Trio aiming to make Parkrun a weekly Karratha event

Three Karratha fitness enthusiasts hope to launch a local version of a global running group craze. Parkrun is a free initiative, open to people of all ages and physical abilities, where participants take part in a timed 5km race. Natasha Leslie, who is involved in the Indigenous Marathon Foundation and took part in the New York Marathon in 2019, has joined Peta Woodland and Zoe Rutherford to promote parkrun in Karratha. She said there used to be running clubs in Karratha, but they had fallen away. “This is a really good community event and something ongoing, not just a one-off event so we can try and get lots of people involved,” she said. Rutherford said the team was still looking at courses that could be approved, but a Bulgarra route had been been given the all-clear by parkrun. She said about $7000 was needed to establish the weekly event, mainly to buy a defibrillator and the timing system required. “It’s not just running — even though it’s called parkrun it’s for all levels of fitness,” she said. Woodland said anyone could take part in the events which were “really good in terms of getting the community involved”.