Parkrun

Parkrun events are free of charge to participants and run principally by volunteers. The majority of Parkrun's income comes from sponsorship and grants, with some commercial income from apparel, wristbands, and accessories. Donations form less than 15% of the charity's income.[21]

A unique Parkrun I.D. is carried by the runner and scanned at the end of a run to record the completion time.

All Parkruns are 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) in length and are free to enter.[22] Anyone can take part, from pensioners to parents with their children, people with their dogs, wheelchair users, people pushing prams, club runners or casual runners, although not all courses are suitable for all participants.[23] Beginner runners, older adults and overweight people are common.[13]

They usually take place at the same time, at the same place, on the same course, once per week. There is no formal procedure before the run with participants asked to arrive shortly before the start time and wait near the starting line.[24] A run director will make announcements giving safety instructions and community news before beginning the run.[25] Participants run or walk the course and are directed by marshals along the correct route to the finish line.[26] As each runner enters the finish funnel, a volunteer records the finishing place number and time. The information recorded by the timers is later uploaded onto a computer, which allows runners to be matched with their times.[27] The results are uploaded to the Parkrun website which also generates a number of statistics. The results available are finishing position for both male and female runners, the time taken to complete the run, whether or not a personal best time has been achieved, the total number of runs completed by an individual, their age grade result and their position in relation to other veteran or junior runners.[28]

To have a time recorded, runners are asked to register on the Parkrun website, print out a personal I.D. that includes a barcode and bring it to each event. This needs to be done just once, with the barcode valid for any subsequent Parkrun in the world.[29][30][31] Runners can still participate without registering or if they forget to bring their personal barcode, but they will not have their time recorded. If the runner does not have a barcode, their position on the finishers table will be recorded with the name "unknown" and no time. After passing the finish line, each runner is handed a "finish token" corresponding to their position. This is later scanned alongside their personal barcode, if they have one, to link their result with their Parkrun profile.[27]

Occasionally, a runner may leave the finish funnel without receiving a finish token. This is known as "funnel ducking",[32] and can lead to subsequent finish times becoming mismatched. This issue can usually be rectified by having a volunteer join the funnel in place of the ducker, to take a token on their behalf, or by removing their time entirely.[33] Similar issues can arise if someone joins the funnel from the side without having their time recorded, or if a runner refuses to take a finish token.

The Daily Telegraph reported that "what's clever is that it’s not a race against everyone else but a timed run", and that trying to improve your personal best time is a great incentive even for slower runners.[23] The paper further explained that the success of the events is down to them being free and weekly because it allows people to get into a routine.[34] An article in The Telegraph said that a drop in gym usage can be attributed to a backlash against gym membership fees combined with the popularity of events such as Parkrun and fitness tracking devices.[35]

Cannon Hill Parkrun is run in a city park on tarmac footpaths

Events take place in a range of general locations (that need not actually be a park), including city parks, country parks, national parks, stately homes, castles, forests, rivers, lakes, reservoirs, beaches, promenades, prisons, racecourses and nature reserves. The runs have different degrees of difficulty, with hilly runs harder to complete than those that are flat. The running surface varies with many city park Parkruns being run on tarmac footpaths, closed roads, grass or a mixture of all three, while forest and country park Parkruns are more likely to be on trails. The weather affects the difficulty of the course with trail runs more liable to be affected by mud or leaves than runs on tarmac paths. Runs that take place in hotter countries often start early in the morning to avoid excess heat and runs in snowier climates have a course chosen to minimise the effect of the snow.

Permanent event closures are rare. Zimbabwe was the first country to host a Parkrun outside the UK, the event started in 2007 but closed several years later. Parkrun Elliðaárdalur closed in 2012 due to operational difficulties in the winter, and Hillerød Parkrun in Denmark closed in 2013. Camp Bastion Parkrun was hosted at a military base in Afghanistan, which shut in 2014. Skegness briefly hosted 12 Parkruns (December 2019 - 14 March 2020) before it was shut down during the coronavirus pandemic. Changes to the layout of the adjacent car park by East Lindsey District Council cut the course in half, cancelling the event. Cambridge Parkrun (formerly held in Milton Country Park) did not restart following closure during the coronavirus pandemic.[36] More frequently, Parkruns have formally closed at a location, but have relocated to a venue nearby and changed name.[37]

