Discussion
It's still January, I'm sure after the spring (half-)marathon season is over then you'll get a drop in numbers again. However, ParkRun keeps getting good publicity in the press so you might find that you stabilise at a higher level than before. It should be self-limiting as people will avoid it if it becomes too crowded. Of course that isn't ideal from an "encouraging participation" viewpoint, but from an individual race director's viewpoint it's good.
john2443 said:
We've mostly been getting 180 runners which has been fine, during Jan we've been getting 240, which doesn't sound like much difference and it's OK once they get spread round the course, but getting over the start line if you aren't sub 18 and in the first few rows is getting a bit slow, probably cost me a PB this week, but not much we can do about it.
I'm a bit worried about what will happen once the weather gets better and possible the numbers go up even more, when we only had 99 the Sat before Christmas we were wondering about putting out some publicity but have now gone back to keeping quiet about it, personal recommendation is getting enough people in, without advertising it!
We went from our all time attendance record of 423, to 481, to 519 in a few short weeks. The run directors told me once that they thought 500 would be the limit the current course could withstand, unless majority of the new runners were 25 minutes and under. The problem we have is as a large body of runners meeting at the same time each week, we're a very easy target for people to complain about so we need to keep our noses clean. Apparently, Birmingham city council did not put their hand in their pocket to help support the event with funds coming from parkrun HQ and other means. I cringe each autumn when the local half marathon rolls up and the council are suddenly proud of parkrun as a get fit initiative in the area.I'm a bit worried about what will happen once the weather gets better and possible the numbers go up even more, when we only had 99 the Sat before Christmas we were wondering about putting out some publicity but have now gone back to keeping quiet about it, personal recommendation is getting enough people in, without advertising it!
I agree with Ewen that once New Year's Resolutions are long forgotten and spring races are done and dusted, we'll drop back down to sub-400s.
So, first Parkrun for sometime yesterday. Crisp clear day, but cold, and lots of standing water. About 3KM in was on target for a PB, felt strong, then I get passed by a chap in a pair of flip-flops.
Felt like giving up and going home right there and then. To top it all didn't get a PB but did equal my previous 27:44, which isn't too bad considering how little running I have been doing.
Felt like giving up and going home right there and then. To top it all didn't get a PB but did equal my previous 27:44, which isn't too bad considering how little running I have been doing.
944fan said:
So, first Parkrun for sometime yesterday. Crisp clear day, but cold, and lots of standing water. About 3KM in was on target for a PB, felt strong, then I get passed by a chap in a pair of flip-flops.
Felt like giving up and going home right there and then. To top it all didn't get a PB but did equal my previous 27:44, which isn't too bad considering how little running I have been doing.
I remember on my 5th one being overtaken by a chap with a buggy, and that felt pretty demoralising. Still, what I love about parkrun is that everyone has their own targets and it really doesn't matter (although I really went for it yesterday to pass that chap who overtook me just after the 4.5km point!)Felt like giving up and going home right there and then. To top it all didn't get a PB but did equal my previous 27:44, which isn't too bad considering how little running I have been doing.
I took my 5 year old to junior parkrun today for the first time. I was pretty apprehensive about it in that I just could not imagine him running for a full 2km. Amazingly, he did, and as it was Bushy Park, and 343 runners, he finished in a good position and a decent time! It was incredibly uplifting seeing all these youngsters really going for it and my son is already excited about trying to beat his time.
I ran Bushy Park yesterday and it was still very muddy - the 1st km has loads of puddles that mean you just struggle to keep moving - it's very crushing when you slip and lose some of your momentum. The last km in particular was so muddy that to some extent your finishing position depended more on which patch of grass you decided to sprint to the finish on. I ended up with a 19:42 which placed me 28th out of over 900. Almost a minute off my PB, but I'm reasonably happy to blame that on the mud!
Edited by EdJ on Sunday 2nd February 19:59
Seems to be a cost issue - number of 100Club members ever increasing but no increase in income to fund the production of 100Club Kit. I was having an interesting discussion with my local running shop about what the optimum participation level is for the ParkRun idea and whether increased popularity threatens the volunteer-led model.
I can definitely see it being a problem, supply of T-shirts has certainly been an issue recently, but surely something like the jackets could be available for sale rather than free, the majority of people who qualify would happily buy one and it could be raise a small profit to pay for other stuff.
Aye, I'd happily pay for the jacket if it helped raise extra funds. Over the last 2 years, I've donated about £50 to my local event and only recently found out they received no financial support at all from Birmingham City Council to get up and running.
Didn't Lucozade recently end their tie-in with parkrun recently as well?
On the topic of volunteers, despite our event regularly attracting more than 450 runners, we still have a poor show of hands when it comes to volunteering. Our anniversary date reset itself at the end of August and there are some folks in the top 10 points tables that have obviously not volunteered at all despite running 22 or 23 times. Does your event struggle to get volunteers at all, John?
