Taking it beyond the park 

This week, we celebrate the anniversary of Deep Run parkrun, co-Event Director Nicole reflects on what parkrun is and a look at their first ‘parkrun takeover’.

In times like these, where we have not been able to meet for parkrun, it has given us time to think. Is parkrun more than a 5k? This would usually be the time when we talk about our growth in numbers and we would brag on the number of folks who have completed their milestones.

We would also talk about how successful our first parkrun takeover was. Instead, in a time where physical gatherings have taken a back seat, we have a chance to be proud of the community that we have built. We get to brag on the kind and supportive people who have become more than just folks who showed up for a 5k every week, they have become friends.

Over the past three years the one thing that has been consistently expressed by first timers, regulars and tourists is how friendly and welcoming our community is. We would love to say that we have worked hard to create this, but the truth is we haven’t.

We would love to give you the secret to our success, but there isn’t one. We try our best every week to pull off a successful parkrun, however there are many weeks that we just role with the punches. We smile, we laugh and we embrace the many imperfections.

Since it is our birthday let’s take a little walk down memory lane with Deep Run parkrun. Sure our first event had 72 folks, however it was not like that every week.

In the beginning our numbers varied so much, especially in the winter where some weeks only averaged 12-15 people. Still, in our eyes 12–15 people were better than no people.

Over time we have built a core group of die-hard weekly fans for both the 5k and post-run coffee. Since then we have had some larger numbers on a consistent basis. Our dream started small, but through by word of mouth it has blossomed into this beautiful, organic community.

At the end of the day we have achieved what we set out to create, a place where people feel safe, supported, excited and encouraged. It has been harder to stay as engaged with everyone over this very strange time, but it has been a wonderful moment of reflection and so rewarding to see and be apart of the relationships beyond the park.

In our eyes it is not the 5k that matters but the community. We are certain that when we have the opportunity, we will welcome our community back and we will be stronger than ever.

Nicole Brown

Deep Run Event Director