Grab a hat, parkrun to start at 8am again

GRAAFF-REINET NEWS - Due to the sweltering Karoo heat, local parkrunners were excited to hear earlier this month that the Mountain Drive parkrun in Graaff-Reinet will kick-off at 7am.

The earlier time slot saw up to 72 participants on Saturday 16 November, with 13 participants who broke personal record, compared to the 8am-slot the week before.

However, as parkrun is an international movement, the Mountain Drive parkrun's organisers were ordered to move the local event back to 8am, until head office gives the go-ahead for a 7am-start.

"We lodged a request a month ago, but now [parkrun] requires a lengthy updated temperature report," said one of the local organisers, Lusan Luscombe. "However, this is still a wonderful event, and we still want to encourage locals to participate," Luscombe said.

She advised walkers, joggers and runners to attend the event geared with hats, water and plenty of sunscreen.

Together with other Karoo towns, Graaff-Reinet experienced a heatwave this week, with temperatures of up to 40 degrees. Cooler temperatures are forecasted for this weekend, and the parkrunners are likely to see a partly cloudy morning on Saturday, with temperatures between 18 and 26 degrees.

Last week's event saw 61 participants, of whom six were first-timers and 11 recorded new personal bests. Xolisa Fisanti was the first of the men to cross the finish line, with a time of 20:50.

Organiser Lusan Luscombe makes announcements to the participants prior to the start of the event.

Siyanda Foendien came in second with 23:51, and Eric Foendien earned third place with 23:52, only a second behind Siyanda. Youngster Likhona Dlomo, who participates in the age category for 11 to 14-year-olds, was first of the females with a new personal record of 31:46.

Carryn Cherrington came second with her 31:54, also a personal best, and Vivian Oosthuizen earned third place with her personal best time of 34:44.

The event was made possible by volunteers Mike Calitz, Kim Spencer Primic, Lusan Luscombe, Peter Burdett, Shirley Spencer, Tammy du Plessis, Johan du Plessis and Anneke Wieneke.