The organisers of a pop-up parkrun event in Kōpū are thrilled with the turnout, and have high hopes for future runs.
More than 70 people turned out to run or walk the 5km track over the historic Kōpū Bridge on September 5.
Kendall Todd said she and partner Chris Kemp, who have been working to get the parkrun programme off the ground, were “buzzing” from how it went.
“Our team felt it was a real success…the weather gods were kind to us,” she said.
“At least 30 people [signed] up as volunteers for future events – which bodes really well for getting it up and running as an official event, hopefully before the end of the year.”
Kendall said the feedback from participants, many of whom are already involved in local run groups, was really positive.
“Trying out the course also helped us identify small tweaks we can do to make the course even better before it officially starts,” she said.
“It was quite an emotional moment for Chris and I, to see so many smiling faces taking part in an event that we weren’t sure we could get off the ground, but now is closer than ever to becoming a reality.”
