parkrun thread
503 watchers
20 Oct
6:42pm, 20 Oct 2024
119 posts
|
Meep Meep
Host of the "With Me Now" parkrun podcast has suspicions that parkrun is skint in the most recent episode. I think I said the same thing a while back. I don't think this thing is going to last another two years. They put a boy in charge. |
20 Oct
6:44pm, 20 Oct 2024
7,733 posts
|
Metro_Nome
What do you think not lasting looks like? I can’t imagine it just spotting
|
|
20 Oct
6:44pm, 20 Oct 2024
7,734 posts
|
Metro_Nome
Stopping!
|
20 Oct
6:53pm, 20 Oct 2024
245 posts
|
stevieg
How much does the average parkrun need to actually spend once they're up and running? Occasional replacing of scanning gear and cones? I always think it's the set of volunteers not being available that is the main threat, especially the ones that ludicrously want 30 odd. |
|
20 Oct
6:56pm, 20 Oct 2024
246 posts
|
stevieg
Windsor Wool wrote: OMG that Battersea number. Was anyone there? Would love to hear what it was like! I was "debating" with some woman on a fb group who was adamant that people should give these new events time to get going and they'll naturally grow at a sensible rate. That might be ok logic at some places, but Battersea Park was always going to be utterly rammed very early on and it was criminally naive to think they'd have gentle incremental number increases. The big problem is if 1,100 or so is just the tip of the iceberg and this will monster up over future weeks. Just as well they're not using the Sri Chimnoy narrower start line. Imagine the carnage. |
|
20 Oct
7:00pm, 20 Oct 2024
247 posts
|
stevieg
Meep Meep wrote: Meep Meep wrote:Battersea parkrun started today after a very, very long time in the making. Looks like a launch that was kept very quiet. 269 people. I wonder how much that is going to increase in the next few weeks. Called it. The talk has always been that Battersea would get very big very quickly. I saw talk on social media yesterday that the event is currently on a trial period and there will be a review in 6 months or less. I don't know if that's true or not but it sounds credible. It did seem a slightly curious place to shoehorn in a parkrun. The park is already an absolute sport haven as it is with really regular races held there too. For those of us who use BP as our "fast" 5k venue, it is attractive to know it's on every week, and not at £25 like with Runthrough, but if it swells to say 1,500 - 2,000 it's getting silly. |
|
20 Oct
7:01pm, 20 Oct 2024
120 posts
|
Meep Meep
The mechanism of failure I fear is financial. If they can't balance the books what follows is staff layoffs, and it will be difficult to continue to generate income and and provide essential support. Then the choice comes as to whether or not they sell to someone like PepsiCo, or close. Without the website and central support the volunteer teams can't deliver what we know as "Parkrun". |
20 Oct
7:32pm, 20 Oct 2024
23,812 posts
|
57.5 Degrees of Pain
Meep Meep wrote: They are still recruiting, though most of the staff are now quite young. It'll be interesting to see if they can actually fulfill their stated desire to get away from sponsorship completely.
The mechanism of failure I fear is financial. If they can't balance the books what follows is staff layoffs, and it will be difficult to continue to generate income and and provide essential support. Then the choice comes as to whether or not they sell to someone like PepsiCo, or close. Without the website and central support the volunteer teams can't deliver what we know as "Parkrun". |
|
20 Oct
7:40pm, 20 Oct 2024
7,735 posts
|
Metro_Nome
The amount of merchandise pushing is certainly quite spectacular. Within a couple of hours of doing my milestone run I had not one but two different emails trying to get me to hit milestone merch (which I did to be fair)
|
20 Oct
7:40pm, 20 Oct 2024
22,132 posts
|
Cerrertonia
Would seem strange to be doing things like launching a magazine and continuing to start operations in new countries if they were skint. The annual report is due in November, so we'll see the figures in a couple of weeks, but last year, annual income and expenditure pretty much balanced out at £7.3 million and they had £3 million in the bank. You've made a few jibes about the CEO's age @Meep Meep but 40 really doesn't seem young to be head of what is actually quite a small non-profit organisation in terms of revenue and employee numbers. |
Related Threads
-
parkrun Café
Oct 2024
-
Let's talk about inaugural parkruns after they've happened.
Oct 2024
-
Fake parkrun thread
Sep 2024
-
New parkruns
Jun 2024
-
Leamington Parkrun
Jun 2024
-
Cambridge Parkrun
Jun 2024
-
Australian parkruns
Jun 2024
-
parkrun pacing events
Jun 2024
-
Where is there a parkrun with caravan site nearby?
May 2024
-
Yorkshire parkrun gatherings
Mar 2024
