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Apr 2019
12:30pm, 5 Apr 2019
6,019 posts
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Jovi Runner
I don't have a problem with voluntary donations but it all seems to be going a bit hard sell on the "voluntary" donations front at the moment.
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Apr 2019
12:38pm, 5 Apr 2019
2,041 posts
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TomahawkMike
Not sure if it's a worrying sign or not. Either way I have signed up.
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Apr 2019
12:49pm, 5 Apr 2019
1,451 posts
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CumbriAndy
Haven't seen the new kit yet - so will reserve judgement on its suitability for now - but freely confess to an overwhelming sense of 'Oh FFS - why do we have to dump yet more stuff in landfill' when I saw the email promising it last week. I assume the excuse is a new/changed set of sponsors?
I also couldn't see any justification for event personalisation of the stuff beyond a possible demand from tourists to take their pictures in front of something that tells all the other tourists where they are. Can't see that being a valid excuse for the extra cost - they obviously don't need our voluntary donations if they can afford to waste cash like that.
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Apr 2019
1:21pm, 5 Apr 2019
1,034 posts
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bonners
I agree entirely Jovi. So you're not on your own. I'll continue to volunteer to support my local runs, but that's as far as it goes.
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Apr 2019
1:35pm, 5 Apr 2019
4,548 posts
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57.5 Degrees of Pain
I'm afraid use of the new kit is compulsory Jovi. The communication from parkrun was quite explicit!
It is a fact of life that nothing is truly free including 5k runs on a Saturday, and parkrun depend on sponsors. Those sponsors expect some tangible return, but they also change. So the sponsored kit changes too. Notwithstanding bulging car parks and obsessive tourists, parkrun is a relatively environmentally friendly activity.
I doubt if parkrun decided they had so much money that they'd just waste some on personalising kit for each event. Maybe it was a sponsor request, maybe an idea to make more photos identifiable to a given place. Maybe the extra cost was minimal.
No sure about the new ninja RD look though, will have to see it in action.
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Apr 2019
1:40pm, 5 Apr 2019
6,020 posts
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Jovi Runner
My own suggestion for a more enviornmentally sustainable hi viz is a plain gilet and then get velcro (or similar) type labels for sponsors which could be added. That way when they change you just take off the old and add in the new. In the good old days (ie before parkrun promoted itself and grew organically) everything ticked along fine without the need for massive sponsor input and we weren't forever changing kit. I think we have had 3 new RD gilets in the last 18 months - complete waste of money and resources.
Apparntly the black glows in the dark (must be that funny material). That will be really useful when it's pitch black at 9am on a Saturday....not!
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Apr 2019
1:40pm, 5 Apr 2019
6,021 posts
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Jovi Runner
My own suggestion for a more enviornmentally sustainable hi viz is a plain gilet and then get velcro (or similar) type labels for sponsors which could be added. That way when they change you just take off the old and add in the new. In the good old days (ie before parkrun promoted itself and grew organically) everything ticked along fine without the need for massive sponsor input and we weren't forever changing kit. I think we have had 3 new RD gilets in the last 18 months - complete waste of money and resources.
Apparntly the black glows in the dark (must be that funny material). That will be really useful when it's pitch black at 9am on a Saturday....not!
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Apr 2019
1:42pm, 5 Apr 2019
6,022 posts
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Jovi Runner
I'm half inclined to email parkrun HQ to ask them how they square their "happy health planet" with the amount of kit for landfill they are generating!
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Apr 2019
2:07pm, 5 Apr 2019
4,551 posts
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57.5 Degrees of Pain
I bet you get a stock answer about sponsor requirements. But it is worth a try!
parkrun had quite a lot of sponsor support (including my personal bugbear Lucozade) 10 years ago (13 total events).
I bet every new item has logo sizes and position argued and written into a contract, so you can't just Velcro them unfortunately.
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Apr 2019
2:11pm, 5 Apr 2019
909 posts
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edison
"as the old branding includes partner logos we are no longer contractually permitted to use, we are legally required to remove it."
Masking tape
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parkrun Café
Mar 2025