So much more than a run in the park
CUTFORTH, Christopher
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CUTFORTH, Christopher (2017). So much more than a run in the park. The Leisure
Review (84).
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S o muc h more than a run in the park
D es c rib ing s o mething as a phenomeno n ris k s ex ag g erating its s c ale and pe rhap s its s ig nific anc e b ut pa rk run [ no te the lo w er c as e P ] p uts us o n s afe g ro und . C hris C utforth c harts the dev elo pment of park run s inc e its es tablis hment in 2004 to the g lo bal s o c ial and ph y s ic al ac tiv ity mo v ement that it is tod ay .
parkrun is a c ollec tion of free weekly timed runs tha t ta ke plac e in areas of open s pac e e very weekend in the U K a nd around the world. S aturda y parkruns are 5k in length a nd in the UK a nd Ire land there are 2k junior parkruns that take plac e on S unda ys for 4 to 14 year-olds .
P eople of every ability and all wa lks of life are welc ome to take part: from thos e taking the ir firs t s teps in running to O lympia ns , from juniors to thos e with more experienc e; parkrun welc omes them all. D es pite the name ‘parkrun’, wa lkers are welc omed jus t as enthus ias tic ally as runners .
parkrun events are org anis ed a nd delivered exc lus ive ly by volunteers who are its public fac e in loc al c ommunities and one of the thing s that differentiates parkrun from mos t other mas s partic ipation running initia tives . Many of the volunteers are als o parkrunners thems elves , s witc hing roles from week to week depending on a vailability and loc al needs .
O n 2 O c tober 2004 P aul S inton-He witt, a keen c lub runner hims elf who at the time was rec overing from a long -term injury, invited a g roup of friends to join him on a 5k run in B us hy P ark in s outh-wes t L ondon. T hirteen people turne d up along with five volunteers . P aul’s s imple ide a was to keep in touc h a nd c reate an opportunity for people in his loc al c ommunity to c ome tog ether and run onc e a week for free, ag ains t the c loc k, with the kids , the dog , the bug g y, whate ver. P art of P aul’s vis ion was that after the run e verybody would g e t together for a c offee and a c hat in the c afé in the park. T his idea bec ame a c orners tone of parkruns around the world with mos t finis hing within proximity of a c afé or a meeting point tha t enc oura ges pe ople to c ome tog ether and s oc ialis e.
T he event g radua lly gre w, reac hing 150 runners after a bout a year a nd 378 by the s ec ond annivers ary. A t this point a dec is ion was taken to s tart a s ec ond parkrun at W imbledon C ommon, als o in s outh-wes t L ondon. T his s ec ond parkrun launc hed in J anuary 2007 a nd a third s tarted in B ans te ad W oods in S urre y s ix months later.
In 2007 T om W illiams , a s port and exerc is e s c ienc e le c turer at L eeds Univers ity, re ad a bout the L ondon developments in R unners W orld magaz ine . A keen enduranc e athlete hims elf, T om travelled to L ondon to meet P aul S inton-H ewitt to find out more and to experienc e the events firs t-hand. He really liked wha t he s a w a nd during one of their many c onvers ations as ked P aul a bout his vis ion for what he was doing . P aul’s res pons e was : “W ouldn’t it be g reat if there was a parkrun in every town a nd c ity in the world? ” T om was impres s ed by this e ven though he thoug ht it a bit c raz y. H e was e qua lly impres s ed by P aul’s unbridled e nerg y a nd enthus ias m. He as ked P aul for his s upport in developing s omething s imilar in L ee ds . P aul offered him web s pac e, laptops , timers and training , all free of c harg e, with jus t one c ondition: that L ee ds would bec ome the fourth parkrun eve nt in the c ountry, the firs t outs ide of L ondon.
T he next few ye ars s aw parkrun events es tablis he d at various loc ations
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around E ng land, W ales and S c otland, res ponding to the growing interes t and demand in loc al c ommunities . L eeds was followed by R ic hmond, B righton a nd C ardiff. T hen c ame B ramhall, Middles brough, B as ings toke and G las gow. In J uly 2010 S heffield H allam parkrun in E ndc liffe P ark bec ame the 42nd parkrun to launc h in the U K .
