welcome to the newsletter
In this week’s edition of the newsletter we turn 4, break 1 million and take you behind the scenes so you can begin to understand what makes the parkrun machine tick.
What a weekend! Ups, downs, highs, lows and lots of chocolate eggs!
I attended the 4th anniversary of Main Beach parkrun, our first event, so I was back where it all began. Despite some indifferent weather a record crowd of 346 were on hand to celebrate. And wow, the cake… 3 layers of decadent mud cake from the Cheesecake Shop.
As expected we had our 1 millionth run on Saturday. Unfortunately our technology doesn’t allow us to pinpoint precisely who lucky number 1,000,000 was however as you can see from our ‘Essential Stats’ below we are now sitting pretty on 1,008,436 runs. Sounds even better if we call it 5,008,436 km!
Unfortunately it wasn’t all ‘happy days’ last weekend. At one of our events a parkrunner was knocked to the ground by another path user who then went on to verbally abuse a number of other runners. Seemingly this action was premeditated. I’m sad to say that when this unfortunate incident occurred not a single parkrunner stopped to see if their fellow runner was okay. I know that things can happen quickly when you’re out on course during parkrun but please keep your eyes open, your wits about you and always stop if you see another parkrunner or member of the general public in distress. You can always come back next week to try and improve your 5km time.
An update on the parkrun Athlete Wristbands. You love them! And as such the initial demand has been massive with over 1,000 orders in the first 2 weeks. Terry from Bent Logic who manufactures these for us has asked me to let you know that the current timeline for dispatch is about 3 weeks from order date so please be patient if you are currently waiting for one of these little beauties.
Finally, a gentle reminder about our warm up policy. In a nutshell, we don’t warm you up prior to parkrun. This is your responsibility. Some events are lucky enough to have a qualified and insured member of the local community offer a warm up prior to the run but this is independent of parkrun and certainly not to be expected at all events if you are a parkrun tourist. Something to think about as the mornings get colder.
Happy running,
Tim from parkrun Australia (get in touch)
Were you a first timer last weekend, or did you run a personal best? We would love to hear about your experience on email, @parkrun_au or on Facebook.
Essential Stats for Australia & Singapore – 04/04/2015:
Number of locations – 109
Number of runners – 12,888
Number of PBs – 2,525
Number of first timers – 2,390
Number of volunteers – 1,008
Numbers of runs (all time) – 1,008,436
Number of members – 194,718
Number of members (global) – 1,563,849
The ‘real’ cost of parkrun
I just want to take a minute to explain to you all the ‘real’ cost of parkrun as some of you have asked me about this in recent weeks. Let me start by explaining the difference between parkrun Global and parkrun Australia.
parkrun Global is the international company, based in the UK, responsible for developing and providing parkrun Australia with the governance, ethos and technology to be able to operate parkrun events successfully. The CEO of parkrun Global is parkrun Founder Paul Sinton-Hewitt. At the moment parkrun Global has around 7 full time employees as well as a number of other supporting staff.
parkrun Australia is the trading name of Parkrun Inc, a not for profit Incorporated Association that holds the license to operate parkrun events here in Australia and in Singapore. We have a Board, two employees, several support staff and of course our amazing volunteer army.
Each time we launch a new event there are the obvious tangible costs associated with items such as feather flags, scanners, stopwatches, finishing tokens and laptops. Of course each event needs public liability insurance which we source through Athletics Australia. But these are really the minor costs associated with parkrun.
The real money is in the technology provided by the team of IT geniuses at parkrun Global. Now I’m no techie but even I can understand that the costs associated with housing, protecting and processing all of the parkrun data must be immense. Obviously it peaks on Saturdays when our events are happening and results are being processed however it is a non-stop 24/7 beast. The sheer number of support emails parkrun Global receives, both from runners and event teams, is nothing short of scary.
So I hope this helps you to understand why we have national sponsors, local supporters, an online store, donations and other minor revenue generators like the entertainment book and wristbands. Every little bit of support you can give us is appreciated and we can guarantee it’s put to good use.
‘Thanks from a lucky parkrunner’ by David Hessey
I have run a few times at Berrinba parkrun, my first time being on the 13/12/2014.
In July 2014, I broke my neck from a mountain bike accident and became an incomplete tetraplegic. What that basically means is I am very lucky!
I was in ICU on a ventilator and most likely going to remain on that ventilator - or so the doctors said. Slowly I regained movement in my feet and legs, then left arm then finally right arm. My right diaphragm was paralysed but soon that also returned.
