NEW FARM PARKRUN REVIEW

GETTING THERE

New Farm Park is one of the main go to places when visiting Brisbane. It boasts a trendy market twice a month, beautiful gardens and a view of the incredible Brisbane River. Getting to New Farm Park however is not that easy if you live on the Southside of Brisbane. The most straightforward route for me is to go over the Story Bridge and right into Brunswick St.

PARKING

New Farm Parkrun regularly attracts over 300 runners and when the markets are on, there are even more people. Suffice to say, there is ample parking along the ring road and on Brunswick St as well as in the surrounding suburbs.  

TOILETS

There are a number of toilet facilities near the event. The closest are in the same building as the End of the Road Coffee shop. They are the cleanest and newest in this park. The other toilet blocks are pretty dated and the male toilets smell of old urine haha.

THE COURSE

I have run this event a few times but only scanned my bar code once. I have no idea why I haven’t run this event more often; it is stunning. You start on the western side of the park on the grass next to the river. If you want a good time, then you have to start near the front because of the large crowds. The pedestrian path is fully equipped to handle the numbers but there are many members of the public that have to share.

The route takes you on an easterly direction right next to the river to a turnaround point at Teneriffe two and a half kilometers from the start. You pass the Powerhouse and have views all the way to Bulimba and Hawthorne.

On the day that I ran, it was cold and cloudy. Needless to say, when the sun is out, this event is spectacular. New Farm is a suburb that tends to attract younger people including young families. It is also a very popular route for many other forms of fitness. I have often seen people practicing martial arts on the lawns as well as several Bootcamp instructors grilling their clients.

The course is super flat and fast. The magic 17 minute barrier has been broken quite a few times on this course which is incredible and only goes to show what a remarkable event this is.

VOLUNTEERS

The day started with the run director welcoming everyone. After the usual announcements and the emphasis on sharing the walkways with the public, we got into an entertaining warm-up session which was fun and also fairly useful.

Because this event is an out and back, there is very little need for many volunteers out on the course. I perused the Facebook page and discovered that there are very few requests for volunteers, which indicates a very healthy community spirit.

As with South Bank, it is usually quite difficult to engender a sense of community when your participants are sometimes transitory. Never-the-less, New Farm has a great level of participation in all areas which is amazing.

PHOTOS

The Facebook page has a very good record photographic record of the weekly events. The pictures taken on the day I ran were pretty poor and were probably taken with a smart phone, but there were pictures. Recent pictures were of an excellent quality.

Click here for the Facebook page

THE ALL IMPORTANT COFFEE AFTERWARDS

We went on market day and were spoilt for choice. End of the Road Coffee shop is also lovely. We had a great day out.

OVERALL 

I will certainly make more of an effort to run this event. It is definitely up there with the best. It is actually very difficult to fault. So the Gary rating has to reflect this. I give it a 9.75/10.