T oda y parkrun operates in 1y c ountries s panning five c ontinents : A us tralia, D enmark, Ireland, New Z ealand, P ola nd, R us s ia, S outh A fric a, the United K ing dom, S ing a pore, the United S tates , Ita ly, F ra nc e, S weden, C anada Namibia, S waz iland and F inland. T here are c urrently: more than 1,200 e ve nts with ne w events launc hing every weekend, 600 of whic h are in the UK ; 3 million regis tered runners , of whic h 2.1 million have c ompleted at leas t one parkrun; around 200, 000 partic ipants every week and 120 ne w events s tarting eac h year. Making all this pos s ible are over 250,000 volunteers whos e c ombined efforts repres ent in exc es s of one million ins tanc es of volunte ering . In 2014 the founder P aul S inton-H ewitt was a warded a C B E for s ervic es to gras s roots s ports partic ipation and in 2016 parkrun UK was judge d partic ipation event of the ye ar at the c ountry’s pres tig ious S port Indus try A wards .
T he rapid g rowth of parkrun s inc e 2004 has bee n a n exc iting, rewarding and c hallenging experienc e for all involved. W hat s tarted out as a s imple ide a and a dream in the mind of one individual has today be en trans formed into a huge ly s uc c es s ful s oc ial enterpris e with a g lobal reac h. P aul’s origina l vis ion of having a parkrun in e very town a nd c ity remains relevant toda y, althoug h the s trate g y for ac hieving this c ontinues to e volve in light of experienc e . More rec ently the idea of ‘he lping to make the world a he althier and ha ppier pla c e’ has entered the parkrun narrative ( a kind of mis s ion s tatement a lthoug h the y do not explic itly refer to it as that) . T his reflec ts a c hang e in e mphas is from the origina l c onc ept of a c ommunity running initiative to a bolder vis ion that emphas is es the promotion of healthy lifes tyles , fos tering c ommunity c ohes ion and inc lus ion, with the parkrun events being the vehic le by whic h thes e goa ls are ac hieved. A s T om W illiams , now g loba l c hief operating offic er, puts it: “W e’re not a running e ve nt des pite being the big ges t running e ve nt in the world.”
A c c ording to T om, parkrun is a huge ly values -driven organis ation. “W e talk about values a lot but none of it is written down a nd ag re ed. If you were to as k various members of our s taff to do this we would a ll write s lightly different thing s but the es s enc e of what we write would be the s ame.” R ec ently while atte nding a bus ines s leaders hip works hop T om c ame up with the following c ore values for parkrun:
R es pec tful – we will tre at everyone equa lly a nd res pec t the natural environment within whic h we operate
Inc lus ive and ac c es s ible – our e vents will be fun, free to take part in a nd s imple to orga nis e
S oc ia lly impac tful – we will proac tive ly break down barriers to
partic ipation, promote he althy lifes tyles and fos ter c ommunity c ohes ion
C ollaboration – we will work with loc al, reg ional and nationa l partners where we s ee opportunities to improve the hea lth and wellbeing of the c ommunities in whic h we operate
T rus tworthy – we will be re lied upon by a ll to de liver our events in ac c ordanc e with our s tated polic ies and proc edures .
often in quite profound wa ys . A s the reputation and profile of parkrun has c ontinued to grow s o have the opportunities to c ollaborate with other org anis ations . O n s e veral oc c as ions thes e opportunities , often from c ommerc ial org anis ations , ha ve be en dec line d be c aus e the y would have require d parkrun to c ompromis e in s ome wa y on its c ore va lues and purpos e, s omething it is s imply unwilling to do.
