Isobel McKeown is blunt about why she loves volunteering at parkrun.
"That's obvious, I don't have to run!," she said.
The 11-year-old has now volunteered 29 times at the five-kilometre timed event held around the world where people walk, jog or shuffle.
She's also the youngest speaker at this weekend's parkrun Asia Pacific conference in Kingscliff, in northern New South Wales.
Isobel is aware of the significance, given it's the first time in three years parkrun ambassadors have been able to meet in person.
COVID-19 shut down parkruns around the world and walkers, runners and volunteers had to find ways to ensure people weren't left in isolation.
There were virtual runs, online cooking sessions, celebrity chats and through it all, the sense that the bonds of this powerful community couldn't be broken by the pandemic.
It meant those who love parkrun, like me, asked themselves if parkrun was about the events or the simple needs of people to be together.
In fact, three quarters of parkrunners in Australia surveyed when parkrun reopened said they were coming back because they felt disconnected from their communities.
That survey also uncovered some other fascinating numbers.
What came through strongly was that the volunteering experience remained overwhelmingly positive:
- 99 per cent of volunteers said they'd recommend being a volunteer to others
- Nine out of 10 volunteers reported feeling happier
- Eight out of 10 volunteers reported improved mental health
- Six out of 10 volunteers reported physical health improvements.
And yet 90 per cent of people who've finished a parkrun have never volunteered. That's a challenge for the organisation as it looks set to double in size over the next five years.
Parkrun will be celebrating the work of the thousands of volunteers this weekend and reflecting on the often unexpected benefits that 'giving back' can deliver.
More than 140,000 people volunteer at parkrun events across Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia and Japan.
Around 200 of these are specialist volunteer ambassadors who support the organisation in a range of voluntary roles, such as establishing new parkruns and support existing ones, taking photos, making videos, triaging emails and translating material into various languages.
Parkrun organisers stress that volunteering should be done simply for the pleasure of helping out, and what you get from it becomes the reward.
I wasn't prepared when I first volunteered for how the simplest thing could be the most satisfying.
"Thanks marshal!," they'd call out as they thundered past my patch on the route where I was positioned.
Who knew starting a Saturday morning having people smile and say thanks could be an instant mood lifter.
It's also exercise.
Volunteering is often dismissed as 'giving up' physical activity. But I walked into the park, had a chat, walked to my position, gave hundreds of high fives, bounced around, cheered, clapped, and walked back. Not a bad work-out.
It's been a massive learning experience for Isobel who was a parkrun director for the first time, in charge of a Saturday event declared as a 'kids takeover day', at the age of nine.
She honed her skills at her home parkrun in Pakapakanthi in Adelaide.
"A role I really enjoy is timekeeper because I am quite organised and like to be focused," she said.
"I remember practising for timekeeper once with my brother and my mum. We used the parkrun app and my brother and I made a bunch of finishing tokens, and we had little Lego people going across a finishing line on the kitchen bench.
"We practised what to do when one ran off or snuck through."
I haven't tried practising with Lego but I'll admit my stress levels go up a notch when I'm timekeeper.
But Isobel wants people to know that everyone can stuff up and it's not the end of the world.
"I have seen a marshal send lots of people in the wrong direction," Isobel said.
"I have seen a finish token volunteer drop all the tokens in the middle of an event but everyone helped and things turned out ok."
The other bonus for Isobel is being with adults that aren't her teachers or family.
"I see how they do stuff and I like to meet new people and hear their conversations," she said.
It was seven years ago this month that Ada Macey started volunteering at Chermside parkrun.
She and another volunteer struck up a friendship. It was before Ada had begun transitioning and as the years went on and she gained confidence as a trans woman this other volunteer watched on and offered support.
That person is now the Federal Sports Minister, Anika Wells.
"In hindsight, what sticks out to me as a trans woman is that I talk about the importance of visibility and the moments where being visible can turn trans people from a concept into a real person," Ada said.
"Whenever she's thinking as a sports minister of trans people in sport or inclusion she has a real world example of someone who went through that journey.
"That's the difference visibility makes," she added.
"Parkrun is an awesome cross-section of the community and those communities are worth treasuring, developing and fostering."
ABC Sport is partnering with parkrun to promote the benefits of physical activity and community participation.
