Volunteering at Parkrun

With no Newcastle Thunder game this weekend, I thought it'd be good for me to look at another one of my interests.

In a nutshell, Parkrun is a free 5k that takes place internationally every Saturday morning. You register online so that you have a barcode which is scanned at the end of the event to process your result. You don't have to run it, you can walk too.

Although I started running Parkrun, my involvement now is mainly through volunteering at Leazes Parkrun here in Newcastle upon Tyne in the backdrop of St James Park. Working full time Monday to Friday it's a great way for me to start a weekend being outside and speaking to people I have got to know through Parkrun.

When I was in Australia on honeymoon a couple of years ago i was even lucky enough to do Parkrun at Albert Park, Melbourne where the Australian Grand Prix takes place. Parkrun tourism so far has taken me there, Preston and Ambleside which have coincided with events (a very modest amount of tourism, I know!). As I've said above it really is a good way to start your weekend.

Runners running round the lake at Leazes Parkrun.

Parkrun relies on volunteers coming forward to carry our roles such as Run Director, Barcode Scanning, handing out finish tokens, Timekeeping, Marshalling and Tail walker. The Tail Walker is key because no one is ever last at Parkrun. Now I'll come onto one of my frustrations, a shortage of volunteers. On more than one occasion our event at Leazes has had to be cancelled due to a lack of volunteers. I get it, it can be daunting at first signing up and we've all been there. When I first started going to Leazes I knew no one but once you start you'll find there's a friendly group of people who contribute their time towards Parkrun taking place.

I guess the message I wanted to get out is, check your local Parkrun's website during the week and if the roster is looking short then send an email or get in touch with the team. It makes a Volunteer Coordinator's role a lot easier knowing that there's a full roster before a mad rush on a Friday afternoon/evening to get enough people for an event to take place.

As I say, Parkrun is great and it's even being prescribed by GP's to get people out and active, but you can get just as much from volunteering time on a Saturday morning as you can doing the 5k.

Long may Parkrun continue to do the great work that it does!