P aul S inton-H ewitt has extens ive tec hnic a l s kills ac quired over many ye ars working in the IT indus try. T hes e s kills were put to g ood us e in the e arly da ys of parkrun developing the res ults proc es s ing s ys tem that enable d runners to download a nd print the ir pers onal barc ode, ha ve it s c anned at the e ve nt and s hortly afterwards rec eive a n email with the ir time along with other va lua ble information inc luding c omparis ons with previous events a nd a ge-c ateg ory performanc e, all of whic h added interes t, variety and motivation to the parkrun experienc e. B y the time the fourth event was es ta blis hed in L eeds in 2007 the res ults s ys tem had bee n thoroug hly tes ted and refined, making it s uita ble for any parkrun event in any loc ation. T he introduc tion of barc odes in 2009 made the proc es s e ven ea s ier, allowing parkrunners to turn up a t any parkrun event in the world, run, ha ve the ir barc ode s c anned and then wait a fe w hours for their res ult to be emailed.
A n a dditiona l inc entive a nd s ourc e of motiva tion is provide d by the parkrun miles tone c lubs . T hes e are not c lubs in the traditional s ens e of the word; ins tea d there are s ix different wa ys that a runner reg is tered with parkrun c an feel a s ens e of belong ing and ac hie vement. T he '10 c lub' is for runners ag e d 17 or be low who ha ve c ompleted 10 or more runs . T he '50 c lub', '100 c lub', '250 c lub' and '500 c lub' are for anyone who has c ompleted that number of runs . T here is als o a c lub for volunteers who c ontribute on 25 or more oc c as ions . A nyone e ntering a miles tone c lub is g iven a c olour-c ode d T -s hirt with a number on the bac k to repres ent the c lub the y are in. T he c os t of the T -s hirts is funded by s pons ors hip, whic h means the y are free of c harge to runners .
T he importanc e of es tablis hing robus t polic ies and proc edures has bec ome inc reas ing ly a pparent as parkrun has c ontinued to g row. T hes e are des igned to ens ure a c ertain le vel of quality a nd c ons is tenc y, whic h reflec ts the uniquenes s of parkrun while allowing loc al events s ome flexibility to res pond to loc al nee ds . T he y c over s uc h thing s as the timing and length of events , minimum ag e for partic ipa nts , ge nder partic ipation, c hild s upervis ion, volunteering , us e of barc odes , res ults proc es s ing, ris k as s es s ment and s afeguarding. P os s ibly the mos t s ig nific ant polic y dec is ion was a c ommitment to maintaining parkrun as a free, weekly 5k timed run. Not a ll of thes e dec is ions have be en univers a lly popular a nd s ome have require d more explanation a nd jus tific ation tha n others . However, there is little doubt that having thes e polic ies a nd proc edures in plac e and revie wing and updating them on a reg ular bas is has c ontributed s ig nific antly to the parkrun s uc c es s .
T he s upport of its s pons ors is c ritic a l in ens uring that parkrun remains free, forever and for everyone. parkrun works with a s mall number of org anis ations who s hare its vis ion and values .
V itality is a life ins uranc e provider that rewards people for adopting a hea lthy lifes tyle. V itality points are g ained from partic ipating in parkrun events and additiona l re wards c an a ls o be s ec ured from other health-relate d partners . E arlier this year V itality enhanc ed its c ommitment bec oming the firs t headline partner to parkrun UK .
Inters port is a s ports a nd fitnes s retailer whos e c ompany mis s ion rec og nis es the role c ommunity pla ys in s port and phys ic al ac tivity. Inters port offers dis c ounts to parkrunners on any of its produc ts .
A lz he imer’s R es earc h UK , the leading dementia res earc h c harity, has partnered with parkrun to fight bac k agains t dementia throug h
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providing opportunities for parkrunners s uffering with dementia to partic ipate in res earc h projec ts .
In 2016 parkrun announc ed its firs t pres enting partner, V hi Hea lth Ins uranc e, in Ireland, while parkrun A us tralia s igne d a partners hip with hea lth ins urer Medibank. In 2016 the parkrun apric ot c lothing rang e was launc hed, a partners hip with T ribe S ports tha t is g enerating valuable additiona l re venue and is playing its part in ens uring a s us taina ble future for parkrun.
parkrun in the U K als o rec e ives s upport from the L ondon Marathon, 3 Mobile, a ql, the D uke of E dinburg h A ward, Muc kle L L P , E xodus T ravels , the C o-op and L ee ds B uilding S oc iety. It has als o rec ently rec eived its firs t funding from S port E ng land, which ha s enabled a s treng the ning of the medic al provis ion as we ll as the e mployment of a full-time data ana lys t. S port E ng la nd is als o keen for parkrun to divers ify its volunte er bas e and to learn les s ons relating to volunteering that c an be a pplied to other orga nis ations in the future.
