Are Park Runs Destructive ?

[Witton Park]

why pay an extortionate fee to run an organised road race when you can have a jolly good run around the local park for free with like minded people though?

you surely cannot have it both ways-either you want people to enjoy running and get fit for the goodness of their health or you want to put your own event above that.

a friend of mine was heavily overweight and started doing park runs and has lost 4 stone. she's never going to want to run 10km races but is happy to do park runs. where's the harm? why should she feel bad about it?

im glad to be out on the hills away from the Nova internationals charging rip off fees for road races who fill their events by bringing charities on board? a minister once told me that you shouldnt pay for anything in this day and age. he obviously didnt mean it literally but his words were echoed by a south african visitor who said "there is no limit to the good we can do if we dont mind who gets the credit". we should be doing things for the good of people and for the love of doing it in the first place not out of obligation or due to tradition

im so glad to be out of the rat race.

kk

Nova / Park Run - there is a linkage there. They are usually the same type of runner. Look at a typical Nova event or the FLM and the presence of club runners makes almost no difference to them, it is just a token presence to legitimise a mass jog as being part of the sport.

The points you raise are fine - why not run for free if you can?

However, if you are a club member, often your club races bring in much needed funds that goes back in to the sport. Supporting coach and athlete development. Yet your race is "taxed" by the NGO by requiring it to be permitted. Some of the proceeds therefore go to the NGO.

In order to avoid this, ARC has been set up mainly for clubs specifically involved in road running and offered a cheaper system of insuring your races.

Our NGO then puts pressure on clubs not to use ARC by advising that all those races will be blocked from the rankings.

Park Run receives free insurance from our NGO and so the club races are actually paying for these Park Runs to be set up.

It isn't right.

[Keswick_Krumble]

As soon as you mentioned acronymns you lost me both literally and emotionally. i hope that doesnt sound rude as it wasnt meant to. i dont understand what they are and their very presence hints at wasteful and pointless bureaucracy

KK

[Witton Park]

As soon as you mentioned acronymns you lost me both literally and emotionally. i hope that doesnt sound rude as it wasnt meant to. i dont understand what they are and their very presence hints at wasteful and pointless bureaucracy

KK

Sorry

FLM - Flora London Marathon
NGO - In this case UK Athletics and England Athletics
ARC - http://www.runningclubs.org.uk/ -is a breakaway organisation. I think they were set up as they felt that money from road running through the UKA Permit system was being taken out of road running and channeled in to other areas of athletics. It was to provide pow cost membership and insurance for any road clubs that wanted to join.

[Keswick_Krumble]

NGO sounds a bit like a middle eastern dictator

[Danbert Nocurry]

I see the latest Greater Manchester parkrun got under way this morning in Wythenshawe Park and that it was run entirely on grass. It will make for ideal cross country training.

[Keswick_Krumble]

Don't u mean it will b a fantastic REPLACEMENT for xc racing!KK

[Danbert Nocurry]

Only done a couple of Parkruns because there are not any in North Lancs but if there were i would be a regular. I dont see what the problem is really, the majority of club organised road races seem to be on a Sunday anyway

One of the more recent parkrun newsletter mentions "Meeting at the Manchester City sports grounds, we presented to a balanced room of parkrun volunteers coming from Bramhall, Bolton, Heaton, Oldham, Pennington Flash, Princes Park, South Manchester, Woodbank, Wythenshaw, Trafford Water Park and Preston including some visitors from Run England and the Manchester City Council."


The interesting bits being the references to Preston & Trafford (Sale) Water Park - sounds like plans for those 2 are reasonably well progressed.

[Danbert Nocurry]

Did anyone do the Heaton Park Parkrun this morning?

I was just wondering if the new course is considered to be be faster or slower !!!

[OB1]

Did anyone do the Heaton Park Parkrun this morning?

I was just wondering if the new course is considered to be be faster or slower !!!

Hi Danbert. My time was spot on the 'norm' for 2011 (1 minute down on autumn 2010 Heaton PB). My thoughts and consensus from asking around afterwards was that the times / effort was similar. To be honest the route has not changed that much, just the order and direction in which its run. Difficult to explain on here without rambling on, but you will see when you next do it. It's been moved to start at the Hall (the old half way mark) as we have 'grown too big for the dog walkers and the cafe' (good ridance - at least we hae open toilets at 8:50 near the Hall!), but essentially it still includes the small lap, the bit round the lake and the two hills (down and up) just in a different order. Start of up hill is now at 3.5k mark rather than 2k mark Cheers. (end of semi-ramble)
PS. Oh, and I picked up my 50 Tee too and ran in it (didn't speed me up nor hinder either) - missed being awarded it by Ron Hill MBE last week, shame.
PPS. Parkrun (09-10) actually got my lard off and gave me renewed confidence to join a club, and a Fell Club at that (GDH)! Will be at F.Grouse Tomorrow. QED.

[OB1]

The only 'quirk' (mere observation) was that we had the Salford Harriers elite doing speed laps of the top circuit round the hall in the opposite direction as we were completing the last 1km of the Parkrun. As long as they dont mind 200 runners (oops joggers!) plodding towards them as they steam in the other direction I dont suppose it matters, but statistically there will probably be a collision if this becaomes the 'norm'. Hopefully a one-off / rarity. Parkrun is always between 9 and 9.45, maybe SH could do the laps outside of this window? Not sure if Parkrun Director has liasied with Salford Harriers coach on this one.
RoadRunner (you were there - we exchanged waves) or other SH elite - any feedback from SH point of view?