From Airlie Beach to Bushy Park, a crocodile-painted rock wasEtsuko Yasunaga’s passport to parkrun camaraderie across continents.
By Etsuko Yasunaga
AN ARTIST at Airlie Beach paints small rocks with local features such as crocodiles, turtles, shells and so on. A few weeks before our departure to the United Kingdom, I learned that one of the Airlie Beach parkrun travelling rocks had visited Koonwarra parkrun, then it was passed onto a couple who visited Inverloch parkrun the following week.
I was intrigued. I attended Airlie Beach parkrun on 13th Aug 2022 and had a lovely chat with Kara, one of the run directors (RD). I contacted her and asked about the travelling rocks.
She explained, “There are quite a few in circulation at the moment. Sometimes they just appear and are posted on the various parkrun Facebook pages. Some of the rocks started travelling over two years ago and have travelled all over the world including America, the UK, Japan and Europe, South Africa.
AN ARTIST at Airlie Beach paints small rocks with local features such as crocodiles, turtles, shells and so on. A few weeks before our departure to the United Kingdom, I learned that one of the Airlie Beach parkrun travelling rocks had visited Koonwarra parkrun, then it was passed onto a couple who visited Inverloch parkrun the following week.
I was intrigued. I attended Airlie Beach parkrun on 13th Aug 2022 and had a lovely chat with Kara, one of the run directors (RD). I contacted her and asked about the travelling rocks.
She explained, “There are quite a few in circulation at the moment. Sometimes they just appear and are posted on the various parkrun Facebook pages. Some of the rocks started travelling over two years ago and have travelled all over the world including America, the UK, Japan and Europe, South Africa.
“The rocks don’t always appear at parkruns every Saturday but it’s lovely when they do especially if they have been gone for some time. People enjoy watching their progress around Australia and overseas. It’s also connected people to Airlie Beach parkrun. Rocks are given to travellers/visitors to pass on periodically throughout the year.”
I wanted to take the crocodile travelling rock to Bushy parkrun with me. Bushy Park in London is the original location where parkrun began in 2004. Many parkrunners consider a visit to Bushy a “pilgrimage”, and it was my turn to visit this special place. I asked Inverloch parkrun RD Tony to save the rock for me and in return I promised to take it to its birthplace of parkrun.
I carried it in my hand luggage and it never left my side during the Melbourne-Singapore-London flight. We arrived on Wednesday morning and Rob’s brother Neil picked us up then drove us to Gloucester where he and his wife live. Settled in for just one day, I was back in London on Friday for a bit of adventure. I carried the precious rock in my waist bag, and arrived nice and early. There were over 1300 people from all over the UK and various countries in the world. I had to find someone to pass on the rock to but the time ran out.
Only a few minutes before the start, I realised I was standing near a lady with whom I’d had a quick chat at the briefing. She was a local Londoner, but that morning was her first ever parkrun. I started running with her, chatting away about everything and anything to do with parkrun. I also explained about the rock I was carrying. She was quite impressed about the whole thing, and seemed to be enjoying her first parkrun. Every now and then she had to slow down and walk for a while, so I stayed with her. Then we picked up a leisurely pace again. For the whole 5 kms, we chatted and laughed, interacting with other runners from all over the world. Admiring a meticulous funnel operation with military precision, we finally received our finish tokens then personal barcodes were scanned.
We had got to know each other quite well in the past hour or so, so it was natural for me to ask her to look after the travelling rock. She said she was quite honoured to do so. The handing over ceremony was done just like that. I felt relieved. It was even mentioned in their Event Report on 8th June:
“Every now and then we get an unusual request at Bushy. This week it was a lovely email from Etsuko YASUNAGA. She was visiting from Inverloch parkrun, Australia. Nothing unusual in that, but she was also carrying an Airlie Beach Travelling Rock which was passed on to her at Inverloch parkrun, her home parkrun. As an aside, this is the southernmost event on the Australian mainland. The rocks all started at Airlie Beach parkrun, a few years ago. Etsuko wanted to pass this rock to someone who can take it elsewhere and so on - we had a couple of boomerangs recently from Australia undertaking a similar journey. Anyway I'm delighted to report that Etsuko managed to find a willing recipient.”
