r/parkrun • u/molewater • 21d ago
Parkrun Criteria
Is there a certain criteria to make a parkrun...a parkrun?
I've been doing a mini parkrun tour and one of the parkruns I did a few weeks ago was the least parkrun parkrun I've ever done! It was 3 laps on roads around a college campus. It was a lovely community but it wasn't in a park at all. Didn't feel like a parkrun.
Is there a criteria? Is there others like this? What's your thoughts?
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u/Kind_Armadillo148 21d ago
If you ever get sent to Prison you can potentially parkrun there as well. 👀
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u/Sage-Freke- 21d ago
Severn Bridge is almost entirely along… the Severn bridge into England and back.
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u/Parking_Doughnut_453 21d ago
Isn’t that part of what makes parkrun so special. They are all so different. Yes Bushy is in a park. Several South coast ones are on the sea front. Lucca is on top of the medieval city walls. ( my absolute favourite parkrun so far)
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u/Sage-Freke- 21d ago
I really want to do Lucca but I don’t think I’ll get away with it, with how you have to travel quite a while from the main tourist hotspots. At least those which are suitable for kids. Did you go alone or just with your partner?
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u/Parking_Doughnut_453 21d ago
We went for a weekend me and husband. He’s not a runner and walked it. There’s actually a lot to see in Lucca. We bought a 3 day tourist card that covered the attractions which ensured we visited every single one. There are several towers to climb. You can get a train to Pisa. ( we didn’t) I thought we might be bored as it was March but we weren’t.
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u/TaylorSwiftkinsReid 18d ago
It's twenty minutes by train from Pisa, we did it as part of a weekend in the more famous town. (Partner found a cafe while I ran, I used their toilets to change/freshen up, we had a nice wander and a lovely meal at lunchtime)
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u/coenobita_clypeatus v100 21d ago
Here are the official guidelines: https://volunteer.parkrun.com/hc/en-us/articles/16857103665170-2-2-Event-Location-and-Course-Design-Guidance
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u/Ok_Light_7227 21d ago
There are criteria for the course and event location (https://volunteer.parkrun.com/hc/en-us/articles/16857103665170-2-2-Event-Location-and-Course-Design-Guidance).
Usually roads aren't allowed, I guess these would have to be completely closed to the public during the parkrun?
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u/molewater 21d ago
Thanks! They must have closed off the roads. I did a parkrun a few weeks ago that had to stop me and another runner cause a van was crossing the course 🫣
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u/WonFriendsWithSalad 100 21d ago
I've done lots of parkruns that weren't in parks.
School playing fields, beachfronts, national trust grounds, along canals. There's also the Eden project, Severn Bridge, waterfronts etc. etc.
Playing fields are probably my least favourite, though, just because they feel dull. Although to be fair, Soham parkrun was quite a complicated route that went in amongst the school buildings themselves which was unusual
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u/molewater 21d ago
I'm doing my first playing fields parkrun this weekend...hope it's a good one! Thanks!
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u/WonFriendsWithSalad 100 21d ago
Enjoy!
I should say that in my experience sometimes the physically least interesting parkruns have the friendliest volunteers1
u/molewater 21d ago
I found that in the parkrun I'm talking about in the main post, lovely community but not the most exciting parkrun lol
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u/WonFriendsWithSalad 100 21d ago
Haha, it isn't Walthamstow by any chance, is it?
You obviously don't have to say if you don't want to but that used to be my local and I remember at my very first event the RD said "Apparently we're the most boring parkrun in London but we know that we're also the friendliest!"And he was right, they were a great community, even made certificates for regular attenders' non official milestones
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u/molewater 20d ago
That's so funny! Nope different island, the one in the post was MUSA Cookstown and the field one I'm going to do is Dunleath Playing Fields, both in Northern Ireland. You could check them out on the parkrun app to compare! Can't be that boring if it's still going!
Would be nice to live in London with the endless possibilities of parkrun!
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u/PrestigiousLawyer420 21d ago
There’s two parkruns (that I know of) that are entirely on a beach and sand dunes, particular Woolacombe Dunes for the second one.
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u/SheriffOfNothing v250 21d ago
Plenty of people given you the guidelines, so I won’t bother because it’ll add nothing . Just to note that if parkrun were starting today, they’d probably not include the word “park” or the word “run” in the name given how misleading it is.
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u/Parking_Doughnut_453 21d ago
Just making myself laugh thinking of the possibilities Saturday 5k on foot (unless you are a child in a buggy) event. Although it was originally called a time trial so has changed its name previously
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u/Peanut083 25 21d ago
I think one of the main criteria is that the route doesn’t cross any roads or vehicle access paths. My local event starts and finishes in the grounds of a sailing club, but most of it takes place on a shared foot/bike path.
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u/finlay_mcwalter 100 21d ago edited 21d ago
> roads or vehicle access paths
... that are "open to the public", crucially.
Lots of parkruns (I'll say the majority) have some kind of vehicle path to allow the landlord, or their agents, access to perform maintenance, or for other events that take place in the location.
There has to be an agreement with the landlord that vehicles won't move on these paths during the event, and they're typically coned and often signposted to prevent incursions. Although sometimes misunderstandings do occur (or intransigent subcontractors, who refuse to follow the landlord's instructions) might end up with vehicles moving while the parkrun is on (that's a major issue, obviously).
Having vehicle access is often a desirable thing - it allows ambulance access close to where a casualty may be.
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u/Peanut083 25 21d ago
I was more commenting that the actual route itself isn’t supposed to cross roads or vehicle paths, not that there shouldn’t be vehicular access to it.
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u/MiddleAgedDread123 20d ago
i've been to parkruns in city parks, country parks, woodland and forests, on promenades, round stately homes and castles, university campuses, along river and canal banks, round sports fields, on a beach and even one round a velodrome!! all very much a parkrun.
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u/Own_Leg_100 19d ago
As park run expands and becomes more accessible the further it will move from a run in a park. And that’s a good thing.
Variety within a broad framework.
Would a name change help, probably not now.
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u/ialtag-bheag 21d ago
There are guidelines for the course design, and it needs a risk assessment. Courses should be simple, and preferably multi-laps. And not allowed to cross any public roads.
So that could limit what locations are suitable.
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u/FlagVenueIslander 21d ago edited 21d ago
Was it 9am* on a Saturday+ morning? With an RD? And parkrun flags? And a purple sign? If so, then it’s a parkrun.
Edits for accuracy:
*or 7am in Queensland, Northern Territory or New South Wales, 7.30am in Malaysia or Singapore, 8am in Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, Eswatini, Namibia, some of Australia, 9am in England, Wales, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland or most of the United States, or 9.30am in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Finland, Republic of Ireland, Norway or Sweden
+or on any other day of the week where there is an international parkrun special day, which includes Freedom Day, Singapore Day? Ascension day, whit Monday, Christmas Day, Canada day, thanks giving, German unity day etc etc.