Parkrunners, assemble!

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Hardly a snowflake thing not to volunteer. I think (and as we’ve discussed previously) some events have more welcoming teams than others. There’s three main parkruns where I am and there’s one I like to run but I’ve never volunteered again at after the first time because no one on the core team spoke to me properly, just chucked the high vis at me and put me in the furthest away (least desirable) marshal spot. The runners were ace, but it was a bit flat and dull. The other two I split my volunteering time between, they’re both lovely core teams and some of us have a coffee after token sorting, which is nice.
 
snapdrag0n said:
Hardly a snowflake thing not to volunteer. I think (and as we’ve discussed previously) some events have more welcoming teams than others. There’s three main parkruns where I am and there’s one I like to run but I’ve never volunteered again at after the first time because no one on the core team spoke to me properly, just chucked the high vis at me and put me in the furthest away (least desirable) marshal spot. The runners were ace, but it was a bit flat and dull. The other two I split my volunteering time between, they’re both lovely core teams and some of us have a coffee after token sorting, which is nice.
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Thats sad. The two I volunteered at the weekend I felt so welcomed.

That parkrun that wrote that run report - I've seen it where other parkruns have written something but it's been done in a way to encourage people and was generally "these are the positives of volunteering"
 
I think it’s part of the consequence of getting so big. People just think that someone else will pick up the slack, but in reality that someone else tends to be a small core team who were there from the start. If an event regularly gets 400+ attendees but struggles to find volunteers then there is a problem somewhere.

If the community is built well then I do think those who participate should consider volunteering occasionally. It’s a free event after all. But I also know how bleeping dull it is doing marshalling because the same core volunteers like to have their regular (and more interesting) roles every week.
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WeepingCassandra said:
The 'obligation' to volunteer at parkrun pisses me off, like I've said before. If it's that necessary, perhaps the organisation should put their hands in their pockets and throw some cash at it. I'm certain very few events would be short of volunteers if you offered minimum wage for the hour or two that they need to be there.
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Despite what I’ve said, I don’t disagree with you. There are a handful of employees who are paid, but so much of the labour over the years has been voluntary. I remember the ambassador programme being set up and it made me feel very uncomfortable that these people were doing so much work for free, while those in HQ benefited from it financially.
 
RunRunRun said:
I think it’s part of the consequence of getting so big. People just think that someone else will pick up the slack, but in reality that someone else tends to be a small core team who were there from the start. If an event regularly gets 400+ attendees but struggles to find volunteers then there is a problem somewhere.

If the community is built well then I do think those who participate should consider volunteering occasionally. It’s a free event after all. But I also know how bleeping dull it is doing marshalling because the same core volunteers like to have their regular (and more interesting) roles every week.
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Despite what I’ve said, I don’t disagree with you. There are a handful of employees who are paid, but so much of the labour over the years has been voluntary. I remember the ambassador programme being set up and it made me feel very uncomfortable that these people were doing so much work for free, while those in HQ benefited from it financially.
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My comment was a little bit facetious but looking at their annual accounts and return it does seem that they are indeed, raking it in. https://register-of-charities.chari...lsPortlet_priv_r_p_organisationNumber=5107721

Perhaps not enough to offer minimum wage to every volunteer everywhere every week, but certainly enough to manage to solve this problem one could say.
 
WeepingCassandra said:
My comment was a little bit facetious but looking at their annual accounts and return it does seem that they are indeed, raking it in. https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-search?p_p_id=uk_gov_ccew_onereg_charitydetails_web_portlet_CharityDetailsPortlet&p_p_lifecycle=2&p_p_state=maximized&p_p_mode=view&p_p_resource_id=/accounts-resource&p_p_cacheability=cacheLevelPage&_uk_gov_ccew_onereg_charitydetails_web_portlet_CharityDetailsPortlet_objectiveId=A12501792&_uk_gov_ccew_onereg_charitydetails_web_portlet_CharityDetailsPortlet_priv_r_p_mvcRenderCommandName=/accounts-and-annual-returns&_uk_gov_ccew_onereg_charitydetails_web_portlet_CharityDetailsPortlet_priv_r_p_organisationNumber=5107721

Perhaps not enough to offer minimum wage to every volunteer everywhere every week, but certainly enough to manage to solve this problem one could say.
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I’m not sure if those results also include the other limited companies that are also associated with parkrun.
IMG_7323.jpeg

Edit to add: from reading the link it does look like it - profits are donated to the charity part. Lots of opportunity for creative accounting then.
 