After 12 weeks in a halo (6 weeks in traction and 6 weeks in a brace) I was discharged from hospital. To be honest, do you know what my greatest rehabilitation has been? One of my biggest ambitions and personal achievements?
.....PARKRUN!!!
If I am not too tired to run, I look forward to the 5km run so much, it really motivates me. I have also run at Minnippi, South Bank and Stanthorpe - but Berrinba would be my favourite.
It is the most painful 30 minutes of the week but worth it in every way.
Thank you, so much, for providing a wonderful experience for so many people - every Saturday!
‘How to tell if you're a parkrun addict’ by Tracey Wood and friends
1. You have an excuse for not drinking on Friday nights.
2. Saturday mornings are permanently booked.
3. Holiday locations are selected only if they have a parkrun.
4. If you go elsewhere on holidays you will be counting how many parkruns you will be missing.
5. Your friends celebrate parkrun milestones as much as birthdays.
6. You have red or black shirt envy.
7. You spend Saturday night tagging your friends in photos.
8. You love to compare parkrun locations with other people at random running events.
9. You plan to catch up with your friends and family whilst at a parkrun.
10. You don't think it's unusual for your friends to travel to obscure locations just for a parkrun.
11. Your profile pic is from a parkrun event.
12. You get uptight when you see parkrun with a capital P.
13. You see other people out running during the week and wonder if they also go to parkrun.
14. You get antsy because your onsite caravan is located 2.5 hours away from the nearest parkrun.
15. You plan your birthday weekend around a visit to a parkrun.
16. You start planning visits to other parkruns with your buddies.
17. You drive two hours to support someone doing their 100th parkrun.
18. When your triathlon coach asks "are there any group/regular runs you want to include in your training plan?" you answer simply "parkrun."
19. You recommend parkrun to anyone and everyone
20. When you see your friends they all say "how's parkrun going?”
21. When you question the Anzac Day tradition because it results in a parkrun cancellation.
22. When you question the recent decision to cancel all parkruns in SEQ because there is some pathetic little ***-weak category five cyclone... cyclone? What cyclone?
23. When you make twenty or so of your wedding guests do parkrun with you on your wedding morning.
24. When you drive past the parkrun start any day of the week and your grandson asks if we can parkrun today.
25. You measure most distances in parkrun... "Just two and a half parkruns to go... a marathon is really just eight and a bit parkruns."
26. When you have a birthday and are reminded by your parkrun buddy that you're going into the next age category.
27. When you are going to a wedding in Hervey Bay, find out parkrun is cancelled day of the wedding, and ask the bride and groom if they can change the wedding date so you don't miss out on a parkrun.
28. You comment on other peoples parkrun posts as if they were your best friends
29. When driving long distances and you see a sign saying 65kms to such and such a place and you say...just 13 parkruns
30. When you give birth on a Wednesday night and contemplate going to parkrun the next Saturday, just to say hi.
31. When you are counting the days to your 50th parkrun like a kid waiting for Christmas ...seriously thinking of making an advent calendar.
32. When you do a long run and convert it to parkruns
AND
33. You're excited because you know that every event is free, timed and weekly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Entertainment Books Are Back
The Entertainment Book, and the brand new Entertainment Digital Membership, are your guide to the most popular restaurants, attractions, shopping, travel and more, all with valuable up to 50% off and 2 for 1 offers. Purchasing your entertainment book through parkrun helps us in two ways:
- Approximately 20% from each book sold is donated directly to parkrun Australia.
- If 5 people from the same parkrun event make a purchase the Event Director will be provided with a FREE Entertainment Digital Membership.
Click here for more information or to purchase your Entertainment Book or Entertainment Digital Membership.
The Pointy End
Who are you? Bowral parkrun VW85-89 age category record holder Norma Wallet who runs an amazing 33:43 / 91.50%.
How the hell do you run so fast? Fast for my age, perhaps! I tend to keep my weekly training specific to the event/race I intend to do next. For example, I follow a 5km program at present because that's the parkrun distance I want to improve. If I have a marathon or half marathon coming up, I switch to a program designed specifically for that distance. So, for me now, it's not so much about fast running as doing consistent, quality training.
How many km in average week? Not a lot! Right now, a maximum of 25-30kms which would increase considerably if / when I next run a longer distance such as the half marathon.
