Winnipeggers catch running bug as part of international organization

All it took was a walk in the park to lead a Winnipeg family to create a local chapter of an international runners’ organization.

Rick Harrison says he and his daughters picked up the running bug after trying a five-kilometre jaunt at Happyland Park back in 2019, followed by an ambitious attempt at 10 kilometres in that year’s Manitoba Marathon.

After getting a taste for the pastime, Harrison told 680 CJOB’s The Start, he began chatting with other runners in Facebook groups, which is where he first heard the term “parkrun.”

“While learning about how to run, I accidentally joined a group that seemed to be mostly made up of British folks on Facebook,” he said.

“They started talking about ‘parkrun.’”

After asking some questions and looking into the concept, Harrison said he learned it was a concept where runners of all skill levels around the world participated in weekly meetups and recorded their times.

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He learned there was a parkrun group in Saskatchewan, but nothing here in Manitoba, so Harrsion said he contacted Parkrun Canada and set about forming a local chapter.

“It’s a global community, so when you register with Parkrun Canada, you get a barcode. That barcode is good anywhere in the world. … Anywhere that has a parkrun, you can run that course and you’ll get your time emailed to you.

“A lot of places have a meeting place afterwards where you can meet other runners and have coffee.”

For Winnipeg’s parkrun, which recently celebrated its fifth anniversary, Harrison chose the scenic Churchill Parkway near the Red River. Runners meet there in all kinds of weather, every Saturday at 9 a.m. sharp., to run a five-kilometre course that’s open to all.

“You can run along with the runners, or you can register and become one of the runners. We appreciate walkers, runners, baby strollers, dog walkers.

“We accept all people, not bicycles — you’ve got to go on your own two feet.”

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