On 11 January, I celebrated my 50th parkrun with a few hundred of my neighbours, James, and a few London friends that I know because of running. I realize though that many of my readers are from outside the UK so might not be familiar with the concept of parkrun. Read on to learn more….
Paul Sinton-Hewitt held the first time trial 5K in October 2004 in Bushy Park in London. Over a few years, the name changed and the locations expanded before finally adopting the name parkrun in 2008. (Note, it is always a lowercase p). Run entirely by volunteers, there are over 700 parkruns in the UK and globally. Japan, South Africa, USA, and Italy are just a few of the countries that have events. You can see a map here and look for an event near you.
Parkrun is about inclusivity. Everyone is called a finisher (1st finisher, 2nd finisher, 401th finisher, etc). You can walk or run, as a tail walker stays at the back to ensure no participant finishes last. Dogs (on a lead) and prams are welcome, as well as kids. As an alternative, parkrun junior takes place on Sundays and is 2km, which may be more manageable for the wee ones (aged 4-14 welcome). Personally, I love seeing families out together on the course, encouraging each other to complete the distance. My local event is two laps, so some kids drop out after one lap. No two courses are the same in terms of route, terrain, or elevation gain (just the distance), which makes parkrun tourism a popular hobby (where you travel to other parkruns and try them out).
You might be wondering how does parkrun work? First you need to create an account and print your barcode. Some events may laminate your barcode for you or you can order a key tag or bracelet with your unique ID on it (I found that sweat started to ruin my barcode paper). Next step is to find an event and arrive 5-10 minutes early for first timer briefing. You will learn more about the course, where you can leave your personal belongings (at your own risk) and if people stick around for tea and coffee after. The easy bit is completing the 5k at your own pace. If you are feeling speedy, you can race others at the front or stick with the tail walker in the back. Some events will have pacers available (you need to check their event page for more info on this). One of the important things to remember is that parkrun shares the local park and paths with the community. You do not have exclusive rights of use and need to share with people out enjoying nature who might not be taking part in the parkrun. When you finish, be sure to stay in the order finisher order so you can receive a token that says what number finished you were. This token get scanned with your personal barcode and processed later that day. Usually, within a few hours, you will have your official results by email. Logging into your account, you can see where you have run and all of your times.
If you run 50, 100, 250, or 500 events you get a free t-shirt as an incentive. Think about it- Peloton gives you a free tee after 100 classes, so this is a pretty good deal! Juniors get a free t-shirt when they hit 10. The other kind of t-shirt you can get is after volunteering 25 times. I was injured most of 2019 so ended up volunteering a lot or so I thought. I am only at 11! Time keeper, handing out finisher tokens, scanning barcodes, giving the first time briefing, setting up the course and taking it down are just some of the roles volunteers can sign up for.
The aim of parkrun is to stay free forever, which is why many brands have created partnerships with parkrun. That is fine with me as money and time are two of the biggest barriers to people when it comes to physical activity. If we can eliminate one, that can make a big difference. Running and walking should be one of the more accessible activities as all you need is a pair of shoes and to walk out your front door. The timing aspect of parkrun lets you monitor your progress without needing a fancy watch or app, which can again be costly.
My first parkrun was in July 2015. My husband and I love to visit new parkrun courses when we travel and have tried nine different ones so far (aside from our local course). Some parkruns are open on Christmas and New Year’s Day too with New Year’s being a double run challenge in some areas. Making running fun will get people coming back for more. I would love to do a double one day but usually have to work on New Year’s.
Tell me in the comment below, what is your favorite parkrun course? If there isn’t one near you, why not consider starting one up in your local area? For me, it has been a great motivator for me to get out of bed on a Saturday and spend time with my local community. Plus, it is something active James and I can do together, even though he beats me every time.
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