Volunteers arranging Perm Parkrun

Each Parkrun event is run entirely by volunteers. To assist the volunteers, Parkrun HQ provides the necessary equipment and there are several different volunteer roles at each Parkrun event.[38] Every event has a 'volunteer' page, with the same basic information about how to get involved as a volunteer, as well as crediting those who have made the effort in the most recent week.[39] The Parkrun website credits those who volunteer each week as "the heart" of Parkrun, and integral to its not-for-profit status.[40] It also provides a useful range of responses to commonly asked questions about volunteering, with information on each of the different roles, in its FAQ section.[41] At the outset of Parkrun, the central organisation sought to simplify the volunteering process to allow new events to be set up with a low number of volunteers, this simplification now allows new volunteers to assist with minimal training.[42]

Each event has a core team who has received permission from Parkrun HQ and the location owner to stage the event. The individual roles are typically filled by different volunteers each week and include the following; a run director who manages the event making announcements and starting the run; a timer who records the time taken, marshals who direct runners to the correct route, barcode scanners who scan finishing tokens, event setup and close down volunteers, tail walkers, pacers and result processors.[43]

According to Steve Flowers at the University of Kent’s business school, parkrun is an example, along with Wikipedia, of what he calls "people’s innovation", which The Guardian explains as being "driven by users rather than producers, by volunteers rather than professionals".[44]

Junior Parkrun events are mostly weekly, free, 2 km running events for runners aged four to fourteen. Parents are allowed to run with their children but are not eligible for a placed finish. Dogs can be brought to the event but are not allowed to run with their owners. Juniors who have completed 11, 21 or 50 junior runs are awarded a coloured wristband.[45] Events take place on Sunday morning.

When launched, Junior Parkrun was run monthly, on first Sunday of every month. The wish is for all events to convert to running weekly at some point.[46] As of 25 August 2022 remaining monthly events include Bushy[47] and Savill Garden.[48]

The logo on a "Club 50" red Parkrun T-shirt

The number of runs by each participant at all events is recorded and available on the Parkrun website. When a runner reaches 50 runs they join a "milestone club" called the "50 Club" and they can claim a red Parkrun T-shirt. When a runner reaches 100 runs they join the "100 Club" and can claim a black T-shirt. Likewise the "250 Club" offers a green T-shirt and the "500 Club" a blue T-shirt. People under the age of 18 can claim a white T-shirt when they complete 10 runs and there is a purple T-shirt for people who volunteer 25 times.[49] The milestone and volunteer T-shirts were free until September 2021, at which point they became chargeable. At this time, a 25 (purple) milestone T-shirt was added and more volunteer T-shirts were introduced, to align with the milestone T-shirts; 50 (red), 100 (black), 250 (green) and 500 (blue).

Parkrun tourists travel especially to seek out new runs.[50][51] Runners, when they sign up on the Parkrun website, are asked to pick a "Home Parkrun", usually the one they live closest to and are likely to frequent most. Parkrun tourism is broadly defined as anyone travelling to a run that is not their home Parkrun. Tourism can involve running in a neighbouring park, town, region or even country with some runners travelling to a different run every week.

Parkrun challenges involve completing a number of different runs in a particular way which are personally meaningful but not officially recorded. These include "Londone" which is completing all of the Parkruns in London.[52] The "alphabeteer" is running a Parkrun beginning with each letter of the alphabet[53] and challenges such as "Stayin' Alive" which is completing three runs beginning with B and three beginning with G.[54] A Google Chrome and Firefox extension details further challenges such as "Groundhog Day" which is running the same time at the same Parkrun location in two consecutive weeks and "Regionnaire" which is to complete all of the Parkruns in any region.[55]

• Female world record holder: The female record holder is Caitlin Adams with a time of 15:38 set at Lochiel Parkrun, South Australia on 7 August 2021.[3] The previous female record was set by Lauren Reid with a time of 15:45 at Parramatta Parkrun on 23 January 2021.[56]
• Male world record holder: Andrew Baddeley set a time of 13:48 at Bushy Parkrun on 11 August 2012.[57][58]
• Age-graded record holder: Fauja Singh set 179.04% at Valentines Parkrun on 31 March 2012 (the day before his 101st birthday) with a time of 38:34.[59]
• Global record holder for highest number of runs: Darren Wood with 811 runs (as of 11 July 2022).[60]
• Global record holder for the highest number of different events: Paul Freyne with 571 different Parkrun locations (as of 11 July 2022).[60]

