Foster Park, Broadlands Drive, Rolleston, 7614
Type of Course – Out and back with a loop in the middle
Shoes Required – Road
Things to know:
Public toilets, picnic tables, car parking, and “one of the coolest playgrounds in the country”.
Parking suitable for motorhomes.
Not permanently marked.
Nearest showers at Selwyn Aquatic Centre over the road.
Forgotten your barcode? Email the RD to print one out.
Low risk of cancellation.
Visit in spring for daffodils and wild flowers.
Cafe: Robert Harris Café, 76 Rolleston Drive, Rolleston.
“The owners are really into supporting mental health and wanted to know how they could support us. They give our volunteers a free hot drink.” (Suzy Petersen, event director)
Location of start:
The event starts near the hockey turf close to the main car park.
Getting there by public transport
From the Christchurch Central Bus Exchange take the Yellow Line bus to Rolleston. Buses to Rolleston are also available from Lincoln and Burnham.
Getting there on foot
Carpark A is opposite the Aquatic Centre and next to the playground. The start and finish is by the Hockey Turf, a one minute walk south of the car park.
Getting there by road
From Christchurch follow State Highway 1 south to Rolleston, turn left after the BP onto Tennyson St. Follow Tennyson St straight through the two roundabouts until it becomes Springston Rolleston Rd. At Rolleston College turn right at the roundabout onto Broadlands Rd. Foster Park is on the left opposite the Selwyn Aquatic Centre.
Car parking is available beyond the playground, carpark A, Broadlands Dr (opposite Aquatic Centre).
Stats
First run: October 27, 2018
Inaugural attendance: 205
Record attendance: 205 (27/10/2018)
Course records
Women: Hannah Oldroyd 17:12 (16/4/2022)
Men: Daniel Prescott 16:45 (14/08/2021)
The Story Behind Foster parkrun…
Suzy and Greg Petersen, event directors
Suzy: We started going to Hagley on their fifth event. We lived in town at the time so it was pretty easy to get to. Then we had Ali and pretty soon after she was born I told Greg that our house was too small.
We bought out at Lincoln and it was a half hour trip to Hagley. It started to get old. As part of the core team and parkrun was what we did.
We started scouting out places that would be good for a parkrun and then we found Rolleston, it’s the biggest town in Selwyn and most central.
We figured we would get people from West Melton, Lincoln, Rolleston itself and southern suburbs of Christchurch.
It took us a year as when we started talking to the council Foster Park was still in the process of being developed. It had previously been farmland.
They were making rugby, football and hockey pitches and a T-ball diamond. It took a year to finish the paths.
Greg: It was a very long year. We had put out feelers to say we were going to start a new parkrun and we had a good initial reaction and people came forward but then we had this hiatus of waiting for footpaths to be finished and for grass to grow.
Even since we’ve started some of the park works have been ongoing – they’re building a $25 million indoor sports centre at the moment.
Suzy: The week of our inaugural we found out Josie was on her way and it was a busy time, but it was great.
Our girls are growing up knowing this is what we do on a Saturday unless there’s sickness.
Greg: There’s no getting out of it when you’ve got all the gear!
We’ve been really amazed with how the community has taken to it. One of the things that I’ve been mindful about is the founding principles of parkrun.
When I do something I go into it like down a rabbithole. I bought the book parkrun: much more than just a run in the park.
Neither of us are athletes. We’re in it for the greater good.
Suzy: I’m in it for the coffee!
Greg: We’re all about encouraging everyone to come, even if it’s people who maybe a bit lonely in the community. People with mental health issues. We’ve not put up any barriers and are welcoming to everyone to the point where we’re quite protective of our parkrunners.
parkrun is for everyone and you’re only running against yourself. It’s getting people into society and talking.
Suzy: We made some really good friends at Hagley and Foster. You might not see them during the week but you’re pretty happy when you see them on the weekend.
There are three main families with young kids. All the volunteers are happy for the kids to hang around if they don’t want to finish and we all keep an eye on them.
We’ll quite often still be there at the hour mark.
Greg: It’s seeing people in our community participate, getting out and being active on a Saturday morning.
When it came to courses, Porirua struck me as an out and back, having that interaction with the faster runners.
That’s an element we tried to include. The way we’ve got it is there’s no bottlenecks.
While in Rolleston…
Explore the Selwyn District’s bike trails.
Wander around Rolleston’s gardens.
The Canterbury Astronomical Society in West Melton holds public open nights most Fridays.
Go ballooning over the Canterbury Plains
Lincoln Farmers Market is on every Saturday from 10am to 1pm.