It was interesting to read this thread and glad to have found it. A lot of valid and interesting points raised.

I do wonder has parkrun become a victim of its own success? Parkrun was set up almost 19 years ago as a local community run by someone who wanted a bit of company but not the pressure of racing or having to go out hard. Now it has grown into something so much more, it has created a lot more work and expectation on individual parkruns. There's certainly an element of expecting "someone else" to do all the work, many people show up, run and go again. I've heard people say at my local - oh such a parkrun has pacers, such a parkrun has tea and cake after - but somehow they expect the RD or core team to organise that for them when they already have plenty to be doing. I will say the vast majority of participants are so nice - but certainly a good few don't volunteer or seem to understand that the event needs volunteers each and every week to go ahead. Like many other events, there are almost weekly shout outs for help and a lot of the same people volunteer much of the time. I think if parkrun focussed more on the "community" element rather that travelling the length and breathe of the country for the letter "F", there mightn't be so much pressure on the core teams.
I'm on the core team of my local parkrun, we get about 40-50 participants a week.
 
So they got rid of the New Years Day events because they thought people were driving over the limit to get to them? Am I misreading that?
 
Gym&Tonic said:
So they got rid of the New Years Day events because they thought people were driving over the limit to get to them? Am I misreading that?
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I think it was two fold, events that usually got small numbers were getting 5/600 runners, and some courses don’t cope, my local 100% wouldn’t.
Also people were doing daft things to try and do a “unique” double and some reports of dangerous driving were made iirc
 
Gym&Tonic said:
So they got rid of the New Years Day events because they thought people were driving over the limit to get to them? Am I misreading that?
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I haven't heard of any driving over the limit, but it has probably happened. It was more speeding to get to the other parkrun in time.

I'm glad they got rid of them- my local was absolutely heaving on the last one, couldn't get people over the line fast enough.
 
Yeh sorry the reports of driving issues weren’t to do with over the limit driving (I’m sure that’s pretty rife on NYD anyway…) more people trying to get to the furthest away possible and catch the tail Walker…
 
Tail walked this morning, I get it, people walk/run/jog what ever, but the “walkers” arrived 2 minutes late and then proceeded to put all their belongings down before taking a leisurely walk round the course…. To get lapped by multiple under 10’s and an 75yo…

I’ve come to love park run and really enjoying myself but I now completely get people frustrations but when you can’t even arrive on time I think it’s slightly rude.
 
Oh my god just happened upon this thread and I am dying 😂 I've done my most local park run about 10 times, I'm a keen runner but it's a bit of a witch to get to from mine, it's in a fairly holiday destination and always at least 5 visitors announced at the start and in naivity I wasn't awaret that many of them have probably travelled there that morning from miles away specifically to do park run!

I had no idea there was such a pressure to volunteer.

Having not been aware of anything mentioned on this thead as I'm not in any of the groups or anything I just thought it was me being the cynic that I am that they were so cliquey and happy clappy to the regulars 😂
 
Millyve said:
Tail walked this morning, I get it, people walk/run/jog what ever, but the “walkers” arrived 2 minutes late and then proceeded to put all their belongings down before taking a leisurely walk round the course…. To get lapped by multiple under 10’s and an 75yo…

I’ve come to love park run and really enjoying myself but I now completely get people frustrations but when you can’t even arrive on time I think it’s slightly rude.
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At every parkrun I’ve ever done it’s been a case of if you are late and can’t catch up with the tail Walker, tough tits.
 
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