Riverside Reserve parkrun

🎉💚 **Double the milestones, double the celebration!** 💚🎉

This week's finish line was extra special as **Johan van Putten** crossed it alongside his wife, **Martie**, to celebrate two incredible achievements:

🏅 **400 parkruns**
🙌 **100 volunteer credits**

What made the moment even more meaningful was sharing it together. From countless early Saturday mornings to volunteering, walking, running and supporting one another, you've shown what the parkrun spirit is all about.

Johan, thank you for your unwavering commitment to Riverside Reserve parkrun. Your dedication both on the course and behind the scenes has made a lasting impact on our community.

Congratulations to both of you on this special milestone moment. Here's to many more Saturdays, many more smiles, and many more finish lines together! 🌿👏

💚 Please help us congratulate Johan and Martie in the comments!

🏁 **The finish line... where tired legs meet smiling volunteers!** 💚👏

Every parkrun ends the same way...

🏃 You cross the finish line...
😅 You're trying to remember your own name...
👏 And there's a volunteer with a huge smile saying, **"Well done!"**

Our finish funnel isn't just where your time stops—it's where the applause starts.

From handing out finish tokens and scanning barcodes to cheering every single participant across the line, our volunteers are there to celebrate **every** achievement. It doesn't matter if you're first, last or somewhere in the middle... you'll get the same smile, the same encouragement and the same warm Riverside Reserve welcome. 🌿

To our amazing volunteers... thank you for turning tired faces into smiling ones every Saturday morning. 💚

Now it's your turn...
📸 Find yourself, tag your friends, and tell us:
**Were you still smiling at the finish... or just smiling because it was finally over?** 😂

🏁 **The last stretch... where legs say "no" but the finish line says "almost there!"** 😅💚

Every parkrunner knows this feeling...

👀 You spot the finish line.
🧠 Your brain says, "Sprint!"
🦵 Your legs reply, "Let's discuss this..."

Some found a surprise burst of speed.
Some perfected the famous "parkrun shuffle."
And some suddenly remembered they were only here for a "casual walk!" 😂

But here's the best part—you kept going.

Every step along the final stretch is a reminder that you are stronger than the little voice telling you to stop. Whether you crossed the line in 20 minutes or over an hour, you finished, and that's what counts.

Congratulations to every one of our 231 finishers! 🎉

📸 Find yourself, tag your friends, and tell us...
**Did you finish with a sprint... or was it more of a graceful survival jog?** 😄

📸 **And they're off... with good intentions!** 😂🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️

These start-line photos tell the same story every Saturday...

😀 "I'm just here for a gentle 5km."
🏃 "I'm definitely not racing today."
😅 *Three seconds later...* "Why is everyone running so fast?!"

From the first-timers wondering what they've signed up for, to the regulars already planning their post-parkrun coffee, every face tells a different story.

The countdown is over, the excuses are gone, and suddenly 231 people are all heading in the same direction... some chasing PBs, some chasing friends, and a few just trying to remember if they locked the car! 🚗😂

Whatever brought you to the start line, we hope you left with a smile (and maybe slightly muddier shoes).

📷 Tag yourself, tag your friends, and let us know...
Who still looked fresh in these photos... and who regretted sprinting the first 100 metres? 😜

🌿 **Riverside Reserve parkrun #47 | 11 July 2026** 🌿

Another incredible Saturday morning brought **231 walkers and runners** together to enjoy the beauty of Riverside Reserve! 💚

📊 **This week's highlights:**
🏃 231 finishers
👨 81 male participants
👩 108 female participants
❓ 42 unknown participants
🌱 29 first timers
🔥 39 Personal Bests
🦺 9 amazing volunteers

🏅 **First Finishers**
🥇 Wiehann Mohlen – 20:31
🥇 Zanike Henning – 25:04

⭐ **Highest Age Grade**
🏆 Madeleine Whitehair – 68.59%
🏆 Joost Tryhou – 68.23%

🏃‍♂️ **Most parkruns**
🎉 Manfred Peters – 511 parkruns
🎉 Annelize Kirsten – 409 parkruns

🌱 **Welcome to our first-time parkrunners:**
Msizi Ramaoka, Heinrich Botha, Saskka Keyser, Fly Mmopane, Tsheko Kgopane, Sharon Maseko, Shikaar Maharaj, Rebecca Claassen, Jaco Claassen and Simphiwe Lukhele.

🎉 **Milestone Celebrations**
💜 25 parkruns – Sven Ruthven
❤️ 50 parkruns – Annette Stassen

🙌 **Volunteer Milestone**
💯 100 volunteer credits – Johan Van Putten! What an incredible achievement. Thank you for your dedication to our parkrun community. 👏💚

🌟 **Additional Milestones**
⭐ 150 parkruns – Pierre Van Brakel
⭐ 400 parkruns – Johan Van Putten

🔥 Congratulations to all **39 PB achievers**—your hard work is paying off!

