To think Parkrun should have an hour cut-off

[SummerAsh]

200+ participants, all but two completed in under 54 minutes… but the last two women ambled around chatting and took over 1 hour 10 minutes.

I appreciate that Parkrun should be inclusive, but that’s taking the piss, and unfair on the 20 or so volunteers who give up the first part of their Saturday mornings…. It’s hard enough getting volunteers as it is, without expecting everyone to be saintly martyrs with endless patience.

To complete in an hour requires a pace of 3.1 mph (I.e 5km = 3.1 miles)… According to Google, that’s a casual walking pace.

AIBU to think that if you can’t or won’t complete a park”run” at even a casual walking pace, then parkrun isn’t for you. I think that an hour cut off is more than accommodating enough, and an appropriate line to draw.

Otherwise, what is reasonable? Is it reasonable to accommodate a 90-year old taking 3 hours with their zimmer? If not, where the line if not an hour.

Just a mean girls cliquey running club would do, which is actually designed for faster runners to run together. Instead of OP joining a community event deliberately aimed at being inclusive for all abilities and then slagging people off for it and saying they should be excluded and ashamed.

I don't get why anybody would cheerfully volunteer to give their time to help with organising and facilitating of a Parkrun, but then get so annoyed about an extra 15 minutes or so at the end. As the name suggests, you're in a park - a beautiful place to spend time; it's not like you're having to lurk at the grim local bus station.

If you find having to be there for a moment longer than you'd like an absolute bore, why would you even volunteer to do it at all in the first place? Just stop volunteering and stay at home, keep your whole morning free for yourself - or go along as a spectator/unofficial supporter and leave as soon as you believe you've seen all the 'worthwhile' entrants finish.

So if you volunteer for park run it’s ok to be an arsehole saying people who are slower can’t join in and saying they should be ashamed of themselves for joining an event that’s aimed at everyone? Ok then.

Of course somebody finishes last!

You've definitely never played golf then.

I didn’t write the website.

At our park run, it's always a volunteer who finishes last. So anyone who comes along for the event, will not finish last, no matter how slow they are.

It is a long time though if you are a volunteer standing on the finish line in the freezing cold or pouring rain and have to wait for everyone to finish before you can go. Or the tail end walker who has to walk behind the dawdlers.

My kids used to help at Parkrun and although they are clear it is not a race, the general expectation is that you at least try to exert yourself. If you can't run, you walk more quickly than you would otherwise.

Well I volunteer regularly at local parkrun, I'm often marshal or tail walker. It's a social event, I don't mind if it takes someone 80 minutes or more to complete course. We are all there to have fun and do it at our own pace. If I wanted to get my walk/run done in a specific time, I'd go alone. We have a big crowd, lots of very fast runners, lots of amblers, people with buggies etc. It's a lovely way to start Saturday morning. It's not a race!

Who cares. I cant see why this is an issue.

@ToKittyornottoKitty If you volunteer regularly for a parkrun where it is usually finished and packed away by 1hr then you are going to be annoyed if suddenly one or two people come along who think it's an opportunity to chat - it's not, it's exercise.

A bit of consideration for the volunteers would be nice, at parkrun and for the other volunteers at hobby groups.

People wonder why volunteering is in decline - leading to shortages for many groups - and this is why - because some people expect too much.

That's perfectly fair enough not to volunteer to help at something that will take longer than the time you have available or are willing to give.

In fact, it's far, far better not to volunteer at all, rather than to do so and then start complaining and blaming less able people for wasting your time.

I don’t think parkrun is for you. I encourage you to create your own event with your preferred time limit.

I do think it’s a bit unfair for the volunteers when you have the capacity to walk at a normal pace, as it’s a long chunk of their morning anyway without having to hang around. I don’t know if Parkrun is really the right place for a slow chatty ramble if you’re physically capable of walking at a normal pace. You can do that anywhere where people aren’t having to wait around for you to finish and it wouldn’t occur to me to do this type of activity at somewhere like Parkrun.

I definitely think the vast majority of volunteers, yourself included, wouldn’t begrudge waiting for people for whom walking 5k is a genuine physical challenge, but I do think it’s a bit thoughtless to just go for a nice stroll with a friend and presumably expect the whole Parkrun experience when you finish.

I think a cut-off might genuinely affect people who do have issues that make completing a 5k in under that time though, and that wouldn’t be fair, so I think the only answer is to hope people are mindful of the volunteers’ time if they are just joining for a casual stroll and respect the time the volunteers are giving up.

You aren’t a terrible volunteer, OP. A lot of people have never volunteered for anything in their life and it’s fine to feel frustrated when you feel like your time isn’t being valued. Volunteering doesn’t mean your time isn’t important and voicing it here is fine. I get frustrated with some aspects of my volunteer week and I would never voice them to any participants.

Haven’t read the whole thread, but there is such a thing as parkwalk

We promote it at our local parkrun, where I volunteer regularly. And tbh, when we volunteer we know we’ll be out marshalling about 70 mins, so 🤷🏻‍♀️

You should tell the event organisers and other volunteers you feel this way so they can tell you not to come back.

My running club regularly provides tea and cake after parkrun. Our volunteer rota is never empty. Maybe I just am lucky with our particular group but no one cares how long people take. It's about getting out, getting some exercise and a chat with friends, neighbours and visiting runners

YABU, parkrun explicitly say people can run, jog or walk.

But it's not a job is it, it's giving up your time for free. By the looks of things we need more of that not less, but not without a backstop

I agree as well.

I mostly run but I do volunteer. When you have to be there for 8:15 or so to set up, wait for the last finisher, pack down all the finish line stuff and haul it away it can be close to 11.

You can't pack down early as its unwelcoming to remove the flags and funnel and things like that, the last finisher should have the same experience as the rest.

I know Parkrun HQ are keen on promoting ParkWalk but in reality they rely on volunteers and close to 3 hours for a 5k is a lot.

It was less time volunteering at a local 10k.

@TomBaileysFlyingGoggles That's great but it's not the case for ours - the begging starts mid week at the half empty rota and there have had to be occasional cancellations (often in bad weather) when there are not enough volunteers for it go ahead (even with adding extra signage etc.)

Sounds like you volunteer at a group that isn’t particularly welcoming to all or inclusive, so it’s no wonder your volunteer numbers are in decline. This isn’t the same for all courses.

There must be some cut off in practice though? What if someone were to stop for a coffee halfway round, surely all the volunteers wouldn’t wait for them?

"not prepared to stand around in the cold and rain for a few hours then I don't think you can criticise others."

I stand around waiting in the cold, rain and heatwaves regularly. Doesn't bother me one bit. Get a better coat or boots if it causes you a problem.

I wish you exactly the amount of empathy in life that you’re capable of giving to others!