(12-02-2010, 04:27 PM)El Gordo Wrote: Is it April 1st already?
Interesting point of view, and deeply unpopular if the comments that follow are anything to go by. I think I know which camp we would want to belong to:
Park run boycott
Indeed, Mr Elders seems to have missed the point. Or several points.
The most important thing about ParkRun is its accessibility to runners (and wannabe runners) of all ages, sizes, abilities and ambitions. ParkRuns do attract 'whippets' who compete for points running uber-fast times (around fifteen, sixteen minutes). For every one of those there's five fair-to-middling runners looking to improve and another five taking their first tentative running/ jogging steps onto the public paths. Joining a running club can be akin to joining a gym for the first time. It's a daunting prospect, all those musle-bound jocks noisily lifting four times their own body weight, comparing tattoos and gnawing on raw meat. ParkRun is a welcoming, friendly environment with no agenda other than to make running safe, controlled and open to everyone whatever their standard.
There's room in running for both hard-and-fast running clubs and ParkRun. Our local PR (Hove Park) attracts runners from local clubs Arena, Phoenix and Brighton & Hove Athletics Club. Each club is thriving and competes on the XC circuit. The only effect ParkRun has had is perhaps to give some of their runners a (free) opportunity to hone their skills over three miles.
I'm a fairly cynical sort and I've been waiting for the ParkRun 'catch'. It's a bit like waiting for Running Commentary to start charging subscriptions or swamping these pages with ads. Aside from unabtrusive sponsorships ParkRun has remained relatively ad-free and, as Mr Elders splutters indignantly, refuses to charge members a subscription or race fee. There's no sign of any nasty surprises, just heaps of goodwill and selfless volunteering that makes ParkRun accessible to anyone who wants to pull on their runners and have a go. Ironically, exposure to running through ParkRun may well lead to an increase in new members for local running clubs.
I'm sure the brains at ParkRun are smart enough to come up with a solution should UK Athletics find themselves between a technical rock and a pedantic hard place. How about declaring each ParkRun a 'training session against the clock'? Perhaps, as in that excellent Brad Pitt/ Ed Norton vehicle, ParkRun will be driven underground:
The first rule of ParkRun is, you do not talk about ParkRun
Get a life Mr Elders.