The first Australian Parkrun event was held at Main Beach, on the Gold Coast, on 2 April 2011.[91] ABC News remarking on Parkrun Australia said "there are competitive runners aiming to win but there are just as many people running for the fun of it. If people want to race each other, that's fine, they can, but if you want to walk that is fine too. Everyone is welcome, from kids to grandparents, it's one of the few sporting events that a family can do together."[92] The two biggest Parkruns in Australia are South Bank in Brisbane, Queensland and Albert Park Lake in Melbourne, Victoria, the two having alternating attendance records over the years with South Bank holding the current record of 1,010 participants set on Christmas Day, 25 December 2019.[93]

The first three parkruns in Germany were Georgengarten parkrun in Hannover, Küchenholz parkrun in Leipzig and Neckarau parkrun in Mannheim, when they all hosted their first event on 2 December 2017. When Aachener Weiher parkrun started in Cologne, it became the first parkrun in the alphabetical list of all parkruns.

The first run in Ireland was at Malahide Castle on 10 November 2012. The rollout of Parkruns in Ireland was assisted by funding from the government's Department of Health with the aim of empowering local communities and encouraging individuals and families to lead active lives. The record attendance was at Marlay Parkrun on 21 January 2017 when there were 795 runners.[94]

Parkrun was introduced for the first time to Japan on 6 April 2019, by the Futako-Tamagawa Parkrun event, Tokyo. There are now 24 events held every Saturday morning in Japan.[95]

The first event was at Lower Hutt on 5 May 2012

The first Polish Parkrun took place in Gdynia on 15 Oct 2011. Poland has the first Parkrun to cross the border of another country. Cieszyn Parkrun starts in Poland but crosses into the Czech Republic before returning to Poland.[96] The record attendance was at Poznan Parkrun on 27 Dec 2015 when there were 1111 runners.[97]

Parkrun in Russia began simultaneously at Kolomenskoe Parkrun and Severnoe Tushino Parkrun on 1 March 2014.[98] Parkrun Yakutsk Dohsun takes place in Yakutsk, which has an average daily temperature of −8.8 °C (16.2 °F).[99]

All Parkrun events in Russia are currently suspended due to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.[100]

Parkrun South Africa was started and promoted by ultramarathoner Bruce Fordyce.[101] The first Parkrun took place at Delta Park in Johannesburg on 12 November 2011 and had 26 participants. It is now one of the larger Parkruns regularly drawing up to 1200 runners and attracting tourists as the first one in the nation.[102] The world record attendance was at North Beach, Durban, which saw 2527 runners on 20 Jan 2018.[103]

The first event was at Livonia on 2 June 2012. There are 55 active events with 5 of these clustered in the Washington DC Area.

Parkrun endeavours to promote health and wellbeing through a number of initiatives. Its mission statement is "a healthier and happier planet".[104][105] In the UK Parkrun has partnered with the Royal College of General Practitioners in order to promote healthy living through increased physical activity, socialisation and mutual support.[106][107]

Most events are run with the support and sometimes the sponsorship of local authorities. A notable conflict occurred at Little Stoke Parkrun. Parkrun does not set up events where charges would apply to the organisers or runners.[108] Little Stoke Parkrun had begun with the council's permission in November 2012.[109] In April 2016 the responsible parish council in Stoke Gifford, Bristol, England, voted to charge runners a fee to participate.[110] Despite an online petition and support from the Minister for Sport, the council would not change its decision, so the Parkrun was permanently cancelled.[111] In April 2017 the British Government proposed that in future local councils in England would not be allowed to charge for Parkruns in a public park.[112]

Parkrun has produced podcasts to help widen engagement, publicise events and communicate developments within the Parkrun community.

Between 2011 and 2015 The parkrun Show, hosted by Danny Norman and Nicola Forwood, charted the development and expansion of parkrun from its beginnings and profiled new events. It styled itself as "A digestible audio roundup of the goings on of everything that caught our eye from the weekend in parkrunworld".[113]

In 2018, the Free Weekly Timed official Parkrun podcast debuted. Originally it was co-hosted by Vassos Alexander and Louise Ayling. In late 2019 Louise Ayling left the show and was replaced by Helen Williams. The podcast is broadcast weekly and gives Parkrun community news, features and entertainment.[114]

In aid of the Rett syndrome charity Reverse Rett, Mark Eagleton and Alan Harding completed Reigate Priory parkrun in reverse in November 2015.[115]