parkrun, lap two

KAGY

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122498128#Comment_122498128

Its very useful to know who the last person is in and when the clock can stop. Otherwise you could be waiting on somebody you see on the course just out for a walk.

adrian522

That's already covered by the tail walker role, the park walker is in addition to that and not necessarily at the back of the field.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122522560#Comment_122522560

opus

The junior parkrun in Ballinlough Cork is back next Sunday after a long hiatus thanks to Irish Water.

Ballinlough junior parkrun restarts Sun 25th Aug 2024

jakejudy123

Anybody hear that in Ireland there are now no parkrun employees as parkrun removed the head of parkrun.ie and the rest all resigned in protest. Dont know if its true or not

flazio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122531767#Comment_122531767

They we're only advertising for marketing jobs last week, so somebody must be keeping the lights on.

jakejudy123

Yes but I heard people are gone

Duzzie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122531888#Comment_122531888

yip, no parkrun Ireland staff left. Country manager gone, event delivery manager gone, social media person gone. Sounds like parkrun Ireland is in a mess atm

jakejudy123

Who is looking after safeguarding at junior events I wonder.

Duzzie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122532942#Comment_122532942

no one in Ireland. There has been no safeguarding lead in Ireland for the past 2 years

robinph

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122531767#Comment_122531767

Parkrun do have form in behaving similarly with core groups heavily involved in the running of other countries before. I'd hoped that they had started to try and correct some of their previous miss steps, or at least not make more of them.

They are consistent in being able to make a mess out of whenever they try to resolve some otherwise minor issue. They grab a sledgehammer to crack a nut, one of them then says to be careful as they might hit their own foot, here use this shotgun instead. Then they wonder where their foot disappeared to.

jakejudy123

What!!! Thats really shocking. Should all junior events be paused until the mess is sorted out?

flazio

So who's running this campaign?

https://www.instagram.com/p/C-sZWuUuTZH/?igsh=d2FrbXFtNncxZW9n

Duzzie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122533031#Comment_122533031

HQ in London. There are 2 paid staff in Ireland. That add is for both of those roles

jakejudy123

Is there no longer a manager in Ireland. Is Matt Shields gone. Thought he was a director of parkrun Ireland???

opus

Matt retired at the end of July, I assume there will be a new country manager appointed in due course.

jakejudy123

I thought Padraig Fahey was Ireland manager. Does anyone know if Matt and Ruth have been replaced as Directors of parkrun Ireland.

jakejudy123

Very concerning about no safeguarding lead for junior events in Ireland. I've heard safeguarding does not comply with Irish law. What happens if there is an incident. I did raise an issue about 2/3 years ago at an event and was more or less told by UK support, "sure it will be ok"

Thelonious Monk

Just cycled past a park run in fairview Park. Looked like fun. Can you just rock up or do you need to register?

ArmaniJeanss

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122538126#Comment_122538126

Register to get a barcode on parkrun.ie. That way you will get a timed result emailed to you. It's free, and you just need to register once and it does you for all parkrun locations.

Technically nothing to stop you running unregistered, but just don't go through the finishing line as it makes it tricky for the volunteers who do the results.

py

The most important part of registering and having your barcode with you is that your ICE details are on them.

flazio

As mentioned above, register for a barcode, runs start at 9:30* but first timers are advised to arrive for 9:15 for a first timers briefing. Look for either a blue or a white hi viz vest, that's the run director. Pick whatever Parkrun you want to attend on the website and read the course page for that event carefully. Go at your own pace, walk if you like. And enjoy.

*One exception is the Inis Meáin Parkrun which doesn't start until 11 but needs plenty of planning to attend. English and Welsh runs start at 9am if you're ever over there, but Scottish and northern Irish runs also do 9:30.

corcaigh07

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122538304#Comment_122538304

You can absolutely cross the line as an unregistered runner, your result will be down as “Unknown” with no published time in the position you finished in.

No issue doing this and makes no difference to the person processing results.

robinph

It's actually easier if you do cross the line as then there is less chance of confusing the timers trying to anticipate their button pressing just as someone veers off at the last moment.

Chun the Unavoidable

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122533017#Comment_122533017

my ex ambassador told me that they have a dedicated helpdesk for ireland, which seems true as i no longer get the annoying UK automails on monday mornings about infringments on the results. I used to email back with the full Anthony Daly "ah sure lookit you know yourself" blarney which confused/satisfied them. If anyone has left/resigned over something they must be the only organisation in ireland than can keep it secret!

Duzzie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122545208#Comment_122545208

all support requests go through the UK head office. When the Irish Event Delivery manager was in place, they were then sent to him, but as he is gone, and there are no Irish based staff, all support queries are being dealt with on the UK.

Chun the Unavoidable

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122545491#Comment_122545491

ah right, well i'll wait with anticipation for the next email and brush up on the aul jibberjabber

flazio

The General Manager job has been advertised.

https://blog.parkrun.com/ie/2024/08/28/9183/

opus

Read today that parkrun is starting in Vilnius, Lithuania in Sept.

parkrun Vingis

flazio

Bushy London had their 1000th event this morning with over 6000 attendance. Apparently the finish tags resorted to markers on people's skin. Not sure how they scanned that but anyway.

robinph

They then gave up with writing numbers on people and just scanned barcodes eventually. I guess after x thousand they will just give times in the order that your athlete I'd was scanned.

People were queuing for an hour to cross the finish line allegedly.

flazio

They say they hope to publish results on Monday.

5th of October might be another mad one as its the closest to the 20th anniversary of the first Parkrun.

Duzzie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122568295#Comment_122568295

i get that the atmosphere was brilliant but that would just be too many for me for it to be enjoyable. Each to their own though.

opus

For anyone who uses the 5k app, few changes coming.

And also the head of parkrun EMEA has resigned.

ger664

At least barcode searches are still avaiable. Great for entering non scanned barcodes directly to a scanner rather then manual input from book later in the day.

Murph_D

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122538097#Comment_122538097

What exactly have you heard about the law?

Tbh I didn't even know there was a safety lead. Sure it's just a bunch of kids running around a park, with their parents close by. Safety is handled at the event level (with guidance from HQ obvs) and that's probably best. All core team volunteers are supposed to be Garda vetted.

"Sure it will be ok" was probably the best response!

solidasarock

Been in marathon training mode (really its been sleeping in on a Saturday morning mode) but the stars aligned and I was up bright and early this morning so I decided to give the old park run a go.

New PB at 24:10!!! My previous PB was pre pandemic in the low 25s. I did a parkun earlier in the year and I didnt even break a half hour I was so out of it.

Turns out following a training plan and been consistent over months has a effect. Who knew?

Reg'stoy

Just want to give a massive shout out to the Vicarstown parkrun. I did it the weekend and it is by far one of the friendliest runs out there. Lovely course, out and back along the canal, good for a PB attempt with just the one little hump. I imagine it is on the radar of alphabet chasers (V), but it is well worth a visit just to experience the hospitality of the volunteers. Bring a little bit of cash with you, as they provide free tea/coffee and loads of cake, buns and tarts.

It is a brilliant example of how something so simple as a 5K saturday morning run, enriches a small community. They have a couple of old containers done up to store their gear and the table and chairs to sit have a coffee and chat with fellow parkrunners.

It's just off the motorway, so easy enough to get to, parking is a very short walk away from the start. My only fault was, I ate more in cake calories than I used running 😋.