Roodepoort parkrunner reaches milestone on his birthday
He is the oldest South African parkrunner to reach this milestone
The 80-year-old Peter Graham has just become the oldest South African parkrunner to complete his 250th milestone run, and is still going strong.
He joined this elite group of runners on 26 January at the Roodepoort parkrun, and what made this achievement even more special was he fact that he did it on his 80th birthday.
“I did not realise that I would become the oldest parkrunner to join the 250 club, so it was a huge surprise to me. Although it felt to me that 250 just happened, I am still very pleased to have been able to achieve it,” said Peter.
Peter said that he has been running since the mid 1970s. “I became more serious about this sport after joining the Florida Running Club in 1994. In 1995, I ran my first Comrades Marathon and went on to complete 11 in total.”
He added that he started running because he wanted to get fit and that he joined the parkrun about five years ago. “Roodepoort parkrun is my home run, and, coupled with the number of people also participating, it attracted me,” Peter said.
Peter said that he had only missed a few parkrun events for various reasons, but the latest setback was his knee replacement, “After the replacement, I could not participate for several weeks, but, as soon as I was declared fit, I was once again doing my weekly 5 km, two-lap course.”
His motivation is simple – he believes in seizing the day (carpe diem), setting achievable goals and working hard to achieve them. “I also use this to motivate others, and, if they want some advice on how to start running, I would tell them to join a running club; they will meet great people while getting fit. Also, join and participate in a parkrun every Saturday,” he said.
Kip Norman, the parkrun Ambassador for the West Rand, said, “Peter is part of a group of parkrun tourists called the Roodepoort Raiders. They are mainly from the Florida Running Club and run different parkrun events around Johannesburg and Pretoria every Saturday. Apart from his ‘small knee replacement’ setback, come rain, wind or shine, you will find him at a parkrun!”
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