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Jul 2018
9:55am, 11 Jul 2018
1,552 posts
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auburnette
Honestly i think the level of anxiety about what parkrun is becoming vs what it was is disproportionate. I ran the BPTT a few times back when it was still the BPTT - 10 years later I run Orpington parkrun instead, which is for the most part organised and volunteered by the local running club, and is pretty indistinguishable in feel. The only difference is that the results don't get a write up in the local newspaper - but then local newspapers barely exist any more! The similarity in feel might be because of the club involvement but with 541 parkruns out there I'm pretty sure that a good proportion of them are like this. It's a broad church and can cater to many different types of runner. Most fast runners don't need advertising to because they actively seek out events, it's almost impossible to ignore parkrun when you're doing this.
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Jul 2018
10:13am, 11 Jul 2018
5,219 posts
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larkim
Spot on auburnette!
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Jul 2018
10:25am, 11 Jul 2018
2,944 posts
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jdarun
+1. I'm probably going to the local parkrun this weekend cos I want to benchmark my (lack of) fitness. Fast and slow have always been welcome there as far as I can tell.
TBH slow runners have always been welcome at all the road races I've done, but I don't think there is any harm in a bit of extra encouragement for them.
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Jul 2018
10:38am, 11 Jul 2018
181 posts
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Spideog
I've not got a massive problem with the advert. It does what it is meant to do and for who it is meant to be for, which isn't any of us here.
@auburnette: Absolutely agree that parkrun events are great and they are mostly not changed from what they were. I just wish that I could manage to stop myself seeing the stuff from HQ though which tends to annoy me more with each new thing they come up with, but I'm hooked and can't avoid it.
I love parkruns and have a multitude of local "home" events to chose from depending on what we are looking for that particular week.
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Jul 2018
10:55am, 11 Jul 2018
64,246 posts
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Gobi
Advert was promoted on Twitter so I tweeted back how I didn't like it.
If I was a club runner looking for a Saturday run I would not parkrun if so watched that video.
I watched it all and sorry but it is appalling.
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Jul 2018
10:57am, 11 Jul 2018
64,247 posts
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Gobi
Oh and I think the attitude depends when a parkrun was started and the type of people who started it.
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Jul 2018
11:24am, 11 Jul 2018
1,553 posts
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auburnette
Gobi, agree that the founding/event team has a lot to do with the feel of a parkrun and how much competitiveness is encouraged etc.
I don't think the advert is really likely to deter speedy folks though and I'm not sure they'd even see it. If I were a club runner looking for a Saturday run I'd just turn up and have a go (given it's free) and if it didn't suit me in practice I wouldn't go back.
I think the 'free, timed' element is really key to the appeal - run a few other 5ks this year ranging in price from £5-£15 per race. If you want to run a lot of them and test yourself over the distance parkrun is great because you're not shelling out for entry fees all the time.
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Jul 2018
11:31am, 11 Jul 2018
5,224 posts
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larkim
I think Gobi's right about the people influencing the parkrun. You see that in all sorts of different locally arranged groups / events, that irrespective of what "HQ" says, the local coordinator will put their spin on it. So for example my boys attend the local beavers / cubs / scouts. As different group leaders have come and go the whole nature of the weekly meetings and the events they coordinate change, in some cases putting off my boys from attending, and in other cases enrapturing them.
No reason to think parkrun would be any different with some core teams enthusing about fancy dress, capes for milestones, cake after every event, others running with zero bells and whistles at all, others regularly prioritizing pacing and running challenges, and others being passionate about walking participants.
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Jul 2018
11:37am, 11 Jul 2018
2,945 posts
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jdarun
I do agree with Gobi that as a club runner I don't find it appealing either. But as a club runner I'd already know about parkrun. And know that it was for me too.
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Jul 2018
12:07pm, 11 Jul 2018
2,372 posts
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StuH
The video is horrendously cringe-worthy. And there isn't 'always one', there's always quite a few, who are just as much a part of my parkrun as everyone else.
And I do think it fuels the idea which seems to be popular in the FB PDG (at least it used to be, I've stayed away from that awful place) that faster runners don't 'get' the parkrun ethos.
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parkrun Café
Dec 2024