💚 **A huge thank you to our volunteers:**
Mike Baynes, Alta Lauwrens, Rian Lauwrens, Cynthia Ladreiter, Rod Mackinnon, Lerato Mashile, Johan Van Putten, Martie Van Putten and Mara Strydom.

📈 **Since Riverside Reserve parkrun began on 23 August 2025:**
🏃 1,999 participants
🏅 9,750 parkruns completed
📏 48,750 km covered
🔥 1,634 Personal Bests
🙌 177 volunteers contributing 515 volunteer occasions
👥 Average attendance: 207 participants

We're just **one participant away from welcoming our 2,000th unique parkrunner** to Riverside Reserve! Who will it be next Saturday? 👀🎉

Thank you to everyone who walked, jogged, ran, volunteered and cheered others on. See you next Saturday for another fantastic morning together! 🌿💚

👑✨ A very special congratulations! ✨👑

Please join us in congratulating one of the **Mrs Mpumalanga 2026 Finalist!** 🎉💚

Your dedication, confidence and passion continue to inspire those around you, both on and off the parkrun course. We are incredibly proud of this wonderful achievement .

Wishing you every success as you represent yourself and our community with grace, strength and determination. We're cheering you on all the way! 🌟

Congratulations once again 💐👏

🌍 **Visitors, welcome to Riverside Reserve parkrun!** 💚

One of the best things about parkrun is that no matter where you come from, you're always part of the family.

It was wonderful to welcome so many visitors to Riverside Reserve this weekend. We hope you enjoyed our scenic course, friendly volunteers and warm Lowveld hospitality. 🌿

Whether you were visiting for the weekend, on holiday, or simply ticking another parkrun off your tourism list, thank you for choosing to spend your Saturday morning with us.

Safe travels, and we hope our paths cross again soon. Remember, there's always a warm welcome waiting for you at Riverside Reserve parkrun! 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️

📍 If you're visiting from another parkrun, let us know in the comments where your home event is!

🎉 Milestones worth celebrating! 🎉

Congratulations to everyone who reached a milestone at Riverside Reserve parkrun #46! 🌿💚

🏅 **1 parkrun** – Beadette Pienaar
💜 **25 parkruns** – Joné Oosthuizen & Anuschka Janse van Rensburg
❤️ **50 parkruns** – Liezel Pienaar

🙌 **Volunteer Milestones**
🌟 First volunteer credit – Mieke Moolman & Alexis van Wyk
🔟 10 volunteer credits – Mara Strydom

⭐ **Unofficial Milestones**
🎉 150 parkruns – Wendy Williams, Martine Ribeiro & Koko Muthimba
🎉 200 parkruns – Ben Ferreira
🎉 350 parkruns – Linda Venter

Every milestone represents early mornings, determination and countless kilometres shared with our amazing parkrun community.

Well done to each of you—we can't wait to celebrate your next one! 👏💚

📸 Looking at these photos... we've realised something.

Our photographers seem to be having way too much fun! 😄

Who else wants a front-row seat to all the action? You get the best views, plenty of laughs, and the satisfaction of capturing memories that everyone loves to look back on.

If you'd like to swap running shoes for a camera one Saturday, let us know—we'd love to have you on the volunteer team! 📷💚

Now tag yourself, tag your friends, and remember...

The hardest part of parkrun is getting out of bed. The second hardest part is explaining why you pulled that face at the finish line! 😂

🏁 **Congratulations! You survived... we mean... completed Riverside Reserve parkrun!** 😄🎉

The finish line has officially been crossed, the finish tokens have been handed out, and we're pretty sure breakfast has never tasted this good! ☕🥐

Some of you crossed the line looking like Olympic athletes. 🏃💨
Some crossed looking for the nearest coffee. ☕😂
And a few of you looked like you'd happily accept a piggyback to your car! 😅

Whatever your finish looked like, **230 legends** crossed that line today, and that's something worth celebrating! 👏💚

A massive thank you to our incredible volunteers who welcomed every finisher with smiles, cheers and the all-important finish token. You are the reason our finish funnel is filled with laughter and happy faces every Saturday.

📸 And of course, a huge shout-out to **Mara Strydom** for capturing these priceless finish-line expressions! From victory poses to "I'm never doing this again"... (until next Saturday 😉), every photo tells its own story.

Now tag yourself, tag your friends, and don't forget...
The best recovery strategy is signing up for next Saturday! 😜💚