As dawn breaks this Saturday, around 100 participants will be huffing into the early morning chill, warming up before an air horn signals the start of Tauranga’s newest parkrun.

Amongst those greeting the birds and the frosted grass at Bethlehem’s Gordon Carmichael Reserve are parkrun event directors and volunteers Lesley Warner-Bird and Ros Frost.

The team of volunteers have been hugely instrumental in getting this parkrun, the third one for Tauranga, off the ground at the popular stormwater reserve, with the inaugural run held on April 6.

Gordon Carmichael Reserve parkrun event directors Lesley Warner-Bird and Ros Frost. Photo: Supplied.

The event promises not just a run, but an experience – a harmonious blend of exercise and camaraderie amongst the beauty of the great outdoors.

“It’s a beautiful park,” says Lesley. “Our course is a letter ‘q’ shape.

“The event is on every Saturday morning; we start at 8am. That’s good for us as you can still go and enjoy your Saturday and it doesn’t eat into your weekend.”

She says the philosophy of parkrun is that it is for everybody, free and volunteer-led.

“We welcome participants of all abilities from walkers, joggers, runners, to dogwalkers and buggy pushers.”

Map of Gordon Carmichael Reserve. Image: Tauranga City Council.

Parkrun is a worldwide phenomenon where anybody can participate in a 5 km event every Saturday morning with almost 50 weekly community events held around NZ.

“It was set up over 20 years ago in the UK, by a guy who wanted to get out there but didn’t have the confidence,” says Lesley.

“He had the idea of making it 5km, and recording the time. He set it up at Bushy Park, Teddington, with 13 mates. There are now over 1600 participants at that event.”

Lesley says the Bethlehem course is accurately measured to be 5km.

“And participants receive a time to the nearest millisecond.”

The tranquil expanse of Gordon Carmichael Reserve is not only a newfound haven for fitness enthusiasts but also nature lovers enjoying the varied bird life there.

“A lively pūkeko, who we’ve named Percy, decided to move our cones around last week,” says Lesley.

Percy even gets a mention in the weekly report posted to their news site

A group of parkrun volunteers at Gordon Carmichael Reserve. Photo: Supplied.

Lesley says each event needs around 12 volunteers to run it, from helping set up the course, scanning people’s barcodes at the finish, or ensuring everyone gets safely around the route as a marshall.

“We always welcome new volunteers and give them a full briefing.”

Afterwards there’s an opportunity to grab a post parkrun coffee at a local café.

“This Saturday will be our seventh parkrun. It’s going great guns and we want to get local interest up. It’s very inclusive for the community, you can walk, stroll, run, bring your dog, or push a buggy.”

To find out more about parkrun go to www.parkrun.co.nz/gordoncarmichaelreserve .