Shepparton Parkrun enthusiasts Dean White and Theresa Cook.
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Heart rates rose at Parkrun Shepparton recently when a surprise proposal took centre stage before the starting whistle was blown.
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For recent Shepparton arrivals Dean White and Theresa Cook, Parkrun has always been more than just a weekly event — it’s where their story began.
So, when Dean decided to propose, there was no better place than a Saturday morning Parkrun, right in the middle of the briefing Theresa was delivering.
With nearly 300 participants gathered at Victoria Park Lake on Saturday, March 22, Dean seized the moment.
As run director Theresa wrapped up her pre-race briefing by asking for any questions, Dean saw his chance and stepped forward with one that had nothing to do with the course: “Will you marry me?”
Dean admitted to feeling nervous before popping the question, with his heart rate “a good five to 10 beats per minute higher than what it should have been”.
“I had no clue it was going to happen that day ... Dean had always promised it [the proposal] would be embarrassing, but it certainly wasn’t the setting I had expected,” Theresa said.
The couple, who met at Willow Park Parkrun in Albury in late 2022, have made the Saturday morning run an integral part of their relationship.
“We’d pass each other on the course, give a quick high-five, and week after week, our friendship turned into something more,” Dean said.
Both work in the medical field: Dean is a pharmacist and Theresa an oncologist.
The couple take great pride in helping the community be healthy and active.
After relocating to Shepparton a couple of months ago, the couple found comfort in their local Parkrun community.
Dean orchestrated the proposal by arranging for Theresa to be the run director; she had filled this role this many times, but never in Shepparton.
“A few of my work colleagues were there, and I thought it was because it was my first time directing. It hadn’t clicked that I was being proposed to,” Theresa said.
“Everyone here is so lovely and friendly,” Dean said.
“Even though we’ve only been here a short time, we feel completely embraced by the community.”
Parkrun Shepparton event director Chelsea Nicholson witnessed the emotional moment.
“One lady in tears said to me, ‘I’m crying, and I don’t even know these people’,” she said.
The couple credit Parkrun, a free community event, for bringing them together and helping them establish roots in their new home town.
“You never know who you might meet at a Parkrun ... it’s a wonderful way to get to know new people,” Theresa said.
One question stole the spotlight ahead of the race.
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