“I grew up in a sporting family where we all played sports and kept fit but I was the one who avoided having to run at all costs. Later as our own children grew up and we had more time to ourselves, we regularly walked the trails and hills, with the occasional downhill jog. I also enjoyed group exercise and bootcamp. But I still didn’t consider myself a ‘runner’.
Then I heard about parkrun and saw it was coming to Palmerston North in 2017. I was 53 when I did my first 5km parkrun. I started off doing a slow jog, quickly running out of breath and walking a few times, but I absolutely loved the whole concept and I was hooked from that first event. With the non-threatening, all-inclusive and supportive atmosphere it didn’t take long before I was running the whole 5km. Initially the only time I ran was at parkrun, as I didn’t have the motivation to run on my own. But after a few months I heard about 261 Fearless, a women’s running group in Palmy. There I met some amazing women from all walks of life and found a connection and eventually gained enough confidence to join other running groups… Me! In my mid 50’s… joining and going for runs with trail runners! And best of all feeling like I belonged!
Fast forward 3yrs from that 1st parkrun and I’ve now run a handful of half marathons and a number of trail running events up to 25km. I like to mix things up and with a friend we started running cross country in the winter months. My grandchildren also joined the Moa Harriers with me this year, running in the ‘minimoas’.
These days I run regularly through the week, and at parkrun you’re more likely to see me on the finish line as I personally get more out of volunteering than running them; and when I do run it becomes a chatty catch up with other parkrunners. I can’t remember the last time I got a PB.
I have met some amazing supportive inspirational people of all ages and walks of life within the running community…. and this is my why. I’m not a solo runner. I will if I’m training for an event and enjoy that feeling of achieving my goal, but I run for the social connections. That feeling of inclusiveness at an event, the friendly supportive vibe – you can’t beat that.”
Wendy @wendywatts64
(Palmerston North)
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Portraits of Runners + their stories
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