Parkun 234 - parkswim

[snorkel fins mask]

Welcome to parkswim #234!

Some of you look surprised, so I guess you didn’t get the memo. Let me explain. We are expecting floods of biblical proportions this morning, so instead of cancelling the event, we just reclassified it. Let’s see how we go.

So, any first-time parkswimmers amongst us? Yes, all of us. Welcome!

What about visitors from other parkswims? Where from? Thanks for joining us!

So the course goes like so: we line up at the shore over there; when the timekeeper tells us we swim towards Bald Hills Rd, mind the pelicans and any oversized carp; we keep to the left; doggies can doggie-paddle with you so long as they are on a leash the whole time; kids under 10 would have to swim by a guardian and they can’t swim with bikes; turn around at the half way flag; swim back to the start; keep your barcode dry, because if you don’t have a barcode you won’t get a result. Finally, a word to the triathletes amongst us (you know who you are): yes I am watching you, no kicking in the face during the swim.

There are plenty of running events on the horizon: Barossa Running Festival; KI Marathon; King of the Mount and Sea to Summit in Melrose and of course the Kuitpo Trail Run tomorrow. Who is doing Kuitpo tomorrow?

We have an anniversary run/swim today. Today James will run/swim his 100th parkrun. James can you please come to the front? James has one of those parkrun stories that I love. It all started with a new year’s resolution to run the City to Bay. His starting point was barely making it through a 1km jog. Then somehow James not only completed the City to Bay, but became one of the fastest pram pushing dads at parkrun, with a PB of just over 21 minutes. He’s also ran multiple half marathons and does not even blink an eye when it comes to trail runs. So, James what’s your secret? How do you go from struggling with a km jog to doing all this? Consistency, perhaps? Congratulations James! James you are an inspiration for all of us and especially for your kids. They just love coming here, cheering you on and helping out our volunteers.

Speaking of volunteers there is a family theme today: we’ve got the Leas: Jacqui and Dylan on barcode scanning and sorting; the MacNamaras: Carmel, Darcey and Phil as tail swimmers and timekeeper; the Shopovs: Dimity, Hugo, Mila and I on finish tokens and RD duties; our halfway flag fairy is Rosie and Mignon is our photographer. Big thanks to our volunteers. There are vacant volunteer spots for the upcoming weeks, so please consider putting your name down for some of them. It’s easy and feels great!

Well, let’s get ready for our swim. Over to you Phil!