Many Oliver is a Gold Coast mum and librarian. She is also a volunteer admin for RMA, and in particular excels at gathering the Gold Coast mums for weekend long runs and catch ups. She is the heartbeat of what we do and why we exist. She lives connected, and shares her passion. She is also a Volunteer Run Director  at her local parkrun, so we asked her to share with us, why she loves parkrun, and just how it has impacted and changed her life as a running mum.  

It’s three years ago this weekend since I did my first parkrun.  I had just started running (well in those days I called it a WROG -Walk, Run, Jog) and had just started progressing from running to the bus shelter, walk to the lamp post, run to the end of the park etc.  A lady I knew through work was also taking up running, and she put me on to both parkrun and RMA (back when we only had about 600 members!).  I had not lived on the Gold Coast for very long, so the only people I knew were through work. My kids had progressed past the age where you meet other parents, and I had no friends outside of work.

We went to our local Main Beach parkrun, already well established as the first parkrun in Australia.  I had absolutely no idea what to expect, and was a little nervous.

Main Beach is a stunning course, with a lovely little bit of trail then a run back along the path with awesome beach views. There were 238 people running that day, and I was somewhere in the middle, so quickly realised just how inclusive parkrun is.  There were fast people out the front, average Jo’s like me in the middle, and people walking with prams, dogs, kids. It was then that I understood that running is a personal thing, and  that there is a whole community of people just like me.  Most of us are not there to win the Olympics, just to get out, get some fresh air and exercise, and make some friends with like minded people.

I didn’t go for another few months.  I can’t remember why, perhaps because my running buddy gave up, but as it got closer to Gold Coast Marathon and I was doing my first 10km race I went back.  I still couldn’t run the whole way, but I was keeping my eye on Paul ‘The Balloon Man’ who was regularly the 30 min pacer.

On my fourth parkrun, the first one I did after my first 10km, I stuck with Paul and we had a good chat along the way.  I had never really understood the role of pacer before, but there was Paul, keeping us at a steady pace, supporting us, giving advice, and most importantly keeping us going.  In about the last 200m he looked at his watch and said ‘you’ve got this, go on, run home’ so I did, and cracked my first 30min.  My love of parkrun was born.  I suddenly had a new found belief in myself that not only could I run, but that I could improve, that I wasn’t destined to be an overweight wrogger for the rest of my life.

Fast forward to a year and a half ago, I was approached by one of my RMA friends, Davina to be a Run Director at the parkrun that was starting at Surfers Paradise.  I had been no stranger to volunteering, spending the better part of a decade being involved in Little Athletics as an official and various committee positions. Having spent the majority of my life in country areas, I know that if people don’t volunteer, the sport might not exist at all.  I was also an RMA admin, and had come to know a lot of amazing women on the Gold Coast.  I had volunteered at parkrun a few times at Main Beach, but there were many tasks I had not done, so was a little anxious about being a Run Director and the time commitment it might involve.

It was an interesting exercise being involved from the beginning. Whilst the negotiations with Council were all done by Renee and Davina, I did join in when we tested and tweaked the course.  This gave me insight, and I will happily tell people who ask that the course has been measured properly, and that our watches are not as reliable as the wheel for measuring distance!

It has been a wonderful experience watching our boutique parkrun blossom. We average 38 runners a week, almost always including parkrun tourists. We have a lovely group of regulars, who always help out, always high five or encourage each other on course, and catch up for coffee sometimes after. RMA and parkrun are well and truly intertwined at Surfers Paradise, with five out of seven Run Directors also RMA’s.  Most of the regular families that attend are RMA families, and  frequently when we are short on volunteers, it is other RMA’s or their children that help to volunteer.

We have a beautiful view of the Surfers Paradise skyline, surrounded by the Nerang River with a lake in the middle. One of the local Tri groups (led by another RMA) regularly ride to parkrun, run, and then swim in the lake. We are a three loop course, so have plenty of opportunities to encourage each other as we pass around the course.  Being so close to the heart of Surfers, we have welcomed tourists from all over Australia, England, Scotland, Japan, Canada, Singapore, the U.S., Denmark, South Africa, and our female record is still held by a New Zealander. With the Commonwealth Games almost a year away, we have a brand new Cultural Centre being built next door, with new amphitheatre, paths, and a bridge over to the island – the best is yet to come!

Whilst I was injured last year, with seemingly one injury, then another, parkrun gave me a reason to get out of bed on a Saturday morning.  During such a long period, it was depressing not being able to run, or when I did run, not very well.  The parkrun community was very supportive and encouraging, and as there is never any pressure at all, I never once felt like I shouldn’t be there.  I have made so many friends through both parkrun and RMA, there is always someone to run or walk with.

A bonus with volunteering more often is that you get to see the runners that are normally finished and gone before everyone else finishes.  When you watch parkrun from start to end, you get to see the looks on people’s faces. Generally there are a lot of smiles (especially for the camera!), but you also see the looks of determination. Interestingly they can almost look the same on the person running 17min as the person who is pushing themselves to run their first 40min.  Watching the faces when someone gets a PB is priceless. I’ve watched friendships form, watched families bond, and parents role model a healthy and active lifestyle.

I have volunteered 29 times now, with 14 of those as Run Director. I was pacer on my 50th parkrun so that it would coincide with my 25thvolunteer.

Over the past three years, despite a bad run with injuries, I have done 61 parkruns, at 12 different locations.   I love getting around to see the different courses, and like most parkrunners, when I go away I look for where the nearest parkrun is!  I even made my niece ‘go for a walk’ when I was staying at her place in Maribyrnong, secretly trying to arrive at the parkrun location near start time.  I’m ecstatic that my home town, Echuca, is getting a parkrun – now I won’t miss if I’m home visiting family on a weekend.

In my role as an RMA Admin, I very rarely organise an RMA run on a Saturday.  I know that there are a lot of people that like to do their long runs on a Saturday, and that is great, however for me Saturday is parkrun day. It is an opportunity for RMA’s to take their whole family on a run. If you need to run longer that day, plan parkrun to be part of the long run. It is also a great opportunity to meet a wider variety of runners, and experience the running community as a whole. RMA and parkrun values are synonymous, so it makes sense that so many people involved in parkrun are RMA’s, and so many mum parkrunners become RMA’s.

If you haven’t given it a go yet, check out your nearest parkrun.

Mandy Oliver