2023-11-25 09:17:21
Whether you are in Cologne or Sydney, in the Canadian River Valley or on Cape Pembroke, the easternmost point of the Falkland Islands: it always starts at nine o’clock sharp every Saturday. You arrive shortly beforehand, chat a bit, and the new ones are introduced. It doesn’t matter whether the sun is shining or rain is forecast, like today in Neckarau in Mannheim. The thermometer only shows a few degrees. Dew water covers the meadows of the forest park and large puddles have formed on the sidewalks. Weather that makes you want to stay under the covers for a few minutes longer on a Saturday morning.
Nevertheless, the crowd of people at the edge of the park is getting bigger and bigger; shortly before nine o’clock there are almost 100 people. The youngest are sitting in the stroller, the oldest have gray hair or no hair at all. Some look sporty, some look like they’re just wearing leggings and running shoes for a walk. That doesn’t matter. Because above all, it doesn’t matter, and that’s what they all say here, who you are and what you look like.
Anyone can come by
Everyone came to run together, exactly five kilometers. The fastest will only need 18 minutes, the slowest will take almost an hour to complete the circuit in the park. “Good morning to Neckarau Parkrun 243,” calls run leader Klaus Hopkins-Hahn. Before we start, he hands out a few certificates. The honor is not for those with the best times, but for those with the most participation. There is applause for everyone who is there for the first time. Then it’s off to the starting line.
Run leader Klaus Hopkins-Hahn with the final instructions before Neckerau Parkrun 243. : Photo: Ben Kilb
Corina Knipper and Dirk Arnold are in the front row. Both hold one end of a short rope in their hand. Knipper’s neon yellow shirt says “Guide” and Arnold’s says “Blind”. She can see, he can’t. “My wife read about it in the newspaper, then I got in touch and one of the organizers was nice enough to pick me up,” says 51-year-old Arnold. It is his 32nd run. Every time one of the other runners picks him up at home, every time someone runs with him, connected by the rope. Today it’s Knipper, but: “I swing,” says Arnold and laughs. “We split it up, that’s the great thing about Parkrun that so many people are there and everyone can join in,” says 46-year-old Knipper, who has already taken part in around 130 times. Then, at nine o’clock, it starts: “Three, two, one, Parkrun,” shouts Hopkins-Hahn. Two ambitious people rush forward, Knipper and Arnold behind. Then the rest of the group gradually sets off.
It will have looked similar to the forest park in Mannheim that morning in the Hasenheide in Berlin, in the Highbury Fields in London or in Greenpoint Park in Cape Town. In total, parkruns took place in 2,378 locations around the world, with almost 300,000 runners taking part. The concept is the same everywhere: anyone can come along and take part, there are no prerequisites. Anyone who wants can register, have their time recorded and collect their runs in digital statistics. It’s all organized by volunteers. Almost nine million people have now registered worldwide.
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