Happy Anniversary parkrun USA

This Saturday marks the 8^th complete year of free, weekly, timed 5k events in the States.  On the 2^nd June 2012, Livonia parkrun hosted 28 runners and walkers with 7 volunteers.  Eight years later, even though we are on pause, there is a lot to be grateful for right now.

2012, it was the year of the London Olympics.  Call Me Maybe was charting, and we were all (mostly all) practicing our best Gangnam Style moves.  In hindsight we had it good, especially for those local to Livonia parkrun.  Or did we?  For balance lets acknowledge many were sad the Twilight moves came to end, and it’s easy to forget many of us were worried the world would end on December 12^th 2012!

Like the trend seen worldwide, our average time across all events has gotten slower.  Taking each full year, in 2013 the average was 31:46 leading to 33:41 in 2019.  We love this fact as Paul Sinton-Hewitt puts it “That means we are reaching more people for whom physical activity hasn’t been the norm”

To see this trend happen in the USA is encouraging as with the short time we’ve been around, the people parkrunning with us are making an impact.  It bodes well as we offer the opportunity to more and more people, something that we can’t wait to resume.

Of course we all know that the physical benefits are a side to the social benefits too.  We love that even during this pause, parkrun communities continue to check in and connect.  Some weekly, some more frequently and some less.  It’s an important time to be grateful for the friendships that we have made the last eight years, and to look forward to the ones that we will make in future.

If you’re planning to have a quiet day, or one with friends, have a great not-a-parkrun-weekend birthday.