COOMERA PARKRUN REVIEW

GETTING THERE

Coomera Parkrun lies halfway between Brisbane and the Gold Coast. You take the Oxenford turnoff and it's a further 5-7 minutes to the start on the northern side of the lake. My friend Jody drove us there and he is a stickler for punctuality so we were there about 20 minutes before the start. I am seldom late but this was pushing the limits of being on time. (Haha) There is a whole lot of road construction going on at the moment at the Oxenford turnoff so that made GPS navigation a bit tricky but as soon as our maps are updated, it will be fine. 

PARKING

As I said, we arrived way before the start so parking was not a problem. There is ample street parking and there is a small shopping centre nearby. I did notice that latecomers did have to park some distance away but if you snooze, you lose. 

TOILETS

There is a toilet facility right near the start and because the area is relatively new, the park facilities are modern and clean. After a 45 minute drive, it was a welcome relief to use the clean unisex loo's.  

THE COURSE

Coomera lake is perhaps a very generous description. I would have probably called it Coomera Pond but I'm not an expert town planner. They were reconstructing a stone wall in the shelter so there was a whole heap of temporary fencing surrounding some areas which detracted from the beautiful views but this is only temporary. 

Warmups before the run were really good. This Run Director is organized. The course starts at the BBQ shelter and runs clockwise around the lake and passes the shelter before heading up a long gradual pedestrian pathway to a turnaround point. On the return run, you pass the BBQ area for a third time (if you count the start) before heading back to the BBQ area. You then turn around and do it all again. All in all, I think we passed the BBQ area a total of 7 times if you include the start and finish. 

The path is a combination of concrete paving and a wooden broadwalk which runs below the shopping centre. At times the path is a bit narrow and with the repetitive back and forth, there is a lot of opportunity to bump into oncoming runners as well as when passing slower participants. 

This is a very public area and there were other members of the public on the course which added to the potential for bumping. 

The course itself is fairly picturesque when you consider the 'lake' views but the repetitive nature of the route is tedious and boring to say the least. There is an uphill stretch that heads up to the first turnaround point which makes for slower times so I can't imagine that any top runners would aim for a Parkrun PB at this venue. There were some excellent runners running on the day I ran. There were some impressive times posted and I noticed some really fast young runners which is fantastic to see. 

VOLUNTEERS

What impressed me the most was the dynamic personality of the Run Director. He knew many people by first name and presented two milestone runners with a book prize which was aptly titled 'You can Run'. There was a real sense of community here. If you look on their facebok page there are quite a few encouraging posts and friendly reminders about the upcoming weekend run. The volunteers were warm and welcoming. On the day I ran, there were over a hundred participants and all volunteer positions were filled. They also took a group photograph of all the regular volunteers which was really nice. 

My theory is that in newer developments, there are lots of young families and this can result in faster athletes and dynamic involvement.

PHOTOS

The Facebook page is dynamic and well supported by community members. It was easy to find pictures from each event and I am sure it is not difficult for the photographer to capture candid shots seeing we run past one central point multiple times. 

Click here for the Facebook page

THE ALL IMPORTANT COFFEE AFTERWARDS

After the run, we all went for coffee at Cafe Two which is very close to the Parkrun start/finish. The cafe is very popular so by the time we arrived, the only table was in the shade which wouldn't have been bad in summer, but the winter chills made it a bit nippy. We got chatting to a few locals which was really cool. There was a friendly vibe and the view out to the lake was very peaceful. 

OVERALL 

It is difficult to rate this event. If it was based solely on the venue, I would have no hesitation in giving it a meagre 4.5/10 but the Run Director and community spirit were some of the best I have seen so I have to give this event a Gary rating of 6.5/10.