CENTRAL LAKES PARKRUN REVIEW
GETTING THERE
Today I took a trip up to Central Lakes to run the
next Parkrun on my list. My GPS calculated the 50 minute journey to perfection.
The event page suggests that one parks on Central Lakes Drive, but after
looking at the map, I chose to drive around the lake to Joyner Circuit. I took
exit 152 and drove past a retirement village, QUT Carboolture Campus, Central
Lakes Shopping Village and St Columban’s College. This seems to be a very busy
precinct with a very narrow access road. I wonder what this might be like
during the week.
PARKING
Parking was excellent. I
found street parking within 50 meters of the start.
TOILETS
There are no public toilets
at the event and after a 50 minute drive, I was fortunate not to need to use
this facility. The Parkrun event page says that the nearest toilet is at
Central Lakes Shopping Centre but I can imagine how inconvenient this may be if
you are running late or if you have small children.
THE COURSE
The course starts near the shelter adjacent to a
children’s playground just north of the lake. At the start, I ran around the
first lake and crossed a lovely little wooden bridge before running along the
concrete pathway that led towards the Bruce Highway. There is a concrete path
that runs on the outside of the estate. On the one side is a wooden fence that
protects the residents from the noise of the highway. On the other side are the back yards
of the suburban houses. The developer/council has planted indigenous wattles of
various kinds along this route which makes it kind of special despite the
constant drone from the traffic on the highway.
The pathway was ever so slightly undulating, but
nothing to really slow you down. I reached the turnaround point and doubled
back. The path is of average width and was sufficient to handle the numbers running that day. This was taking into account, running into oncoming runners on
the return journey. There was only one person from the public on the course
when we ran; an elderly fellow walking a dog which was not on a leash. This
however was not a problem. After the race, I hung around a bit and chatted to a
few folks and noticed that the pathways got a little bit busy before I left.
I am not really a fan of running past backyards but
the trees along the route certainly broke up the suburban experience. The
concrete path was even and in an excellent condition. It was mostly flat which
made for a fairly quick time. Running around the lake was nice. Again, I am not
a fan of running through the suburbs but the lake made it worth it. Developers
are building some magnificent houses along O’Neill Street so it will be
interesting to see what this looks like in the future.
Only one man has managed to run under 17 minutes on
this course but I think this is because the elite runners would have probably
run at events closer to the city.
VOLUNTEERS
This event has only been
going since December last year so it really is still growing. We were welcomed
by the run director and her team for the week. Her gentle spirit was just delightful. They
were all decked out in newish-looking high-vis vests and the team looked really
tight. There was a real sense of comradery amongst the volunteers as well as
the local runners.
We were briefed on the course
as well as the usual rules and we celebrated someone who had achieved her 50 milestone the previous week at another event. It was really nice that the run director
remembered the milestone and even though the lady had chosen to run her event
at another Parkrun, she was still celebrated on returning to
her home event. I spotted the camera lady near the bridge and there was another
volunteer plus child at the turnaround point. Another volunteer was positioned
at the exit of the bridge and some juniors were enthusiastically taking photos
at this spot.
What stood out for me was
the encouragement that was meted out along the course. I was encouraged and
congratulated more than a number of times. At one point, I got overtaken by a
young lad called Toby. The reason I know this is because he was congratulated
at the turnaround point as well as by almost everyone he encountered running
the opposite way on the return journey. There was a lovely enthusiasm
celebrated by the people running this event on this particular day.
I love how vollies are
celebrated at this event. (Yes, they are called vollies! Only in Australia
haha) There are a number of Facebook posts asking for help volunteering and I
can imagine that with such a small local contingent, things may get a bit
tight, but it seems to be working.
PHOTOS
The Facebook page is well-organized
and there are photos for every week that this event has held which is
quite remarkable. It was easy to find my picture amongst the shots taken which
was pretty cool.
THE ALL IMPORTANT COFFEE AFTERWARDS
The run director advertised
the Coffee Club which is at the Central Lakes Shopping Village; a quick 600m
walk from the finish. I caught up with Eric after the race. This was his 151st
Parkrun and his first at this event. By the time we finished, I needed to get home
and I had a 50 minute drive ahead of me so I didn’t have a coffee on the way
home.
OVERALL
What I liked about this event was the out and back. I
appreciated not having to run multiple loops. The drone of the traffic from the
Bruce Highway was a bit strong, but I quickly got used to it. As I said before,
I am not a fan of suburb running, but the thoughtful planting of indigenous
wattles next to the highway broke up the views. The lack of toilet facilities close to the start is a negative but the biggest asset of the event
has to be the vollies and the local runners. There is something special about
this event. Everyone along the course was very encouraging. Maybe I was just
experiencing the overflow from Toby’s well-wishers, but either way I ran that
little bit faster as a result. So the Gary rating for this event has to be an 8.7/10.
This fledgling event needs your support and for what it's worth, I can only encourage you to give this run a go. I enjoyed it.
