Every Saturday scores of people flock to Canberra's parks to participate in a trend that has swept the capital and the nation.
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Parkrun is a free five-kilometre run or walk hosted by volunteers at numerous locations across Canberra.
Participants can run or walk, and the each has their own barcode to time the journey. There is friendly competition against friends or strangers, but for many the event is about personal bests.
Denise Clarke has become a fixture of parkrun in the ACT. On Saturday, January 5, she will become the first woman in the capital to achieve the milestone of participating in 250 events.
Mrs Clarke has taken on various volunteer roles as a run director, event director and parkrun ambassador, racking up 41 officially recognised volunteer efforts.
She also helped expand parkrun in and around the ACT by supporting new groups to begin their own events at Lake Burley Griffin, Queanbeyan, Goulburn, Mount Ainslie, Braidwood and more.
Mrs Clarke said she went to her first parkrun at Tuggeranong in 2013 for the exercise, but it was the community that kept her going back.
"Right from the start it just felt comfortable, somewhere we could have a laugh," Mrs Clarke said.
"Before we start we catch up and discuss our week and you develop these ongoing friendships.
"You cross paths with people you wouldn't have otherwise crossed paths with."
After their first parkrun, Mrs Clarke and her husband Gary were hooked. After their second, Mrs Clarke decided she wanted to help bring the activity to more people.
"I've had so many conversations with people that have said parkrun has just made them whole again," Mrs Clarke said.
Her favourite part of the experience is seeing people who would not normally participate in something like parkrun giving it a go and having a great time.
"You don't call Saturday, Saturday anymore," Mrs Clarke said. "It's parkrun day."
The parkrun concept began in the United Kingdom and has since spread to 20 countries with 3 million registered runners globally.
The ACT has six parkrun events: Burley Griffin, Coombs, Ginninderra, Gungahlin, Mount Ainslie and Tuggeranong.
Since starting almost six years ago Mrs Clarke has only missed 15 parkruns.
