parkrun: A Different Perspective

At yesterday's parkrun, rather than running, I helped out as a volunteer. For those of you unfamilliar with parkrun, its a free, weekly, timed 5km run open to everyone and anyone. You can find out more here and find your nearest event here.

It was my first time volunteering at parkrun. I remember being told the first time I attended a parkrun, that if every runner volunteered three times each year, that would be enough for the events to remain free and ongoing, so I decided it was about time I chipped in!

Runners walking to the start of the race

parkrun is a simple set-up and there are several types of volunteer roles including timer, marshalls, photographer, funnel management and handing out positions chips. I was in charge of scanning in runner's barcodes and position chips at the end of the race (which would later be matched up to give them their times).

It was really interesting to see the event from the 'other side'. And it made me realise just how fast some of the runners are! The first child came in at just uner 11 minutes 30 seconds (children run a 2.5km route) and the first adult runner (the full 5km route) came in at 17:45 - something to aspire to! :D

And the best part? You get your name in 'lights' on the website!