Parkrun & Consistency - Bob Norris Racks Up 500 Parkruns!

Parkrun is a free 5k community event where you can walk, jog, run, volunteer, or spectate. This 5km is not intimidating in any way. It is a free event and has an enormous sense of community spirit; there is no time limit, and no one finishes last.

Parkrun started back in 2004, when Paul Sinton-Hewitt, a South African in London, held the very first parkrun at Bushy Park in the UK. Paul invited his friend and fellow South African, Bruce Fordyce (who won the Comrades Marathon 9 times), to join one while he was visiting the UK. Subsequently, Bruce returned to South Africa and started the first Parkrun at Delta Park in Joburg back in 2011.

Bruce approached Bob Norris (a legend in the running world and also an integral part of EasyEquities Born2Run, managing our East London branch and has done so since the inception of the club) and asked him to consider setting up and becoming the director of a parkrun in East London. Bob was obviously sold on the idea, and the official launch of the Nahoon Point Parkrun took place on 11th August 2012 in East London. Unfortunately, the Nahoon Parkrun had to be closed. However, in East London, there are still a variety of parkruns available: Kidds Beach, Sunrise-on-Sea, Toboshane Valley, and two others in the planning phase. 

Left to right - Dave Bands (not part of EEB2R has 450 parkruns), the other three are all apart of EEB2R - John Lee Sun, Bob Norris (middle flag), Tia-Mari Taljaard.

The parkruns have grown in popularity in a relatively short space of time, and there are currently 217 parkrun events around the country taking place every weekend, with more locations being added all of the time. 

Just as consistency is key in training for athletes to achieve their goals, investors can also strive for consistency in their investment approach. EasyEquities offers a platform where sports lovers can not only invest in well-known companies like Adidas, Nike and Puma but also maintain a consistent investment strategy over time. By regularly allocating funds to these stocks, investors can potentially build a portfolio that reflects their passion for sports while aiming for consistent growth and long-term success.

With around 80 seniors and a handful of juniors, he has generated amazing results and created an environment that the runners love. Bob has racked up a seriously impressive number of parkruns; at his home parkrun in Kei Mouth, he has completed 101, which in itself is an amazing achievement. Overall, Bob is only one of 11 people in South Africa who have run over 500 parkruns, a feat showing consistency and perseverance. 

Just to understand how impressive that is, if you wanted to achieve this number, it means it would take a whopping 9.5 years of consecutive Saturday morning parkruns to achieve. In our running club EasyEquities Born2Run, out of the 11 people to achieve 500 parkruns, we have 3 members who have achieved this milestone:

• Bob Norris
• Tia-Mari Taljaard
• John Lee Sun

Staying the course and being consistent is an important part of training and life in general, as it is with investing.