Why hasn't parkrun taken off in the US?

ukathletics coach - seems to me that the £3k is as much about ensuring that you're serious about it - that you've got a few volunteers on board and so on. There's enough local council etc. funding around to ensure that a credible proposal will get the money together.

Can only repeat what other British posters have said - parkrun has been a phenomenon here and done far,far more to promote running, healthy lifestyle changes etc. than the billions spent on the Olympics.

The possibility of getting sued would be the big worry for the US, I'd have thought. People knocking into each other, or slipping on the ice, or having heart attacks don't immediately reach for a lawyer to sue the organizers here.

Oldtimers in the Seattle are will remember fondly the Super Jock And Jill fun runs around Green Lake. Same thing it sounds like. Unfortunately, and somewhat ironically, as jogging and walking became more popular, it became impossible to run this event safely by around 1980.

Also a shout out to Bill Roe and his sustaining of the summer all-comers meets for well over 40 years, which are thriving, and the very nice and affordable Magnusson Park runs, which are monthly (this Saturday).

One of the few problems I have with Parkrun is the fact that most courses are 3 or 4 laps meaning that I end up lapping people several hundred people on narrow paths, which could be dangerous and- if I'm thinking selfishly - slows me down a heck of a lot.

A bump for parkrun...

UkJunior wrote:

One of the few problems I have with Parkrun is the fact that most courses are 3 or 4 laps meaning that I end up lapping people several hundred people on narrow paths, which could be dangerous and- if I'm thinking selfishly - slows me down a heck of a lot.

Yeah, there's a couple I could mention that fit that bill (Frimley Lodge is hugely popular but narrow in places with too much running on grass, Bognor Regis almost left me dizzy with all the loops and cut-backs). Full marks go to Newbury at the old Greenham Common air force base - nice and flat, including a section of the old runway, and it's a single lap, just watch out for the cows!

Richmond Runner wrote:

UkJunior wrote:

One of the few problems I have with Parkrun is the fact that most courses are 3 or 4 laps meaning that I end up lapping people several hundred people on narrow paths, which could be dangerous and- if I'm thinking selfishly - slows me down a heck of a lot.

Yeah, there's a couple I could mention that fit that bill (Frimley Lodge is hugely popular but narrow in places with too much running on grass, Bognor Regis almost left me dizzy with all the loops and cut-backs). Full marks go to Newbury at the old Greenham Common air force base - nice and flat, including a section of the old runway, and it's a single lap, just watch out for the cows!

Too much running on grass. Who'd have thought it in a park.

I wonder if you'd get the volunteers in America?

There are 14 parkruns now in the US and more in process of launch. 5 parkruns are in the DC area alone.

They're fantastic imo. Highly recommend. No frills, no nonsense, results posted fast.

They are dedicated to the community aspect and the participation aspect but at the end of the day....they post results by time order. They may not want to call it a race but if you want to race...its a race.

I do agree that they should pay more attention to their courses and just say no to anything other than loops or out-and-backs maybe p2p. Other manufactured routes involving double out and backs, multiple loops etc are not long term winners. In my opinion of course.

Bump for the new one in the DC area: Anacostia Park!

Definitely should be a flat, fast course at least when the wind isn't blowing.

I'll just continue to run my biweekly running club races. Low key, race if you want, jog if you want, everyone waits around for the last runner/walker to finish, great company. The courses are set and have been run for the past 40 years. Results kept, Top 50 lists kept by age group. It's a great accomplishment to bust into the all time Top 10 on any AG as there have been some very fast runners in the past. Generally much fast than current club members.

All kinds of stats are kept and available for every park run course.

Overall

Age groups

Age graded

Etc

Etc

In my area, it hasn't taken off because there are no parks! A little under 2 million people and nothing bigger than a neighborhood park. Small wonder no one wants to run. A lot of golf courses though.

Kvothe wrote:

In my area, it hasn't taken off because there are no parks! A little under 2 million people and nothing bigger than a neighborhood park. Small wonder no one wants to run. A lot of golf courses though.

We don't have any parks in my area, but there is a parkrun on a bike path/greenway.

What do you mean by “partner”? Business partner? Partner in a law firm?

I keep wanting to go to the one in SF but it would require like a 6:30a Caltrain ride into the city (no bullet on weekends so a 1:45 one way trip from the South Bay) and then I have to boogey/uber over to Chrissy field to the start by 9a

It's just enough outside my hassle tolerance that I've never gone. If I was local I think I'd go once a month

Is that the running I came across on YouTube we're you slam your head off the concrete ?

Many running clubs in the USA have one or more group runs during the week or weekends. Just like a "park" run. Problem is as another reply said is permits (if it's too organized) and insurance if advertised by a commercial entity.

parkrun USA celebrated two new runs as of May 2019: Weedon Island Preserve in Florida and Mcallister in Indiana. Yes, parkrun isn't as popular in the USA but here's some year-over-year data:

US parkruns

2015: 4 parkruns

2016: 7 parkruns

2017: 15 parkruns

2018: 27 parkruns

2019: 32 parkruns

Two new parkruns are slated for June and July in Oak Grove, KY and Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller, VT

Quite a few sprinkled near the US border in Canada. We're not at UK levels yet, but slowly gaining momentum, nearly doubling in size every year. My hometom run in Livonia, Michigan will celebrate their seventh parkrun anniversary this summer.

An answer to the question, why run a parkrun?

I'm not a competitive or fast runner, but I have a 100+ parkruns under my belt. I like the simplicity, consistency and general camaraderie of parkrun. I'll run a paid 5k, 10k half marathon every once in a great while, but it's fun to be a part of something. Setting up cones, first-timers briefings, welcoming new groups, etc... outside of the barcode to track your times/events parkrun is pretty low-friction. Average attendance in the US hovers around 50 per run, so it's nice to run with a group but not feel like you're just another anonymous runner. I also run with other run clubs meetups at breweries, schools and run shops, but the stat geek in me loves combing through all the data parkrun provides.

Anyway, we tend to have much harsher winters here in North America — specifically in the East, Midwest and Northwest, so that may impact parkrun popularity. Attendance really dips in the winter at all the clubs I run with. I've been on some icy February parkruns with only 16 runners as well as 100+ in the spring and summer.

There's a nice bonus (as others have mentioned) to parkrun in that runners receive free milestone shirts. There's a certain pride when you achieve a Volunteer 25, parkrun 50, parkrun 100 or parkrun 250 shirt. More importantly for us middle-aged middle-of-the-pack runners it's fun to be recognized for quantity rather than quality.

Parkrun isn't mutually exclusive to distance/competitive runners. At my hometown parkrun we have a few extremely talented runners that make our meager three mile course part of their weekend 20 miler.

Just wanted to provide some perspective on parkrun for those that were curious.

BTW parkrun 'brand guidelines' dictate that the name is always typed in lowercase.

kimani wrote:

I run to win, aka I race. Parkrun sounds like training, and recovery day training at that. Can't I call up ten people, and each can invite whomever they please, and we all meet at the local park at 10a.m. and go for a run? Is this different?

The course record for a park run in London is 13:48, how much faster are you than that?

Lenny Leonard wrote:

As a guy who has worked in running stores for a long while now, isn't this just a "fun run"?

Free

Set distance

Not a race

Recurring every week

It seems like the Brits are about 40 years late to the fun run craze.

Lol! I have a mate in the US at the moment and he’s podiuming heaps of 5k races, and he’s an 18:00 5k guy. The quality of US running literally sucks arse. Sooooo slow.