For the love of parkrun
I've been involved with parkrun for just a few months (not including the months beforehand whilst setting it up) and I'm already a convert. I thought I'd share a bit about my experience and what it is I love about parkrun.
Firstly, (in case you're not familiar with parkrun), here's a quick overview how it works:
- People sign up on the website and get their own personal barcode. (this is free, and they only need to do it once).
- They then turn up just before 8am on any Saturday they like with their barcode, and line up with the others to start.
- Upon finishing, their time is recorded on the stopwatch (with a lap number) and they receive a finish token with their place number on it.
- The finish token and personal barcode are then scanned in together by a volunteer.
- The results processor then uploads data from both the stopwatches and barcode scanners and the software lines up the time and position (from the stopwatch) with position and parkrunner (from the barcode scanner)
- Each parkrunner gets an email with their finish time, overall position and age group position that day.
- Parkrun is every Saturday at 8am at most locations, and is on every single week regardless of holidays or weather.
- A person's barcode can be used at absolutely any parkrun around the country and the world (there are 18 in New Zealand and more than 1000 around the world!)
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I first heard about parkrun through instagram. Runners that I'd never met, mostly Aussies, who raved about it. I wondered why we didn't have one in our city, assuming someone else had already looked into it. It turns out someone else had emailed in a couple of months prior, but at the time was too busy to start, so by the time we were put in touch with each other, we were both ready and willing to work together to get this thing off the ground! We formed a small committee of core volunteers to get started, and there are now three Run Directors that can run a Saturday parkrun and process the results on any given day - handy over the holiday periods!
It took us a few months of planning and waiting before we got started (mainly because we wanted to wait until Spring to get started!) but finally the day was here - our first parkrun! I hardly slept the night before due to excitement and nerves!
We welcomed and briefed everyone, then they were off! The sight of all the people stretching along the river path was really rewarding after all the work we'd put in! We had 217 runners and walkers on our first day (apparently around 80 of these were people from other parkruns around NZ who travelled especially for the inaugural!)
5km is the perfect distance - long enough to challenge just about everyone whether you're new to the distance, or an experienced runner working on speed. It's also short enough to be a great distance for walkers and families with young children who can cover that distance in around an hour.
We've heard stories of 'used to be runners' who've had years off, but are now out there again, and bringing along friends and family members with them! It can only be positive for the health and wellbeing in our community. Everyone is really supportive of each other both out on the course and at the finish line, from the volunteers cheering and applauding close finishes, to runners who double back to finish again with a friend or family member.
On a personal level, I've gained a lot too. My confidence is grown a lot (though I still really dislike doing the welcome briefing with the loudspeaker!), I've met new friends, and I get a real sense of satisfaction seeing the smiles on people's faces and watching our little parkrun community start to develop.
Parkrun is a great way to build community in your hometown. If you've ever thought about starting one where you live, please get in touch. I'd love to chat and answer any questions you have.
#loveparkrun
💖 K8
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