By Marissa Tiel

On a cool Saturday morning in early December, a group clad in spandex and running shoes begins to gather on the Okanagan Rail Trail near Clement Avenue. It鈥檚 a small crowd at first but as the clock nears 9 a.m., more join in.

They mill around, chatting with friends and staying warm in the crisp morning air.

Before long, more than 50 people have gathered on the path and run director Bill Justus, clad in a leather jacket begins a countdown. With a ceremonial 3-2-1-go, they鈥檙e off on the 122nd Okanagan parkrun.

Since August 2016, runners have been meeting in 91大黄鸭 for Canada鈥檚 first parkrun, a free five-kilometre event that now takes place in more than 20 locations across the country.

The parkrun movement began in the United Kingdom, and Justus, a former military man, was tipped off from a friend who鈥檇 moved across the Atlantic. She told him he had to bring the event to Canada.

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鈥淎nd I went, 鈥榙o you know how many 5Ks there are?鈥欌�� says Justus. 鈥淎nd she said, 鈥榥o, it鈥檚 different.鈥� And I said, 鈥榟ow is it different?鈥� It inspires people like you inspire people.鈥�

Intrigued, Justus flew to the U.K. and took in a parkrun. What impressed him wasn鈥檛 so much the 5K run itself, but the community it generated.

鈥淚 could see the writing was on the wall that if we were鈥揵ecause I am the age that I am, closer to 60 than 50 and the tail end of the baby-boomer generation鈥搕hat if we were going to keep our next generations out of drugs and injections and all the other medical interventions we have to do to keep people living longer, physical activity had to happen,鈥� says Justus. 鈥淚鈥檝e used running as an antidepressant my whole life; stress reliever. I鈥檝e been fit, happy. I don鈥檛 think I look like most 60-year-olds. Running is a testament to that. It鈥檚 been very good to me.

鈥淚 really wanted to give that to 91大黄鸭.鈥�

Doctors in the U.K. are now prescribing parkrun to their patients.

But getting parkrun to Canada wasn鈥檛 all that simple. The organizing committee in the U.K. questioned whether the event could happen over the winters in Canada. Justus countered, saying the Brits run in the rain; Canadians run in the snow.

Then came convincing the municipality.

鈥淲hen I first went after 91大黄鸭, I got no. No you can鈥檛 be on their runway, no we won鈥檛 keep this parking lot open for you,鈥� says Justus.

But he succeeded and the first parkrun took place on Aug. 20, 2016. It began at Truswell and Lakeshore Roads and more than 100 people showed up.

Attendance shrank a bit after the inaugural event, but within a few months, parkrun had outgrown their location. They moved to the rail trail behind Parkinson Recreation Centre and remain there today, with a slight modification to their starting location. Now an average of 57 people attend each Saturday.

For all its events, Justus has only missed four parkruns鈥搘ell, five. He helped set up the Regina event one Saturday and forgoed his attendance in 91大黄鸭.

鈥淚t鈥檚 part of my life. It鈥檚 part of who I am,鈥� says Justus. 鈥淚t feels weird if I鈥檓 not here.鈥�

The parkrun is a free five-kilometre event.

鈥淩unning should be a pair of running shoes and that鈥檚 what this is,鈥� he says.

Participants are asked to register online. They get personalized barcode that they bring to the event. It鈥檚 their ID and how they get their times recorded.

This weekend, Bob Ferch will use his barcode for the 100th time. He鈥檚 expected to be the first Canadian to reach 100 parkruns.

鈥淚鈥檓 pretty excited about it,鈥� says Ferch after wrapping up his 99th parkrun. 鈥淚 was hoping to be the first to 50 and I didn鈥檛 quite make it so I was determined to be the first to 100.鈥�

Ferch hasn鈥檛 missed a Saturday this year. He says there a quite a few other regulars and the event has a family feel.

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鈥淚t builds a community of moms and dads going by with their strollers, elderly people getting out for the exercise,鈥� says Justus. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no expectations to go fast. There鈥檚 no expectations to run the whole thing. You can walk.鈥�

That鈥檚 not to mean the event can鈥檛 be competitive.

鈥淭here鈥檚 races within races here and it鈥檚 a run, it鈥檚 not a race,鈥� says Justus. 鈥淏ut there are people out here that want to go faster this week than they did last week or they want to beat their buddy or they want to catch somebody they鈥檝e been chasing and you鈥檒l see guys come in here and they鈥檒l be going blazing fast as they come through the finish line.鈥�

New attendees like Madelaine Sumner are always welcome. She took part in her second parkrun earlier this month after urging from a friend.

鈥淚t鈥檚 really fun and it鈥檚 a great community,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 great to see people outside.鈥�

The sun is starting to shrink shadows as the first runners cross the finish line. They catch their breath on the crunchy grass and cheer as the rest of the field trickles in.

鈥淚t is infectious. It is mind-bending. It is life-changing and it鈥檚 enjoyable,鈥� says Justus of parkrun. 鈥淵ou鈥檒l make friends you never know existed.鈥�

carli.berry@kelownacapnews.com
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