New Contributor: Dave Robertson

Name: Dave 'Robbo' Robertson
Home parkrun: Main Beach, Gold Coast, Australia

Date of first parkrun: 24/12/2011
Total Number of parkruns: 2

Number of other parkrun locations run: 0

Number of times volunteered: 0

My parkrun history: AthleteNumber 214975


Background: As one of the many thousands of Aussies living in the UK from 2005 to 2008, it may seem odd that it wasn't until returning home that I first heard about parkrun. It was via listening to the now famous running podcast 'Marthon Talk' that I came to learn of this growing fitness phenomenon.

Having lived for a year in London and close to 3 years in Edinburgh I have enjoyed hearing about the rapid rise in parkrun participation & was eager to see whether it would spread to the former convict colony Down Under.

Since hearing about the launch of Australia's first parkrun event at Main Beach on Queensland's Gold Coast in April 2011, I was excited to get involved.

On Christmas Eve these dreams were turned into reality as I made my parkrun debut alongside my Wife, my Dad & my dog ( (and numerous other runners in Santa hats). From the minute we started until the final bar code was scanned, I loved it. The simplicity of the event, the slick organisation, the friendly vibe amongst participants. All packed up and done in an hour, off for a coffee & breakfast nearby. I was hooked!

My next endeavour was to find out what it would take to set a parkrun up in my home area of Newcastle, NSW. I had a good chat with parkrun Australia Chief of Operations, Tim Oberg and am excited to be working on launching a new event later this year.

My updates will include details of what is involved with starting a parkrun event from scratch.

Happy parkrunning!