Most 80 year olds – especially those who have had two knee replacements – would consider a good meal in the company of loved ones a great way to celebrate their birthday, but not so Neil Munro.
The resident of Rand Aid’s Inyoni Creek retirement village spent his birthday on June 28 doing his 239th parkrun in Namibia.
Neil’s right knee was replaced in July 2010 and two years later, his left knee was also replaced. “With the pain gone, I was able to walk properly but it was not until August 2017 that I did my first parkrun.
“My ex-neighbour Claude Pearce took me to Modderfontein to try something I knew nothing about. Wrongly dressed, I joined the many runners who had lined up for the start and Claude said to me ‘pick a nice bum and follow it’. Fifty-four minutes later I had completed the 5km run and could not wait for the following Saturday. I ran 37 runs at Modderfontein before it closed down.”
Not deterred, Neil started travelling to compete in other parkruns. He will soon do his 250th parkrun, having competed at more than 125 locations.
“What a wonderful innovation the parkrun is, with close to 10 million registered runners worldwide.”
He says while in Namibia for his birthday, he did two parkruns, in Walvis Bay and Swakopmund respectively. “Both were next to the sea, both were paved, and there were no hills to tackle. Walvis Bay was misty, so it was an eerie run, especially when I passed hundreds of flamingos on the misty bay. The Swakopmund was run in bright sunshine and only a few metres from the sea, making it very scenic.
“I have run in all the provinces in South Africa and have done 15 runs in the UK, one in Wales and two in Namibia. I just need a venue with the letter Y to have completed the alphabet.”
Neil Munro ran his 239th parkrun in Namibia – on his 80th birthday.
Rob and Lu Gair with Neil Munro in Namibia. The Gairs run with Neil most weeks.
