Southland Cricket Association Inc, 150 Gala Street, Invercargill 9810
Type of Course – One lap
Shoes Required – Road
Things to know
Toilets, taps, water fountain, playground. Pram and wheelchair friendly course.
Parking is free and there is designated motorhome parking.
Note 9am start in New Zealand Standard Time (winter).
Permanently marked
Forgotten your barcode? Head to Warehouse Stationery for printing
Nearest showers at Splash Palace
Very low risk of cancellation
Cafe: Cheeky Llama, 134 Gala St.
Location of start:
The event starts a short walk from the main car park on Gala St, behind the Gala St reserve with the fountain.
Getting there by public transport
There is no public transport available for this parkrun.
Getting there on foot
The cricket club is based at 150 Gala St, access to this is through the gate behind the Gala St Reserve, on the right hand side of the fountains.
Getting there by road
If you are using SATNAV the address is 150 Gala St, Invercargill.
Long term parking is available on Gala St, and behind the Gala Street Reserve outside of the main cricket club gates to the left and the right of the Club.
Stats
First run: February 10, 2018
Inaugural attendance: 103
Record attendance: 218 (01/02/2020)
Course records
Women: Kimberley Iversen 18:28 (09/04/2022)
Men: Jack Shaw 16:15 (25/12/2021)
The Story Behind Invercargill parkrun…
Liz Henry, founding event director
Four years ago (2016) I was on the Gold Coast for New Year’s with my sister who lived there. She made me go to parkrun (Main Beach). I came last, well, last before the Tail Walker and when I came through there were 365 people still waiting for me to finish and clapping me through. I was a bit embarrassed but also thought it was pretty cool.
My thought was if Australia can do it then what do Kiwis do, I thought we could step it up here.
I came back to New Zealand, made some enquiries and saw Dunedin was my closest one, but having done my studies there, there was no way I was running up that hill in the Botanical Gardens.
Later that year I went to Adelaide for a cousin’s wedding and we all did parkrun (Torrens). It was a good way for everyone to get together and do something before the wedding. Again, there was a similar vibe.
After that I got thinking about setting one up in Invercargill.
It took us eight months to get a course sorted. We were just about to go live, when council decided to dig up most of the park for drainage so we had to wait another seven months.
When we first set up we thought 60 would be a success and that was the number we gave council to get permission to run.
Six months later we were getting over 100 and they were blown away – they hadn’t seen that many people in the park at that time before. About half of our field are walkers.
We get feedback from visitors that we’re a fast course, I think it’s because we have a lot of marshals so it always seems like there’s lots of people around and the time passes quicker.
We were a sought after parkrun for a while, being the world’s most southerly. We might not be the most southerly any more but we’re the most accessible, southerly parkrun – Invercargill is easier and cheaper to get to than the Falkland Islands.
Our course isn’t a straight line and it takes you right through the park. We got third place in the 2019 International Large Urban Parks Awards. Our course gives you a good view of the park, including the rose garden collection, which was started in the 1900s.
There are still lots of reasons to come to Invercargill.
While in Invercargill…
Transport World
Motorcycle Mecca
Tuataras in Southland Museum
Go to Bluff to the sign post
Close to walks at Te Anau and the Catlins.