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Jun 2018
1:22pm, 21 Jun 2018
166 posts
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Spideog
A prescription of going to volunteer to barcode scan at a parkrun would be a perfectly reasonable nudge for some people and really beneficial for them. I doubt that is what parkrun or the GP's genuinely think will happen though despite the claims of volunteering being the same as running/ walking 5km.
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Jun 2018
1:22pm, 21 Jun 2018
6,262 posts
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The_Saint
Nothing wrong with what you are saying but the claim I satirise was not put in this way
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Jun 2018
2:20pm, 21 Jun 2018
22,934 posts
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LazyDaisy
You're right njo but the query I and many others have had is with the use of the word 'physical'. I can totally see how participation in parkrun as a stationary marshal can give a boost to mental well-being, but not physical.
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Jun 2018
2:44pm, 21 Jun 2018
5,086 posts
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larkim
Just a reminder of what the statement, singled out in bold in the parkrun Run Report, that wound a lot people up actually said:-
"Volunteering is every bit as beneficial a form of physical activity as walking, jogging or running"
I don't think there is anyone sane that would argue that that makes 100% sense, and despite Tom's reluctance to outright say so I think he was very careful NOT to say that he 100% agreed that that was 100% a robust sentence because, let's face it, if he slapped down the writing of one of his colleagues like that he'd be undermining them. Maybe it slipped through the editorial net because parkrun HQ is a bit self-obsessed, but I've not met many charitable bodies who aren't over-run with their own sense of self importance.
As a phrase it's bonkers even insofar as it appears to correlate walking, jogging or running as being equally physically beneficial, let alone with the comparison with volunteering.
For me, I think we should stop focussing on this sentence as the prime example of parkrun HQ going bonkers because there is also reasonable agreement that most people can see that it is "a good thing" that parkrun offers a range of beneficial opportunities to participate which can meet the needs of a range of individuals. Being able to "just" run or "just" volunteer or "just" walk is good if that provides benefits to that person. Being able to mix and match is good too.
Bottom line is parkrun is good as a concept. Do we agree?
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Jun 2018
2:58pm, 21 Jun 2018
167 posts
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Spideog
Absolutely 100% agree that parkrun events are good. parkrun HQ, not so much.
We are the shareholders, customers and the only asset of any value that parkrun has, and are fully entitled to call them out when we think they have things wrong.
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Jun 2018
3:08pm, 21 Jun 2018
5,087 posts
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larkim
Agree to an extent - but "we" (the fetch community) are only a small subset of the customer base. Their asset is also their volunteer base, their brand identity, their senior executives, their history, their personaliities (e.g. PSH). Agree we have every right to "call them out", but I'm just suggesting that we've done that now and there is little to no chance of anyone from parkrun HQ saying "oops, we got that sentence wrong".
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Jun 2018
3:22pm, 21 Jun 2018
168 posts
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Spideog
I meant the parkrunners as a whole are their only asset. Everything else they have, including PSH being a "celeb", is entirely dependant on parkrunners existing. Without parkrunners they have nothing to sell to other brands to earn their income. Fetch, and any other group who are bothered enough to chat about parkrun online, are of course only a minuscule proportion of that. That just shows that we care a lot about seeing the concept of parkrun succeed and spread further to more people.
They will never admit to having got it wrong of course, but we live in hope that they don't make the same mistakes again... however minor those various mistakes actually are.
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Jun 2018
3:24pm, 21 Jun 2018
38,458 posts
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Velociraptor
In a parallel universe, my horsey colleague is being encouraged to persuade patients, especially those least interested in horses, to take up opening gates for the hunt and mucking out stables for the good of their physical and mental health.
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Jun 2018
3:30pm, 21 Jun 2018
5,088 posts
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larkim
You say that tongue in cheek V but there are loads of coaches and support volunteers of sporting clubs up and down the land who volunteer because they enjoy it, even if they don't take part in the main activity. Whether it is vicarious enjoyment, remnants of past glory days or just enjoying the social side, volunteers who enjoy it yet don't "do" the thing they are volunteering to support are common - and essential - and for many of them the participation does bring them benefits, even if they may be hard to quantify.
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Jun 2018
3:34pm, 21 Jun 2018
6,263 posts
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The_Saint
I think any organisation especially if successful needs to occasionally listen to external common sense to avoid the problems associated with Groupthink. Any sychophant can tell you that everything you are doing and saying is fantastic but what do you learn from this?
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parkrun Café
Feb 2025