African to complete 250 different venues.

Green hopes to add his name to the list next year, saying he normally manages at least one new venue a month.

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