| parkrun announces Freedom |
All parkrunners experience freedom every time we take part in a parkrun. Arriving at 5 minutes to 09:00 and jogging to the start, having a chat with your mates as you make your way around the course and completing the experience by registering your position. There are no bibs or pre-race registration. That's freedom and it's what you've come to expect from parkrun.
Just when you thought we had done all we could to make life easy for you, we have decided to give you even more freedom. Starting today, you can now run a parkrun anytime you like and have your run recorded.
Welcome to parkrun Freedom
Quite often in the past, I have gone over to one of my local parks during the week only to see folks walk up to the official parkrun start line and press their stopwatches. I've watched these folks run the course and as they approach the finish line they press the stop button on their watches again. They're running a parkrun!
I've done this myself a few times too. This got me thinking that we should make it possible for any registered parkrunner to run any of the parkruns at any time of the week and record their time.
There are three links that you need to make this work for you. These links are available in this newsletter.
- The first link allows you to enter your run. This is particular to you and can be found in your Profile section at the top right of the newsletter called Freedom.
- The second link allows you to review all your parkruns. Again this is particular to you and is the results link also provided in the Profile section.
- The third link allows us all to see freedom runs for all parkrunners and this can be found on the parkrun.com site under the Results page.
It is important to note that parkrun Freedom runs do not contribute to the Saturday series. In other words, these runs do not accumulate points and don't count towards club status. However, the real value will come when we improve our reports to show you all the parkruns you have done in a single place.
parkrun Freedom has been piloted in Leeds for the last two weeks and James and Laura, Leeds University students, are running an exercise to evaluate the impact that parkrun Freedom has on the local community. If you happen to be running in the Leeds area and wish to take part please assist by completing the survey: www.survey.leeds.ac.uk/parkrunfreedom
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On a completely different note, we are looking for volunteers to help at Stirling parkrun. Please contact GlasgowOffice@parkrun.com to register your interest.
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parkrun clubs celebration
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| The parkrun clubs (250, 100, 50 and 10) are sponsored by Nike. We celebrate these milestones by issuing an exclusive Nike technical t-shirt acknowledging tenacious, dedicated and loyal achievement at parkrun. |
Welcome to the following parkrunners who were promoted to a parkrun club in February:
100 Club
- Chris TYRRELL, Christian MORRIS, Zak MOSS
- Richard BARMAN Alan CHARLESWORTH, Stephen COONEY
- Aamir MURTAZA, Stewart ROSE
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50 Club
- Jonathan DICKINSON, Peter DRY, Richard STANHOPE
- Michael WHITE, Kevin DARGUE, Tamsyn EVESON
- Elio ZENTILIN, Martin FARRELLY, Alan RICHARDSON
- Simon PARRY, George VINE, Louise BOTTOMLEY
- Guy WILLARD, Bob ANDERSON, Anna FLATLEY
- Hayden MATTHEWS, Peter WHITWORTH,Nigel DAY
- Conal MANSHIP, Michael SAUNDERS, Roger FOORD
- Rob BROWN, David BIRKBY, John PENNEY
- Beth DURN, Linda GUY, John RAMSDEN
- Richard HAMMER, Rob KITCHEN, Michael HAMMERTON
- Hannah L SIMPSON, Simon KING, Mark READ
- Joe DAVIES, Steve HATCH, Amanda WOODHAM
- Bernadette KIRRANE, Mike PEARCE, Meshal ABUSHAL
- Andy NEWTON, Paul NORRIS
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10 Club
- Adam GYE, Ryan BURNETT, Emma LEESON
- James ROBERTSHAW, Theo MCGHEE, Reuben HOYTE
- Alice HEWITT, Ben RICHMOND, Sophie CAPECI
- Marie CONMEE, Matthew BASS, Isabelle SHURY
- Danny LEESON, Iona May GENTLEMAN, Ryan BABCOCK
- Ryan MORLEY, Simi ROGALY, Lotta Boo WILD
- Lewis BLOSS, Stephen FORBES, James SELWAY
- Jessica POWELL, Lucas ROBERTS, Rosa TURNER
- Rosa TURNER, Akshay JOSHI, Matthew PATRICK
- Amin HUSSAIN, James HOPPE, Daniel PARKER
- Callum CONSTERDINE, Oliver BOYLE, Tayamul RAI
- Max WILKINSON, Tristan LITTLE, Adam LANGFIELD
- Lewis CRAMER, Michael GOUGH, Jaime CUBITT
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| Congratulations to you on your achievement. We hope to see you wearing your club t-shirt at a parkrun soon. |
Announcing Greenwich and Swindon parkruns
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| There are now 31 parkruns in the UK. We'd like to introduce our newest additions. |
| Greenwich parkrun which takes place in Avery Park and Swindon parkrun which takes place in Lydiard Park. You can find all the details on the course page of the events website. |
| I hope to be joining Colin Armstrong and Kane Rice in Greenwich this weekend and wish the team the best for their inaugural event. Similarly, we wish Simon Pitman and his team the best for the Inaugural Swindon parkrun. Do join us if you can and volunteers are always welcome. |
Call for parkrunners to volunteer at VLM
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Any parkrunner who wishes to volunteer at the start of the Virgin London Marathon, please contact Richard Carter at rich_the_runner@hotmail.com
You need to be at Blackheath for 7.30 am and will be finished soon after 10 am, when you can go to watch the greatest Marathon in the World. You will get some goodies for your efforts and the knowledge that you have played an important part in the running of the race. |
| The race, if you didn't already know, is on Sunday 25th April and you will need to make your way to Blackheath by bike or train preferably, using cars is difficult because of the road closures in the area due to the Marathon. |
| Last year we had quite a few parkrunners volunteer and we would like to make a big impression again this year. |
parkrun history is made
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| Last Saturday a little piece of parkrun history was unveiled. |
| A book celebrating every 100 clubber on the 3rd October 2009 was presented to me and concludes the 5th Anniversary of parkrun celebrations. Obviously it took a while to get every 100 club members photo. |
There are many folks who need to be thanked for this including all the 100 clubbers. I especially wish to thank Danny Norman for compiling and producing this book but also thanks to all the main contributors, David Rowe, Rich Kennington, David Nash, Guarav Patel, Nigel Rothwell, Richard Carter, Mike Cue, Declan Flynn, Peter Brunnen, Paul Killick, Polly Adams, Liz & Alan Souness, Beverly Barry, Don Esslemont, John Norman. Thank you one and all.
BEWARE: This is a large file so only click here if you are brave: download |
Event News
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| We have had some great feedback from the events: |
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February's Sweatshop Prize winners have started to be announced. Take a look at the Sweatshop page on our website for the full list.
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Heaton parkrun breaks the bank with 148 runners
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Jane Davies scores the highest Age Grade again with a score of 89.03% |
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Darren Symes lowered the Frimley Lodge course record to 17:41 and Gareth Turner does the same at South Manchester with a time of 16:57 |
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Not to be outdone the ladies records went tumbling too: Fiona Hunter set the Cambridge record to 20:47 while Rebecca Smith lowered Coventry to 18:51 and Hayley Beard sorted Finsbury Park out with a time of 18:15 |
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British Universities and Colleges Sport support the University of Leeds' involvement in parkrun |
Drop me an email if you have an interesting parkrun related fact, happening or comment that you would like to share with all parkrunners. |
Feedback from the field
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Hi,
Many thanks for your newsletter as always, I can't run at the moment but it is great to know what is going on at the parkrun, and also to see that it is going from strength to strength. I always read all these articles as I find them very informative.
I can see that you have been doing a lot for parkrun, it is not easy to find people with passion, effort and commitment at the same time in what they do and believe.
Shame I still can't go back to run but I intend to come back on the near future hopefully!!
Well done for the wonderful job and best wishes,
Love from Emilia
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Hi Paul and parkrun team ....
Just wanted to write to say the following :
My husband has been actively doing the parkrun for a while now and has managed (at long last!) to persuade me and our two girls (aged 14 and 11) and his sister and her two children to get involved too.
So, for the last 5 weeks an extra 6 of us have been doing the Banstead Woods parkrun. Well, actually what we have been doing is one lap of it only just to build ourselves up (you can't miss us, we are the one's at the back of the pack!!) and over the next couple of weeks we intend to brave it and go for the full 2 laps (5km) as our time has got better each week. Considering that neither myself nor my kids were "runners" 6 weeks ago, I can't believe how much we are enjoying the whole "parkrun thing". Apart from the obvious health/fitness benefits it is lovely to get the children involved in a family event especially at this "teenage" age when it is too easy to not be "bovvered with anything"!, it's free (when so many things cost money and lots of it nowadays, this is such a benefit) and it is just great to be out in the park/woods enjoying the fresh air. Also, and this is one of the most important things for me as a complete novice, I don't feel any pressure from anyone to do more than I am able to, everyone claps everyone else and shouts "well done" no matter now fast or slow they are going, it really is a fun atmosphere more than a competitive one, which in turn is really encouraging and makes me want to improve my time each week.
My 14 year old is also motivated enough to go out running round the block a couple of times in the week too and I have been known to accompany her once or twice too!
My husband can't actually do this Saturday's parkrun because of work so just when I was thinking that we might do something else instead along comes your email/newsletter saying how you will be leaving your job to manage parkrun full time - well, how can I not turn up now on Saturday even though most people's walking paces are faster than my jogging!
Anyway, the point of this email is really just to say a huge thank you to you and the team for parkrun. It really is fantastic on so many levels and I can see why people get so committed and enthusiastic about it - I am getting there too in my own way.
Well done to all of you!
Regards
Sharon Trotman (& Peter, Sophie and Lucy). |
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To Paul,
I've just been reading through your newsletter and wanted to add my congratulations and thanks to you for making parkrun what it is. I have just started running again after a long break, and 2 babies later I do find it very difficult to find the time and have the energy to exercise! I have completed the Bramhall parkrun twice (both times very slowly!) but have thoroughly enjoyed the experience and would like to say a big 'Thank-you' to all the volunteers who cheered me along.
Last week I finished last and ran most of the course alone, far behind the majority of the pack, but was spurred on when I rounded every corner to see a smiling face! Thank-you once again to everyone involved in parkrun and particularly Bramhall parkrun.
Clare Doyle
Stockport |
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Hi guys!
I had such a blast this morning running with everyone at Richmond parkrun.. It was my first run but I know there will be many more! Can someone please send me some information about volunteering?? I plan to make this a Saturday morning habit, so any info would be much appreciated.
Many thanks,
Richard Elder |
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Paul,
Congratulations on entering a new phase for parkrun. As a regular at Bramhall I have been encouraged by the organisation and friendly atmosphere which has been replicated in the other parkruns I have completed in the UK.
I wish you every success in the future and look forard to the day when there is a parkrun in every city and town in the UK.
Regards, Brian Platt |
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Ross Goodman has been a regular at Glasgow parkrun since the beginning of the year, including our cross-country events when Ross discovered he could run faster in ankle deep ice water compared to ankle deep snow! He's building up to run the Edinburgh Marathon in May, during which he hopes to raise money in memory of his daughter Emma, who sadly passed away from Motor Neuron Disease in 2008.
Emma loved to visit the childrens hospice, Rachel House, so Ross is hoping to raise money for the Childrens Hospice organisation CHAS. More details on Ross's justgiving page: http://www.justgiving.com/26Miles4CHAS, and you can follow his fundraising efforts on his blog: http://www.rossgoodman.com/category/fundraising/ |
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Hi there,
Just noticed this article about Cambridge parkrun. Thought that other parkrunners may be interested.
I'll stick a link on our facebook page.
Best regards,
Heidi |
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Hi,
This was my first parkrun and I just wanted to let you how impressed I was.
Over the years I have competed in a multitude of similar 10k races, charging various entry fees, yet I found this free event to be every bit as organised and enjoyable as any of them. I really was amazed at how slick and professional the whole exercise was. It was a well coordinated event and the results were on the website in a couple of hours, in a format allowing me to slice and dice them effortlessly - genius.
Please pass on my thanks to all the marshals and organisers.
Thank you,
Tony |
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parkrunner of the week
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Name: Alan Dempster
Club: none
Age: 34
Home parkrun: Glasgow
Occupation: Software Developer
Number of Runs: 17
Number of times volunteered: 37
What do you do at parkruns: When the parkrun started up here I ran most weeks and occasionally helped. Got to know Richard, Frances and Iain from the Burrell coffee afterwards and, like Gillian - although later than her - I gradually got more involved, and eventually had my first tilt at Race Director some time last summer. Since then I help most weeks, almost always doing the signs (usually with Richard, sometimes alone), occasionally in the hotseat but usually doing a regular task - I like registration or funnel management best. Maybe run the event about once a month, and towards the end of last year I started beating 20 minutes regularly, which was rather exciting.
How has parkrun changed your running: It sharpened me up and gave a decent speed base at the beginning of 2009 when I was doing it most weeks, Now its a great monthlyish measure of where my increased mileage is getting me.
What do you like about parkrun: Its so close to my flat, its in a really great park, its on every week, its a great challenging course i.e. not the usual 'race' 5K style of course, its free, I've met new friends there
Most memorable or funniest parkrun moment: Can't think of funny ones that are really shareable! Most memorable would be the Christmas Day event which had a really good spirit to it - I was joint Race Director that day and was in the park before 8am on Christmas morning - it was snowing quite heavily and there was a big blanket of snow on the ground already. I marked out the alternative course (usual course wasn't runnable) for the first time ever and then did the signs, then had to get to the Burrell and see if anyone was going to turn up. In the event, 30 runners came out and everyone really enjoyed the event, and the alternate course especially. The whole winter-wonderland atmosphere and the Christmas spirit made it a pretty great event to be a part of.
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| Crispy Corner |
It’s been a strange month at parkrun, so this week I thought I would ask,...
...What’s the Point?
The last few weeks have been very odd at parkrun – with a few people querying our status within the running scene, and so many people responding in such a resounding and passionate fashion in our defence. I'm not going to go over that ground again, but I thought it might be worthwhile explaining our motivation.
Thanks to the support of so many individuals and organisations around the country, we have seen the number of runners participating each week at our events, grow from 13 in October 2004 to well over 3000 in recent weeks. This is amazing. While we all believe that runners benefit from joining running clubs and participating in ‘proper' races, at heart we just love running and want to share that love. Everything we do, therefore, is focussed on making it as easy as possible to get out on a Saturday morning and enjoy taking part in a community run. Barcodes are all part of that plan – they help us to process the results for as many people as we possibly can given our necessarily limited resources. But our ‘easy to parkrun' philosophy runs deeper than that. parkrun Freedom is part of it, and so are the various awards we make.
You might have noticed that we don't often talk about our events as races – yes, every event will have its competitive element – but we are most proud of those people who are taking their first steps in running towards the back of the field. The various awards that we make reflect this, as do the relationships with our sponsors: the monthly Sweatshop Prizes tend to reward consistency, persistence and improvement, rather than out and out speed (Sweatshop have given out over 350 pairs of shoes, which will help those runners to make further strides in running); the parkrun 10, 50, 100 and now 250 clubs sponsored by Nike reward regularity (to date, there are 1142 club members – who proudly wear their t-shirts every week); Lucozade Sports Scientists have given advice at our events to many hundreds of parkrunners of varying ability and goodness knows how many thousands of litres of Lucozade Sport drinks; and the involvement of our latest sponsor, The London Marathon, indicates what our runners can achieve with dedication.
So, going back, to the original question – What's the Point? The simple answer is – We want to bring our running events to as many people as we possibly can, in as many corners of the country as we possibly can. If you would be interested in starting an event in your local community, please get in touch with Anita (anita@parkrun.com) , who is responsible for getting new events off the ground.
Cheers and happy running
Crispy |
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