What type of training? I do 3 main sessions every week: a track session, a tempo run and a weekend long run. On the ‘off" days I might run some long or short hill sprints, do some drills and strides, cycle on the stationary bike, walk ....anything to stay active!
How long have you been running? More than a half century! I seemed to have been lucky enough to run well in age category events.
What’s your favourite distance? At present, 5km and half marathon.
Do you have a coach? No! I get lots of good advice from fellow runners like those on Cool Running Australia website and friends, such as Ewen Thompson from the ACTVAC, who, for many years now, has helped me make decisions about training and race events.
How much faster do you want to go? The million dollar question for every runner! I'd be extremely happy if I could get my 5000m track time down to what it was for my W80 Australian Record in 2012, and that was 31:11.6. Now, at 33:34 for 5km, I have long away to go but also a challenge to aim for!
What big events do you want to run? I've been very fortunate to have already run the one big event I wanted to do...and that was the New York City Marathon in 1998. The next event I'm already planning, hopefully will be a half marathon in Blackmores Sydney Running Festival in September this year and possibly some track races in Canberra where I'm a member of the ACT Veterans Athletic Club.
"I run therefore I am. And given the years improved fitness adds to our lives, if I did not run maybe I would no longer be." (Quote from famous marathoner, Hal Higdon).
#showusyourparkrun
As many of you are now proud owners of some of the official parkrun merchandise available from our online store we have started a new photo segment here in the newsletter where you can wear (or hold) the kit in an interesting and exciting location… or perhaps even with a celebrity!
Once you have the photo please email it to us or post it to Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag #showusyourparkrun
This week’s entry is from Amy Strong who says “These are some of our Capalaba parkrun kids proudly modeling their new shirts.”
parkdog of the week
Our names are Katie and Carlos and we are Miniature Schnauzers. We are 10 years young and we are brother and sister. We love attending at Lake Mac parkrun with our Mum. We especially like it when she volunteers us for ‘Tail End’ duties because then we can encourage the little kids and the bigger adult kids who are struggling and need encouragement at the end. Everyone is always glad to see us at the finish line as we are the last ones in. This means everyone can pack up and we head home for a big drink and a long snooze.
FAQ - My time / result is wrong. What do I do?
Occasionally there will be errors in the results that we record. Whilst the event teams try to correct for this before they post the results the error may only become apparent after the results have been posted. So please allow a day before getting in touch about incorrect results.
Please do not contact parkrun HQ directly. We are unable to correct the problem.
Instead, please allow a day or so before contacting your local parkrun event team. Their email address can be found at the bottom of the event website or just reply to your result email.
Upcoming Special Events
Launches:
11/04 – Warragul (Vic)
18/04 – Sale (Vic)
02/05 – Rhodes (NSW)
09/05 – Altona Beach (Vic)
16/05 – Taree (NSW)
30/05 – Devonport (Tas)
Anniversaries:
11/04 – Fingal Bay (NSW) 2nd
18/04 – Augustine Heights (Qld) 2nd
02/05 – Ginninderra (ACT) 3rd, Rockingham (WA) 2nd, Stones Corner (Qld) 1st, Cleveland (Qld) 2nd, Lillydale Lake (Vic) 1st
Cancellations:
11/04 – Kirra (Qld), Heirisson Island (WA)
18/04 – Kirra (Qld), Heirisson Island (WA)
25/04 – All events cancelled due to Anzac Day 100
02/05 – Geographe Bay (WA)
30/05 – Mitchelton (Qld)
Other:
16/05 – Wear fluro for National Volunteer Week
03/10 – International parkrun Day
Feedback from the field
Scott and Joanne Watkins - Three weeks ago a team of parkrunners joined Albert Melbourne parkrun regular, Leigh Ellwood (37 runs, 7 volunteers), in the Run For The Kids in Melbourne. Leigh had organised a team to raise money for the Children's hospital where her son, Gus, was being treated. Sadly, just one week later, Gus passed away, aged 15. On Saturday, run director Rob Del Ponte presented Leigh with the ‘parkrunner of the month’ award and organised a minutes silence before the run. Leigh's group then re-convened and walked parkrun with Leigh (second from the right in the photo), all wearing their ‘Fly with Gus’ t-shirts. Leigh is a much loved member of our parkrun community and this was our way of showing that her parkrun friends are there for her.
