"It was so good to be back," race director Christine Woodhouse said.

"Everyone was thrilled."

Despite some minor COVIDsafe changes to the event, Ms Woodhouse said everything ran smoothly, with 110 people turning out for the return of the popular five-kilometre run.

She said there was a good mix of locals and visitors among the participants and no shortage of volunteers to help out.

"It was a nice number to handle for our first one," Ms Woodhouse said.

You may also like: Free grant writing workshops for Mid Coast

A return to fine weather saw even more people turn out for the organisation's second event on Saturday, January 9, with over 130 people taking part.

Ms Woodhouse said she expected plenty of visitors to join in throughout the rest of the month.

"While the holiday season is still on we're expecting visitors," she said.

Both Taree and Gloucester parkruns made their returns on Saturday, December 19, following the NSW Government's decision to increase participation numbers at outdoor community sports events from 500 to 3000 people, but Ms Woodhouse said her and her fellow organisers were happy to wait for the new year.

"After the crappy year we all had, we wanted people to stay home with their families for Christmas. That's why we waited until January 2," she said.

"We were happy with our decision."

You may also like: Fast 5 carnival to return to Black Head

Ms Woodhouse said the event was set to proceed smoothly from here on in, with plenty of volunteers putting their hands up to help.

Forster parkrun is held every Saturday morning at 8am.

For more information, visit the Forster parkrun Facebook page.

Thank you for valuing local journalism with your subscription. While you're with us, you can also receive updates straight to your inbox from the Great Lakes Advocate. To make sure you're up to date with all the news, sign up here.