Sir John Guise Stadium

From time to time, I find the four walls of the gym constricting and I yearn for running in a field. Of course, just running around everywhere in a city such as Port Moresby can be diffucult. I run around my neighbourhood every so often since my neihgbours know me but I won't recommend it for everyone. For times when I just want to run, I go to Sir John Guise Stadium.

So who is Sir John Guise? Well, though he had a foreign sounding last name, he was a native Papua New Guinean who served as the first Governor General when Papua New Guinea first gained independence in 1975. He was a appointed as a Knight in 1975 which is why his title is Sir. When he died in 1991, the sport stadium was named after him.

The Sir John Guise stadium is actually a complex. There is an indoor stadium as well as an outdoor stadium. The outdoor stadium is where we normally hold our large concerts where we would have well over 100,000 people in attendance which usually happens in September which is just around the corner. The indoor stadium can hold a few thousand people and is air-conditioned. It can fit a large stage inside and has a wooden plank floor which is normally used for basketball and volleyball games. There are also other sports fields there such as those used for football. Parking is generous. Accommodation is available in the area through Sports Inn which also houses a bar.

Now where I run is the outdoor stadium where rubber has been laid on the track. This is where they hold track and field games. The rubber has dried but well suits my purposes. I usually have the stadium all to myself when I go there. It is open early in the morning to around 9pm. It is safe and has secure parking. You pay a K2 entrance fee to run in it. If you bring a friend, he/she will pay K1 additional.

Here are some photos of the outdoor stadium where I run. Go there at dusk or at dawn.

I'm sure you noticed that the stadium was devoid of people. I don't know how you like it when you run but I find it nice to have a bit of solitude when running.