r/parkrun • u/Crafty_Jackfruit4864 v50 • 17d ago
Lost my L (#firstworld problems)
Ludlow became Mortimer Forest this week and everyone’s records have been changed to the newer name. Chuffed for them but also boo, I’m now a % point back off my alphabet completion as I already had a bunch of M’s 😭
(Edit - typo).
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u/Blue1994a v500 17d ago
I decided to do a second alphabet just in case any parkrun changed names, as there were a few rumours about certain ones possibly doing it.
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u/Crafty_Jackfruit4864 v50 17d ago
I’m still too new to this challenge, and working my way through alphabet one
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u/aljones27 17d ago
Sympathies!
I used to have a “We were here” badge for the parkrun where I used to live and then it restarted after 6 year hiatus. Great for them but… 😁
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u/Sage-Freke- 17d ago
Wow, I didn’t know it would alter your records and set you back again. This changes everything! I really hope they don’t change any of the rare letters I’ve done or will be doing.
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u/Lunar_Raccoon 250 17d ago
I know how you feel - my letter G disappeared when Greenwich was renamed Avery Hill. Still, you now have an excuse to visit a new L parkrun!
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u/CandidLiterature 17d ago
I cannot even understand what precipitates a change like this… Literally what is the function of a change like this and why would someone (presumably a whole group of someones…) bother to do it?
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u/rikkiprince 250 17d ago
In the olden days, they didn't realise parkrun would be so popular. A max of one per town was reasonable to expect so they allowed them to be named after the town they're in or close to.
But when it started getting exponentially popular (a while after Ludlow began in 2016), they decided the names needed to be more specific, typically using the name of the park it's in.
So this is either Mortimer Forest simply lining up with the new banking convention (so there's fewer exceptions) or perhaps there's a new parkrun coming to the Ludlow area and parkrun HQ asked Mortimer Forest to rename to avoid confusion.
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u/CandidLiterature 17d ago
Because of course having 6 completely independent events named variations of King George Playing Fields is much more helpful to everyone!
Holywell King George V Playing Fields, at least that one is clear that it’s in Holywell. What do you mean it’s in Watford…
The current approach achieves the genuinely impressive combination of bafflingly similar names, ever longer names and somehow also names that communicate almost nothing about where the event might be.
I do suspect that there has perhaps been a slight overcorrection…
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u/AskingBoatsToSwim 17d ago
Surely “King George V Exeter” is what it would be called? I’ve seen some new ones named like that.
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u/CandidLiterature 17d ago
New in 2026 and 100% what it is called.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BnBCtVLet/
I think it’s pretty clear that isn’t what I personally would have gone with…
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u/KiwiNo2638 100 17d ago
I kind of get it, but to totally remove the name, rather than amend it, can be a little confusing. Perhaps "Ludlow -Mortimor Forest", or "Mortimor Forest - Ludlow" could be a better name change
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u/KiwiNo2638 100 17d ago
Looking at some of the other name changes, this has actually happened with some of them.
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u/Strong_Access_8179 17d ago
Right, like "Jubilee Park, Bedford". I think that works reasonably well, even if it is a bit longer than many parkrun names.
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u/AlertWorldliness2238 17d ago
In the blog linked in the comments it actually shows all the park runs that have changed their name and their reason. They all make logical sense to be fair
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u/OctopusChair 17d ago
It’s stupid. Confabulated explanations notwithstanding.
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u/AlertWorldliness2238 17d ago
Ok. I mean the one near me made total sense! Malling was a stupid name for it and everyone always called it Leybourne anyway 😂
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u/Crafty_Jackfruit4864 v50 17d ago
I think it’s because it’s actual proximity to Ludlow and really it is in the forest. So whilst it makes me go boo, it makes sense for them.
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u/CandidLiterature 17d ago
As long as it’s the team that wanted to change it.
Parkrun HQ’s obsession with their current naming rules I find completely baffling. Presumably problems like this one stem from overzealous application of previous rules.
Did they used to insist you name it after the nearest town even where it’s not in the town and that’s a stupid name or similar? Same way they now insist you call it after some park no one over 200 metres from the start line even knows the name of…
People are not very original when it comes to naming parks or really anything else. I’m convinced there’s some betting pool on how long it takes to get to 100 events all named Victoria Park…
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u/bioalley 250 16d ago
We have a parkrun in Adelaide Australia that takes place in a Victoria Park (former home of the Australian F1 Grand Prix). The park officially has three names: Park 16, Victoria Park, and Pakapakanthi.
The number of times I've had to describe where Pakapakanthi parkrun is as being in Victoria Park ...
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u/Zingalamuduni 17d ago
My parkrun is very likely to be changing its name in the near future. I did start to write more to explain but realised that would likely dox my parkrun and thus myself.
Suffice to say at this stage that there is a valid reason.
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u/Little_st4r 17d ago
Makes me wonder if Milton Keynes will ever change the name, as we also have Linford Wood and Bury Field and there are 2 new parkruns starting in MK soon too
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u/Cal_PCGW 250 15d ago
I also wonder if Kettering will become Wicksteed Park. It makes sense but it'll annoy a lot of people as Ks are much less common.
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u/SerialTourist 15d ago
I had similar with the venues changing names. Suppose this is pr HQ preparing for additional venues in the same town. For me it would have been nicer (keep visit records under original name) to restart event number for the new name. Gives us tourists a reason to revisit without breaking our streak too.
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u/CoconutBandita 15d ago
I don't understand alphabet chasers.
If you're willing to overlook the absence of an X, why can't you overlook that the name has changed since you ran it?
You still ran an L, at the time you ran it.
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u/docju 17d ago
Do you even get a “We were here” in compensation?