T he parkrun s oc ial mis s ion has prompted a s ubtle but s ig nific ant c hang e of s trateg y a nd a pproac h. A s well as c ontinuing to s upport exis ting e vents and the ong oing demand for ne w events , a more targ ete d a pproac h is now being adopted whic h involves working with partners in are as of greates t nee d, often the les s afflue nt c ommunities . C entra l to this ne w s trateg y has be en the launc h of ‘junior parkrun’, a s eries of 2k runs for c hildren ag ed betwe en 4 and 14 whic h, like other parkrun events , are ope n to all, free, and are s afe and eas y to take part in. A part from the s horter dis tanc e the only other variation is that the y take plac e on S unda y morning s rather than S aturda y. parkrun is als o now working with loc al s c hools in targ eted c ommunities to enc ourage partic ipation. In F ebruary 2016 W arburtons , B ritain’s larges t bakery, ple dge d its s upport for the further expans ion of junior parkrun throug hout the UK , a partners hip reflec ting the s hared mis s ion of s upporting people to build hea lthy lifes tyles and promoting fun, family-orientate d phys ic al ac tivity. T he s uc c es s of this partners hip over the pas t 12 months has be en phenomenal with 59 ne w junior parkruns being es tablis he d, 36 of whic h are in the mos t dis adva ntag ed areas of the U K , c atering for 3,883 different c hildren. In the mos t rec ent junior parkrun s urvey 60% of c hildren who have taken part s aid the y have an improved attitude towards phys ic al ac tivity.
A nother exc iting rec ent de velopment is a te aming up with leading s ports s c ientis ts , e ng ineers , ps yc hologis ts and public health e xperts from S heffield Ha llam Univers ity to de ve lop wa ys to improve the hea lth and wellbe ing of the U K population. T he ne w partners hip will ena ble ac ademic s at the A dvanc ed W ellbeing R es earc h C entre to look at how the free running e ve nts are impac ting on he alth outc omes and c onduc t res earc h into the nation's phys ic a l ac tivity levels .
T he c ontinued expans ion of parkrun has nec es s itated reg ular revie ws of governa nc e arrangements . D uring the pas t 12 ye ars parkrun has evolved from an org anis ation es tablis hed and initia lly run by volunteers into a not-for-profit limited c ompany employing 20 full- and part-time s taff, along with a board of direc tors that overs ees both its U K a nd global operations . D es pite thes e c ha ng es , parkrun remains a t its c ore a volunteer-led operation with the main role of the s taff team being to s upport the vas t number of volunteers orga nis ing and delivering parkrun events in loc al c ommunities around the world.
S o what explains the remarkable s uc c es s of parkrun over the pas t 12 ye ars ? A c c ording to T om W illiams , it is a c ombination of thing s : “T he vis ion, s ing le-minded s tubbornnes s and s kills of our founder P a ul S inton-H ewitt ha ve be en fundamental to our s uc c es s . W ithout his pas s ion, energ y and enthus ias m we s imply would not be where we are toda y. O ur s trateg y has evolved s inc e the s tart. A key s uc c es s fac tor has be en unders ta nding what needs to s ta y the s ame and what ne eds to c hange. L is te ning to a nd learning from our volunteers has bee n key to this . Helping us to s olve problems and exploit opportunities toge ther has be en key to our s uc c es s ”.
T om has more to s a y a bout the parkrun volunteers : “V olunteering with parkrun c an be jus t as life-enha nc ing as running , pos s ibly even more s o for s ome people. B eing part of a c ommunity, ha ving a s ens e of purpos e, giving s omething bac k have, in s ome c as es , proved trans formationa l and thes e s tories are s o ve ry important to us . T he y are abs olutely wha t parkrun is all about.
