Parkrunners encouraged to participate in the (not)parkrun
Many suggestions have been received from parkrunners on how the event could work
Runners and walkers have been missing their weekly five kilometre outing at their respective parkruns since the nationwide lockdown was imposed at the end of March.
Even though many runners, joggers and walkers have taken advantage of the slight relaxation of the exercising rules, allowing these activities to take place from 6am to 6pm daily, they still miss the social side of parkrun, as group gatherings are still prohibited.
To help ease this longing, the organisers of parkrun tried to find ways to keep the parkrun community engaged by offering various quizzes, the ‘School of parkrun’, live interviews on Facebook and Instagram as well as warm-ups on YouTube.
Many other parkruns have also been finding new ways to entertain and support their community, but one question has been asked more than just about any other, “Can we organise a virtual parkrun for people to participate in, in the absence of their usual Saturday timed 5km jog, run or walk?”
Many suggestions have also been received from parkrunners on how the event could work, and the organisers of parkrun said that, after giving it plenty of thought, there was a solution, and they decided to launch the (not)parkrun.But, what is (not)parkrun? According to the parkrun website, it is not parkrun, and it is not about walking, jogging, or running at your regular parkrun location, and definitely not necessarily doing so on a Saturday morning.
They also stressed that it is not a replacement for parkrun, or in any way planning for a ‘new normal’ where parkrun events don’t exist.
The (not)parkrun launched last week, and it is described as an opportunity for parkrunners to submit a 5km walk, jog, or run, on a route of their choosing, wherever they are in the world and following appropriate Covid-19 guidelines for physical activity wherever they’re based.
This event is similar to the parkrun’s freedom run, and is an opportunity to self-declare the date and time of a walk, jog or run and at the same time represent their home parkrun. The organisers said, “You can record up to one activity per day, with your fastest time each week included in a weekly results table”.
How does it work?
Parkrunners do not need to re-register to take part in (not)parkrun; their existing parkrun profile will allow them to log and view these events, as well as the results table. This event is entirely separate to, and different from parkrun and participants should note that participating in (not)parkrun does not count towards parkrun milestones.
There there are no volunteering opportunities – this is simply a walk, jog, run initiative.
Watch the video here: https://www.facebook.com/parkrun/videos/649812398946745/
Those who want to participate in the (not)parkrun event are urged not to congregate at the park at 8am on Saturday as this is not an official event meaning it will not be recognised as an official parkrun. Runners, joggers and walkers are also reminded of the Covid-19 regulations on Level 3 lockdown, and requested to abide by them.
To participate, you can walk, jog or run any time of the week (Monday to Sunday) and log your times by logging into your parkrun profile, and the fastest time will then reflect in the results released on Sunday.
For more information or answers to your frequently asked questions, click here.
