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Jan 2018
1:59pm, 5 Jan 2018
17,789 posts
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DeeGee
Do you know why I set up Cleethorpes parkrun?
When I started running in 2007, I was following a training plan that, at some point, said "run 5k race". That was the first part of the journey that eventually took me to 101 marathons in 10 different countries.
At that point, the "Run 5k race" point, there were 2 sorts of 5k race close to me.
One sort was run in the middle of winter by sinewey men in vests and 3" flappy shorts, and the other excluded anyone born with a penis.
Do you know where I ran my "5k race"?
Blackheath, a whole weekend visit away from me. It was nice, because my wife and mum and dad came too. But that was the only 'accessble to big fat bastards' 5k that I could find.
And I didn't want any other bloke in my neck of the woods to have to do the same thing. And if women could aim to run a 5k at any time of year without having to pay large money and wear a pink tutu, so much the better.
So yes, it was all about the run.
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Jan 2018
2:00pm, 5 Jan 2018
2,027 posts
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StuH
Instead of commenting on the article, why don't you put it in the fb discussion group? 
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Jan 2018
2:04pm, 5 Jan 2018
46,853 posts
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swittle
The article struck me as the equivalent of the 'David Lloyd' TV adverts around this time of year - I noted that running/treadmill did not feature in them. The writer's position includes the words parkrun Global, and, no doubt, it is appropriate to his position but what I took away from first reading was the warm, fuzzy, meta nature of parkrun's bolt ons. Local and global?
The article ends, "Finally, if I could leave you with one suggestion for 2018 it would be to resolve to spend more time outdoors, active, together. The rest will take care of itself." Ah, would that lives were so simple!
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Jan 2018
2:24pm, 5 Jan 2018
15,111 posts
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Dvorak
I think I'd be more comfortable in an actual nest of vipers, Stu ;-).
Maybe actual regular long-term parkrunners need to start telling parkrun Towers this? That they appear to be becoming blinded by their global ambitions and losing sight of what, for the vast majority, parkrun is really about.
But there was another piece recently which said that to push forward, we must all be absolutely united. No discussion, no dissent. Diversity is great - unless it is of opinion. I wonder if there is a formal "unparkrunnering" process in place yet?
(Yes, I know that when I actually go to a parkrun - any one of the 280 runs (including volunteering) at 18 events I have attended, it's people getting on with the business, as ever; but I fear that sometime, there will come a time when it's not.)
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Jan 2018
2:36pm, 5 Jan 2018
37,483 posts
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Velociraptor
I wonder if it's a very targeted political statement intended to protect the future of free weekly timed runs for runners rather than a change of focus from the powers-that-be.
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Jan 2018
2:54pm, 5 Jan 2018
15,113 posts
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Dvorak
My ears must be blocked - I'm not hearing the dog-whistle  
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Jan 2018
2:56pm, 5 Jan 2018
634 posts
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AndrewS
I think that there was a time when there was a need to make the Time Trial more inclusive. In it's early days, there was still a lot of sniffiness about them; it was somewhat hidden from view but it was there. Although some people did just pitch up and run, mostly it was quite cliquey.
When they changed the Time Trial to Parkrun and it started to get rolled out across the country, it was a timely move: more people were running then ever before and there were events like Run for Life that were attracting all kinds of (otherwise inactive) people to the sport.
Some 10 years later, running and fitness is ubiquitous. You see all kinds of people out running/plodding/walking/waddling around the streets and no one sees it as particularly unusual.
Gym membership is easier, cheaper and more widely used than ever before. We are becoming more health conscious as a nation for many reasons, not just because of Parkrun.
I fear that the rhetoric behind this latest missive from Parkrun towers is just a step too far away from what the majority of parkrunners envision the event to be; a timed run.
Sure, there is a large social element to Parkruns but the bottom line is that people want to run, get timed, see their progress and take part in a communal sporting event without all the formality of an official race.
The physical and mental health benefits of running are not the sole property of Parkrun and there are many many ways in which runners can take part in healthy activities and gain those benefits. This message seems to imply that they have some kind of social responsibility to promote health, they don't. Those benefits are available to everyone, everywhere.
It IS about the run, it ALWAYS has been and should always be!
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Jan 2018
2:58pm, 5 Jan 2018
50,978 posts
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plodding hippo
Im in the parkrun discussion group...but Its very very scary!!
I prefer my parkrun Tourists
Im in New parkrun, which my OH set up, but dont really post there
Id better not read PSH latest email as I am likely to shout at the computer
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Jan 2018
3:07pm, 5 Jan 2018
1,213 posts
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Sigh
I've assumed that all such BS is associated with their grand plan to move away from being a ltd co, to obtaining status as a charity. I ignore it, for fear it put me off my free weekly timed 5k race
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Jan 2018
3:09pm, 5 Jan 2018
62,680 posts
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Gobi
I posted on the thread shall we see how flamed I get?
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