“R emaining true to our vis ion, mis s ion and values , while als o be ing prepare d to ada pt a nd c ha ng e in lig ht of experienc e, has bee n another vital ingredient in our s uc c e s s . Unlike s ome organis ations , we
abs olutely know what we are doing and why we are doing it. T his las er-guided foc us has ena bled us to overc ome mos t of the oppos ition, c ritic is m and res is tanc e to c hang e tha t we ha ve enc ountered. parkrun has worked hard to s ec ure a unique plac e in the market by foc us ing on one very s pec ific thing and being the very bes t we c an pos s ibly be, abs olutely [foc us ed on] de livering a world-c las s s olution and not bec oming dis trac te d from that.”
T om als o c ons iders that the parkrun approac h to dec is ion-making has been a vital fac tor in its s uc c es s to date: “D ec is ions on who to partner with, whe n to launc h ne w initiatives or to upda te polic ies , s ys tems and proc edures , who to s a y ‘ye s ’, ‘no’ or ‘not yet’ to, the s taff that we employ. G etting mos t of thes e dec is ions rig ht has be en key. L earning from the ones we g et wrong has been equally importa nt, a nd not making the s ame mis take ag ain ha ve enabled the parkrun reputation and profile to c ontinua lly grow.”
T om als o c ons iders the abs enc e of a target-driven c ulture to be one of the fac tors that has e nable d the orga nis ation to ac hieve s o muc h in s uc h a s hort s pac e of time. “Not ha ving the pres s ure to hit a c ertain targ et by a c erta in date frees you up to hit thos e numbers . Ins tead we are able to foc us on s upporting our volunteer e ve nt tea ms to deliver really wonderful e ve nts . I think if we had s et numeric al targets from the outs et we c ould ha ve taken our e ye off the ball a nd not c reated a produc t that has e nabled us to ac hieve thos e levels .
“T he bigg er we bec ome the more important s trate g y be c omes . Unders ta nding the impac t of s trateg ic dec is ions a t all leve ls of the org anis ation, s ta ying in touc h with our volunteers , lis te ning and learning from their experie nc es , putting them firs t, being that pe rs on on the ground. T hes e are s ome of the ke y ing redients to our s uc c es s . If you los e touc h with the people who are ac tually de livering your vis ion and s trateg y you are ne ver going to s uc c ee d.”
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hea lthier and happier pla ne t by c ontinually breaking down barriers to partic ipation and bring ing people together from all walks of life whenever the y want to c ome along . T he y will c ontinue to s upport the development and s us tainability of parkrun eve nts in any c ommunity that expres s es an interes t and a ne ed, and is willing to embrac e the parkrun va lues and approac h. T he next s tag e of the journe y, however, plac es more emphas is on s ec uring g reater impac t and c hang ing lives in c ommunities with the greates t nee d, or as T om puts it: “D oubling our numbers by getting previous ly inac tive pe ople ac tive a nd by offering s olutions to s ome of s oc iety’s big ges t public health c halleng es , s uc h as obes ity, lac k of mobility, lonelines s , is olation and dementia . W e really do wa nt to he lp c hang e the world, or leas t pla y our part in improving it by working alongs ide other organis ations a nd people who s hare our pas s ion for pos itive c hange .”
O ne s ens es that parkrun is going to be around for a ve ry long time and will c ontinue to be groundbreaking in its approac h, and in the g lobal c ontext within whic h it now operates parkrun will c ontinue to pla y its part in making the world a he althier a nd happier plac e.
C hris C utfo rth is a s enio r lec ture r in the A c ade my o f S po rt and P h y s ic al A c tiv ity at S h effield Hallam Univ ers ity w here h e teac h es s p ort p olic y and s trateg y to underg rad uate s tud ents and le ads o n internatio nal w o rk . A k ee n rec reatio na l runner, C hris has re c ently c o mp leted his 60th p ark run and aims to g et to 100 w ithin the nex t two y ears . He h as rec ently emb a rk ed on a tour of p ark run ev ents w ithin a 50-mile rad ius of S heffield and he reg ularly b log s ab out his ex p erien c es .
Images c ourtes y of parkrun UK . F ind them online at www.parkrun.org.uk
T he L eis ure R eview, S eptember 2017
