For runner Annette Zeman, waking up early for a jog is the best way to start a Saturday.
She's dedicated to the enormously popular Parkrun, whose members complete 5-kilometre courses all over the world each weekend — at their own pace and for free.
"I've nearly done all of them in the region," said Ms Zeman. "There are 15 Parkruns in Newcastle and I've got one to go, then I'll be a 'regionaire'."
Parkruns were put on hold throughout the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic but most have restarted with hygiene and social distancing measures.
Running enthusiasts in the Hunter have had to wait almost a year for one of the country's most popular events, Newy Parkrun, to obtain council approval for a bigger area to allow better social distancing.
Organisers say Newcastle has more Parkrunners per capita than anywhere else in Australia.
Ms Zeman says she missed the social benefits of running with her group during the shutdown over the past year.
"I was also working from home, so there was that isolation," she said.
Organisers said just under 400 turned up for the return of Newy Parkrun today, many catching up with running pals they had not seen in months.
A weekend ritual
Parkrun is a weekly challenge for plenty of hardcore runners who show up to push themselves and shave seconds off their best time.
Anthony Schwarzer has been joining the run for four years and says he missed it in recent months.
"It's become part of our life for the past six years or so," he said.
He said he and his running group Macca's Mob took it easy for their first run on the new course.
"We ran at a fairly leisurely pace. There are quite a few people here. We tried to keep our social distance, so we ran a nice pace."
Newbies start their jogging journey
The run has also attracted new joggers, including Kim Forsyth, who cancelled her gym membership last year.
"With COVID, I ended up not using it very much so I canned it and then started running outside, so it's a cheap and easy way to keep healthy," she said.
"I'm looking forward to doing this every Saturday now."
She works for a local disability support service called I Am Here and she wants to keep running each weekend with her colleagues.
"We actually started running as a group from work, so it's great for social and getting outside with work friends and staying healthy," she said.