Mark Streeter - I have done a few volunteer jobs but on Saturday 4 April I volunteered for 22:30 pacer. When we started a big bunch of people gathered around me all helping each other out for the whole 5km. It was the best volunteer job I have done. At the end of the run about 4 people came up to me patted me on the back and said thank you for helping them get a PB. It was an amazing feeling to know I helped someone get a PB!
Louis Miller - Hunter Miller, 4 years old, was marshalling at Kalgoorlie Boulder parkrun on Saturday. He was stationed about 100m from the end when, out of nowhere, the ‘real’ Easter Bunny appeared and gave him and egg and a high 5.
Bright Pink - Me and 11 of my new parkrun buddies headed on down to Crissy Field parkrun in San Francisco last week for their 10th event. Naturally when you travel abroad you meet more Brits than anyone else, so the makeup of the group was Brits, Americans and two little Aussies. The course is gorgeous with a view of the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz. Not to mention San Francisco Bay. There was a superhero run being held at the same time and I was truly envious of the capes supplied by the event in every colour (even pink). The Run Director, Max, was lovely. He also happened to be the time keeper, funnel manager and barcode scanner! I sang the praises of my home parkrun; good old North Lakes parkrun. There is no shortage of runners in San Francisco, the shoreline was chocka-block with super-hero runners and other runners, it was like weaving your way through a very busy fun run the whole way. Be sure to tell your friends about this friendly little parkrun and see if we can help boost their numbers.
Michael Tonkin - I attended my first parkrun last Saturday at Lake Mac. I did not really know what to expect before I arrived, but I was pleasantly surprised when I saw all the people arrive for the event. I think there was 329 from memory. I was amazed at the range of ages and types of people who took part in last Saturdays run. There seemed to be a lot of volunteers and organisers making the event happen seamlessly. I had not run 5km since I was in my mid-20s (I am Now 52) and have been walking and running by myself, but in competition with a group of people linked by Fitbit, in weekly challenges. I lined up at the back of the pack and found that I was keeping up with the pace and was very comfortable. I then found that I was overtaking some runners and using others to pace myself for a distance then overtaking them if they slowed. I varied my speed but kept listening to my breathing to make sure I did not go too hard too early. I completed the run finishing 169th in 30:34. I was happy that I completed the run mid pack and I am now keen to improve my time over the next few months. Looks like I am hooked on 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.
Volunteer Profile
Name: Talitha Farrawell
Club: None
Age: 28
Home parkrun: Bunbury
Occupation: Mother
Number of runs: 4 parkwalks
PB: 48:27
Number of times volunteered: 50
Favourite volunteer role: All of them – except marshal… I haven’t done that one yet!
What do like about volunteering at parkrun: All the roles are pretty straight forward! It’s also nice to watch all of the runners complete our course and seeing how fast and dedicated they are.
Most memorable or funniest parkrun moment: I don’t really have just one memorable moment, Bunbury parkrun is so friendly that every week it is memorable and fun. Our one year anniversary was great fun with our pirate theme and BBQ at the finish. Watching our Event Director Steve Chilcott attempt (and succeed) running in our Christmas parkrun wearing an inflatable Santa suit and more recently celebrating some of our regulars joining the 50 club!
How can we improve parkrun: More financial support for smaller/regional parkruns, to allow for advertising/fliers to promote parkrun and the benefits of running/exercise.
Reminders
Barcode reminder
Printed barcodes are used at all our events to record your result. Please click here to collect and print your barcode. No barcode = No result = No exceptions. To order your barcode on a laser engraved silicone wristband as shown above please click here. #dfyb (don't forget your barcode).
No printed barcode, no result.
All questions answered
Do you have a question about parkrun? How do I collect my club T-shirt? How do I get my barcode? All your questions are answered on our brand new support site
Volunteering at parkrun
We ask every parkrunner to volunteer 3 times a year. When volunteering you receive the maximum number of points towards the yearly competition.
Children at parkrun
Children under the age of eleven must be accompanied at all times by a parent, guardian or appropriate adult of the parent's choice. It must also be ensured that children place themselves appropriately at the start so as to prevent a situation where they are being repeatedly overtaken. This is to ensure the safety of your child.
Our Sponsors
At Suncorp Bank we value the communities in which we live and work. From helping keep Australians safe from the sun to supporting what matters to the community through our sponsorship of major running events and parkrun Australia, we're dedicated to making a real difference in people's lives. Explore Suncorp Bank
building our future
Stockland is Australia’s largest diversified property group. We develop and manage residential communities, retirement living villages and retail centres – the building blocks of thriving communities. Explore Stockland