It was just a rock, you may say, but to me it was more than just a rock. The travelling rock made me commit to visit the Bushy parkrun. It was all worth it in the end.
I wanted to take the crocodile travelling rock to Bushy parkrun with me. Bushy Park in London is the original location where parkrun began in 2004. Many parkrunners consider a visit to Bushy a “pilgrimage”, and it was my turn to visit this special place. I asked Inverloch parkrun RD Tony to save the rock for me and in return I promised to take it to its birthplace of parkrun.
I carried it in my hand luggage and it never left my side during the Melbourne-Singapore-London flight. We arrived on Wednesday morning and Rob’s brother Neil picked us up then drove us to Gloucester where he and his wife live. Settled in for just one day, I was back in London on Friday for a bit of adventure. I carried the precious rock in my waist bag, and arrived nice and early. There were over 1300 people from all over the UK and various countries in the world. I had to find someone to pass on the rock to but the time ran out.
Only a few minutes before the start, I realised I was standing near a lady with whom I’d had a quick chat at the briefing. She was a local Londoner, but that morning was her first ever parkrun. I started running with her, chatting away about everything and anything to do with parkrun. I also explained about the rock I was carrying. She was quite impressed about the whole thing, and seemed to be enjoying her first parkrun. Every now and then she had to slow down and walk for a while, so I stayed with her. Then we picked up a leisurely pace again. For the whole 5 kms, we chatted and laughed, interacting with other runners from all over the world. Admiring a meticulous funnel operation with military precision, we finally received our finish tokens then personal barcodes were scanned.
We had got to know each other quite well in the past hour or so, so it was natural for me to ask her to look after the travelling rock. She said she was quite honoured to do so. The handing over ceremony was done just like that. I felt relieved. It was even mentioned in their Event Report on 8th June:
“Every now and then we get an unusual request at Bushy. This week it was a lovely email from Etsuko YASUNAGA. She was visiting from Inverloch parkrun, Australia. Nothing unusual in that, but she was also carrying an Airlie Beach Travelling Rock which was passed on to her at Inverloch parkrun, her home parkrun. As an aside, this is the southernmost event on the Australian mainland. The rocks all started at Airlie Beach parkrun, a few years ago. Etsuko wanted to pass this rock to someone who can take it elsewhere and so on - we had a couple of boomerangs recently from Australia undertaking a similar journey. Anyway I'm delighted to report that Etsuko managed to find a willing recipient.”
It was just a rock, you may say, but to me it was more than just a rock. The travelling rock made me commit to visit the Bushy parkrun. It was all worth it in the end.
A display of international flags greeted runners at Seaton parkrun in Devon.
Everywhere we travelled I managed to attend a different parkrun every Saturday. Some were walking distance away, some required others’ assistance. I ran on the green grass of a playing field, trying hard not to roll my ankle, at Gloucester North, a very warm and welcoming event.
At Seaton parkrun in Devon, I was welcomed by display of international flags, and had an exciting challenge to run on the shingle beach. Every time a runner crossed the finish line, the whole volunteer team made huge cheering sounds for the individual who just finished 5 km. At Fort William in the Nevis Range, one of the run directors kindly offered to drive me to the start as I couldn’t get there by public transport in time.
The scenery was different and the running terrain and surface changed as I visited each parkrun, however I knew exactly what I was in for - a warm, friendly and inclusive environment where I could feel at home anywhere in the world.
At Seaton parkrun in Devon, I was welcomed by display of international flags, and had an exciting challenge to run on the shingle beach. Every time a runner crossed the finish line, the whole volunteer team made huge cheering sounds for the individual who just finished 5 km. At Fort William in the Nevis Range, one of the run directors kindly offered to drive me to the start as I couldn’t get there by public transport in time.
The scenery was different and the running terrain and surface changed as I visited each parkrun, however I knew exactly what I was in for - a warm, friendly and inclusive environment where I could feel at home anywhere in the world.