Julia is one of the few parkrunners to have completed every course in New Zealand*.
Barcode: A293223
Home parkrun: Lower Hutt
What was your first away parkrun?
Cornwall Park
What led you to parkrun tourism?
We visit family in Auckland quite often so decided to run at another event. Didn’t really know what parkrun tourism was at that early stage.
What’s the earliest you’ve got up to travel to an event and where was it?
Up 4.15 am, left at 5am for Palmerston North inaugural.
What has been your furthest trip for a parkrun?
The furthest I have travelled especially to run parkrun, was to Japan in 2019.
My husband Paul was transiting through Tokyo after a trip to Europe, so decided to break his journey, and I flew from Wellington to join him.
The goal was to run at Futakotamagawa parkrun, the first parkrun in Japan (there are now 17) and to experience a little of a city and culture totally new to us. We ran at event #10, and had a great time, the welcome as warm as any other parkrun worldwide.
Can you tell us about a memorable parkrun experience in New Zealand?
I loved my trip to the deep south specifically to run the Balclutha parkrun inaugural.
While the morning was cold and misty, the team were warm and welcoming, in this small Otago town that I wouldn’t have otherwise visited!
You can learn so much about your own country when parkrun touring!
The course took us over the historic Clutha Bridge, crossing the mighty Clutha, NZ’s second longest river, which flows 320km from Lake Wanaka (the home of yet another great parkrun) to the ocean.
We stayed two nights at Owaka and fitted in some tourism in the Catlins, an amazing part of the country I had never been before; visiting Nugget Pt Lighthouse, Cathedral Caves, Curio Bay, Waipapa Pt Lighthouse and the southernmost point of the South Is, Slope Pt….and I found myself there, all because of a parkrun trip!
Where in New Zealand would you like a parkrun and why?
The West Coast of the South Island (maybe Westport, Greymouth, or even Hokitika), because there are no parkruns in that very different part of the country.
*Correct at the time of publication
3 replies on “Julia Gordon”
I always love reading your new parkrun event reports Julia, and this hasn’t disappointed either. Great photos too. I totally agree on parkruns in places that we would otherwise not have visited. It’s great tourism, and it’s lovely when we get to go to the same events 🙂
Thanks Chrissy. I just discovered your comment below the blog. Will look forward to your write-up too. I’m still in awe of your trip to Ocean Grove for your O! (I won’t say “just” for your O, because as we know these crazy
trips are much more than a tick on the alphabet, or number on the Most Events list).
It was great to meet Julia and her hubby Paul after having read this previously. Now it’s so much more meaningful. I look forward to seeing them again at this week’s Owairaka inaugural event!