MORE than 80 parkrunners crossed the finish line of the 170th Airlie Beach parkrun to a big high-five this morning.

While the gesture is a simple one, co-event director Justin Knight-Gray said the traditional high-five is an integral part of welcoming newcomers to the fold.

"We always try to be very friendly and very welcoming. We try to high-five everyone as they cross the finish line, and what that does is it makes people feel like they belong to the group,” he said.

Eight first times put their best foot forward as they tackled the 5km loop from Abell Point Marina to Cannonvale and back, via the Airlie Beach boardwalk

A special shout-out was made on the Airlie Beach parkrun Facebook page to parkrunner Rupert King, who reached his 100th milestone today.

Congratulations to Alison Scoles, Rhys Harry, Wendy McCall, Orry Ferguson, Isabella Debrincat, Maya Bernhard, Shane Smith and Karen Jordan who achieved personal bests.

Thank you to volunteers Andrew Clode, Vanessa Corbett, Robyn Corrigan, Matthew Curr, Geoffrey Fyvie, Sarah Logan, Nicole Murphy, Erika Pattemore, Ruth Roberts, Susanne Willmott who made parkrun possible this week.

Airlie Beach parkrun is held every Saturday at 7am, from Abell Point Marina, Shingley Dr.

Parkrun is free, but first-time participants should register before attending.

Participants are invited to mingle with the parkrun community for a coffee at New Bohemian Raw Cafe after each event.

More information can be found on the Airlie Beach parkrun website and Facebook page or call event director Bob Barford on 0407 895 011.