13/09/2026
parkrun report for the 12/09/2026.
See below;
South End Reserve had been my NENDY for ages, sitting in the parkrun app, taunting me without a tick. So I hatched a plan. 4.50am isn’t too early to get up on a Saturday morning is it? And a two hour drive isn’t too far for a 5km run is it? Not when you’re an addict. Yes, I am a parkrun addict and I have been for some time. Luckily many others share my addiction, and we have a little support group where we help one another to achieve our parkrun goals. Soon there were ten of us spread between two cars making our pilgrimage to South End Reserve.
The drive was uneventful except for passing through some heavy rain, but as we dropped down to the Eastern side of the Coromandel the rain stopped and the sun began to tease us with occasional glimpses. We’re not fair weather runners, but it is nice to see some sun as compensation for an early start.
We reached the parkrun before any of the volunteers, so we had plenty of time to recce the course. It’s a beautiful spot in Pauanui and you run along the reserve at the top of the beach until a turnaround point where you can see across to Tairua and Mount Paku. The surface is sandy grass and we noted a few ankle twisting holes ready for unsuspecting tourists.
Run Director Neil gave a quick briefing where he warned us about a narrow bridge, a road and the surface of the reserve. He also welcomed some visitors including Dean, an Australian who was also completing his 50 parkruns and was volunteering as a parkwalker. Ka rawe! The other milestone was Ruby who reached her 25 milestone and also went on to blast out a PB and finish as first female. Wow! Neil also told us that they go for coffee at JK’s after the event. I had to clarify that this wasn’t the home of some unsuspecting local but was in fact a cafe.
There were 37 runners or walkers and 11 volunteers, four of whom were all from the Paulsen family. What a generous contribution to help ensure this lovely parkrun takes place. Every parkrun relies on volunteers so please consider helping out with your local parkrun or even when you are touristing. 37 participants seemed small to the visiting Aucklanders, but apparently that’s an unusually large number for the off season in Pauanui. Some weeks there are only around a dozen, but this swells to over 100 in Summer. This weeks tourists saw South End Reserve record the highest percentage increase in attendance of any NZ parkrun this week!
It’s really a trail run thanks to the uneven, grassy surface but there’s minimal elevation gain and you don’t need trail shoes because of how well the sandy soil drains. I doubt it’s a PB course, but it’s certainly a very pretty one.
David was the first finisher in just under 22 minutes. I don’t think he’ll be back to beat his time soon though because he was visiting from England! As for the rest of us, I’m surely we’ll be back to visit this friendly small parkrun when we can get up that early again.
Written by Andy Ballard.