Didn't Lucozade recently end their tie-in with parkrun recently as well?
On the topic of volunteers, despite our event regularly attracting more than 450 runners, we still have a poor show of hands when it comes to volunteering. Our anniversary date reset itself at the end of August and there are some folks in the top 10 points tables that have obviously not volunteered at all despite running 22 or 23 times. Does your event struggle to get volunteers at all, John?
I also think they should charge for the T shirts. It seems a shame to let parkrun's success jeopardise its very existence. Since I signed up last summer, I've got many others to sign up thinking that the more who do it, the better, but sticking with the free T shirts surely isn't sustainable.
I do think that some of the smaller parkruns - where they have a number of laps - have a capacity issue. Beyond a certain number it becomes impossible to run a good time as you end up lapping slower runners and everyone gets in the way.
I do think that some of the smaller parkruns - where they have a number of laps - have a capacity issue. Beyond a certain number it becomes impossible to run a good time as you end up lapping slower runners and everyone gets in the way.
Volunteers
We always just get enough, but do work at it. Every week we post on Monday on facebook and twitter with a reminder later in the week if there aren't enough.
Once I posted on a Friday and said that we only had 1 vol and this meant that although the run would go ahead we wouldn't be doing any timing or finish tokens - this kicked people into action and suddenly we had enough!
There are some people who do more than their share and many who do less, I checked stats and found that 65% of people who've done more than 5 runs had never volunteered and two thirds of all volunteering was done by 21 people.
There are some who've run 40 times and never vold but that's the same if you are in a car club or am-dram or running, some people won't help and other's do a lot.
When we put out an emergency appeal for vols you can guarantee that the regulars will respond but they aren't the ones we're trying to get the message to.
We've had a couple of clubs who have come forward and provided a full set of volunteers for a week as they are appreciative that we give them a timed 5k every week and they don't have to organise it.
Overall we do OK but it's probably the main bit of work we do during the week.
We always just get enough, but do work at it. Every week we post on Monday on facebook and twitter with a reminder later in the week if there aren't enough.
Once I posted on a Friday and said that we only had 1 vol and this meant that although the run would go ahead we wouldn't be doing any timing or finish tokens - this kicked people into action and suddenly we had enough!
There are some people who do more than their share and many who do less, I checked stats and found that 65% of people who've done more than 5 runs had never volunteered and two thirds of all volunteering was done by 21 people.
There are some who've run 40 times and never vold but that's the same if you are in a car club or am-dram or running, some people won't help and other's do a lot.
When we put out an emergency appeal for vols you can guarantee that the regulars will respond but they aren't the ones we're trying to get the message to.
We've had a couple of clubs who have come forward and provided a full set of volunteers for a week as they are appreciative that we give them a timed 5k every week and they don't have to organise it.
Overall we do OK but it's probably the main bit of work we do during the week.
T shirts. Background info - it's parkrun UK who give the shirts, some other countries (eg Australia) have similar arrangements, some countries don't have shirts.
The UK distribution is currently done by Bushy's run director - I think it might be voluntary, although he might be paid part time - must have started as a small job, but now is a big job.
adidas must put some finance into the shirts, they get their logo on them, but whether they pay a nominal amount or the full cost I don't know.
The reason that there was a shortage of supply recently was just that numbers had grown much faster than expected and the shirts are made in the far east and printed here so from placing the order to sending out to runners takes quite a while.
Part of the reason why they don't sell kit is that they only have 4 full time staff, selling kit would most likely mean employing someone and setting up a website and payment process so it would be quite a big step to be able to do it and is off the main track of what pr does - free 5k every week.
I don't think losing Lucozade is particularly an issue, last year Pru Health came on board so we were 1 sponsor up and now Lucozade have gone we're back to normal
We were expecting a wet and windy run today, but the sky brightened as 9 o clock approached and it was sunny by the time we ran
The UK distribution is currently done by Bushy's run director - I think it might be voluntary, although he might be paid part time - must have started as a small job, but now is a big job.
adidas must put some finance into the shirts, they get their logo on them, but whether they pay a nominal amount or the full cost I don't know.
The reason that there was a shortage of supply recently was just that numbers had grown much faster than expected and the shirts are made in the far east and printed here so from placing the order to sending out to runners takes quite a while.
Part of the reason why they don't sell kit is that they only have 4 full time staff, selling kit would most likely mean employing someone and setting up a website and payment process so it would be quite a big step to be able to do it and is off the main track of what pr does - free 5k every week.
I don't think losing Lucozade is particularly an issue, last year Pru Health came on board so we were 1 sponsor up and now Lucozade have gone we're back to normal
We were expecting a wet and windy run today, but the sky brightened as 9 o clock approached and it was sunny by the time we ran
Halb said:
john2443 said:
Halb said:
I'm one run away from a '10' tee-shirt.
Are you sure? Only Under 19s get a 10 shirt.At which marker do the 'Big People' get them?
Gassing Station | Sports | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff