Are Park Runs Destructive ?

[Richard Head]

Parkruns are here to stay so you better accept that and try to co exist with them. It seems to me that they are a good introduction for newcomers who might be intimidated by the thought of entering an organised race.

Surely quite a few Parkrun regulars will get fed up with running around the same park week after week so will start doing other events once they are more experienced and confident.

[Witton Park]

I have sympathy for club events under threat, but going with your analogy you'd also ban middle aged blokes from playing 5-a-side leagues and reporting their results on the web. What about a Race For Life on the same day as a club 5K? Is it alright if I do a sponsored bike ride with my brother or would you prefer me to line up alongside the dual carriageway to enter a Club 10? Just a different catchment I think, you can't make people enjoy club events. Interesting debate though.

Not ban - I've never advocating the banning of Prkrun. I just find it frustrating as a race organiser myself, aware of all the hoops I have to jump through, aware that several races close by have called it a day for the same reaons, and then Parkrun comes along and gets the backing of UKA when UKA is using the money put in to it by the levies raised by club races and membership dues.

If it can stand on it's own 2 feet, let it sort out it's insurance and promotion.

[RYEPIE]

I am on your side Natty.

As a race organiser, I am not YET directly affected by Park Run - in fact Park Run would say they will help me by stimulating interest in athletics and road races in particular.

However, our 2 road races take 6 months each at least to organise, incur road closure / traffic management costs running in to several thousands each, use around 50 marshalls, first aid cover, permit etc etc etc.

For the more regular club race that aims to race a few hundred quid for the club, that generally will go in to subsidising youth athletics, it must be difficult.

I am against park runs in general, they are getting out of control, and will starve funding to grass roots athletics for what? To get a few joggers out and interested.

Scrap them for me.

i must disagree as i started off doing the parkruns and later moved onto joining a club therefore putting money back into grassroots.. i have also recruited other atheletes at parkrun to my club, who not of had the courage to come join if it wasnt for the expierience of parkruns which is very laid back with no pressure . as for doing a free time trial every once in a while for free im all for it, i dont think it will be too destructive at all to club runs as i know club runners with a more serious attitude would much prefer the prestige of doing this type of run... be all, and end all its nice to see more people getting off there backsides and giving it a go...............its fun and free where is the complaint????

[RYEPIE]

If it gets more people into running, it will mean more people will want to do more races and pay fees to join running clubs. I don't see it as a problem.

here here!!

[RYEPIE]

It's not that easy Heathens, as I've said above. Park Run (I assume) isn't paying for the use of the parks it uses - if we tried to do that at Witton, we wouldn't get away with it. £75 before we start.
As clubs, we have responsibilities and have to follow certain procedures, often in place for good reason.

is that because clubs are a profit making organisation and the parkruns are not???

[dylan]

the club runners who use the park runs use them as a sustained training session,on a measured route,which is timed,in a safe atmostphere,at a time that enables normal family life to continue the rest of the weekend.when the 'proper'races come along they are better prepared and perform with the knowledge the hard work has been done.
as much as we would all like to race every weekend at every available opportunity we have families to think of.
i work shifts so any kind of quality session is a bonus,park runs allow that,but if time allows i will always pick a race.
my own thoughts are use them to your own advantage,even to the point of recruiting new members.
its only the same as a football club seeing a talented individual kicking the ball around in the park and getting him/her to join a well organised set up.

[RunningBob]

I've just caught up with this thread. I started and organise Bramhall parkrun which in turn encouraged the other Manchester parkruns so I'm in a position to answer some of the points raised. As a runner I also use the parkrun in the same way as Dylan and have completed over 50.
First I'd suggest that whether you feel positive or negative about parkruns just have a go at one first. You can get an impression from this video (Bramhall 9 Oct).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGqoHg8BEuQ

So, Wasdale it aint! And it isn't going to ever compete with a XC fixture or real 10k race. It is a free training race for club runners. And for many novice runners it is a way of progressing beyond one off attempts at GMR, Race For Life etc. to doing something more regular and competitive. For all it is low key running fun that doesn't take up much time.

I was certainly originally concerned that a free weekly race might detract from the efforts of local clubs. In practice though the reverse is true. Wilmslow RC and Stockport Harriers have gained about 20 members each from the event. We always promote club races and the experience so far is that numbers at Wilmslow races at least have increased with runners recruited at the parkrun. Good athletes have been brought into club running and club races including some who are returning after years out of the sport.

parkrun doesn't receive any special treatment. I just applied to the park to hold an event in the same way as anyone else and had to provide the same H&S documentation etc. The council chose not to charge for use of the park as we're not charging the runners and clearly they see the health benefits.

UKA provide the standard insurance as they do for any affiliated club race. parkrun is just treated as an affiliated club. These days the unattached £2 levy is kept by the race organiser rather than paid to UKA so the fact that we don't charge is irrelevant for UKA funding. And FWIW parkrun receives no direct public funding.

Finally, there are actually very few local 5k races. The Cheshire series (Bowdon, Dunham Massey etc.) is a sell out. Salford 5k is the exception but then again that is part of a series that is supported by public funding.

[Rob Furness]

Good post, very informative

[Witton Park]

I've just caught up with this thread. I started and organise Bramhall parkrun which in turn encouraged the other Manchester parkruns so I'm in a position to answer some of the points raised. As a runner I also use the parkrun in the same way as Dylan and have completed over 50.
First I'd suggest that whether you feel positive or negative about parkruns just have a go at one first. You can get an impression from this video (Bramhall 9 Oct).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGqoHg8BEuQ

So, Wasdale it aint! And it isn't going to ever compete with a XC fixture or real 10k race. It is a free training race for club runners. And for many novice runners it is a way of progressing beyond one off attempts at GMR, Race For Life etc. to doing something more regular and competitive. For all it is low key running fun that doesn't take up much time.

I was certainly originally concerned that a free weekly race might detract from the efforts of local clubs. In practice though the reverse is true. Wilmslow RC and Stockport Harriers have gained about 20 members each from the event. We always promote club races and the experience so far is that numbers at Wilmslow races at least have increased with runners recruited at the parkrun. Good athletes have been brought into club running and club races including some who are returning after years out of the sport.

parkrun doesn't receive any special treatment. I just applied to the park to hold an event in the same way as anyone else and had to provide the same H&S documentation etc. The council chose not to charge for use of the park as we're not charging the runners and clearly they see the health benefits.

UKA provide the standard insurance as they do for any affiliated club race. parkrun is just treated as an affiliated club. These days the unattached £2 levy is kept by the race organiser rather than paid to UKA so the fact that we don't charge is irrelevant for UKA funding. And FWIW parkrun receives no direct public funding.

Finally, there are actually very few local 5k races. The Cheshire series (Bowdon, Dunham Massey etc.) is a sell out. Salford 5k is the exception but then again that is part of a series that is supported by public funding.

Bob - just out of interest - before Park Run, I wonder how many organised races did you do a year and since park run how many - that would be a test. I imagine that as you have completed over 50 it's had an impact on your attendance at fee paying races.

[Witton Park]

UKA provide the standard insurance as they do for any affiliated club race. parkrun is just treated as an affiliated club. These days the unattached £2 levy is kept by the race organiser rather than paid to UKA so the fact that we don't charge is irrelevant for UKA funding. And FWIW parkrun receives no direct public funding.

Clubs (and race organisers) don't keep the unattached levy - that's a misconception.

As an UKA affiliated club we have to pay £25 for a permit for every road race that we organise. We then have to pay an amount to UKA based on the number of runners that ran in the race and not on the number of unattached runners.

So if we have a race with a few hundred runners, we already have incurred a significant cost.

This system hugely favours the mass races and undoubtedly was cooked up by the London Marathon / Great Run lot - self interest most definitely.

If that applied to each and every Park Run, you would have a fixed overhead for your permit and insurance through UKA of between £50 and £300 per race.

So no - Parkrun isn't treated as an affiliated club in the way that you outline - and your "free" permit and insurance is in effect public funding as the cover comes from UKA.