Volunteering at parkrun is
probably one of the most talked about topics at parkrun. Mainly because
without volunteers parkruns across the globe cannot go ahead. There are
also many different opinions on how often you should volunteer and in some
cases whether you need to volunteer at all. As some folk point out, the
term "volunteer" implies it is totally up to the individual whether
they want to or not. Personally, I have had all sorts of opinions on the
matter over the years and that is what this blog is going to be about along
with my own journey with volunteering at parkruns over the years.
2009-2011
My first stint at parkrun started in June 2009. I got the whole setup straight away during my first parkrun and volunteered the very next week. Back then I hadn't even thought to do a 5k as I was more of a long-distance runner so volunteering at parkrun made perfect sense. During my first volunteer stint I was put on finish token support being paired off with a chap called Ralph, someone I still come across at parkruns to this day.
That's the first thing I would like to point out about volunteering. It puts you in a situation where you basically have to talk to people, it is extremely social. Even marshalling where some people think they are put out in positions round the course by themselves. You still go to the positions and come back from the positions with marshals who are near to your location, so still get to chat.
In those days although a few parkruns did open up in Scotland other than Pollok, Pollok was the only parkrun I attended in this period. In my head I thought I volunteered a lot but actually I didn't volunteer as much as I thought because over that 2-year period I only volunteered 38 times. It would have been more if I didn't have the attitude that volunteering every week wasn't really the done thing so I did skip quite a few weeks, sometimes due to races as well and others where I was running parkrun which I only did 16 times over the 2 years.
But the thing is back then you did get people like today who volunteered a lot. But the general rule of thumb was to volunteer 3 times a year. And if everyone did that then Run Directors wouldn't have a problem getting volunteers every week.
I was also always a very last-minute volunteer in those days. I'm not sure why but usually if an email came out on the Friday, the day before the event, I would volunteer then rather than nowadays where I usually volunteer a week in advance. On top of that I would do any task and would more often than not be found token sorting in the cafe. Token sorting is something I have always found fun. Mainly because I like having something to do when socialising.
August 2014 to early 2017
I took an extended break from running from June 2011 to August 2014. There were points I tried to get back into it but those attempts were short lived. I had put on weight which is something I am still to this day not succeeded in shifting. But in August 2014 my running journey started up again and I decided to make running parkruns more regular to get fitter. This meant putting the volunteering on the back foot. But that wasn't the only reason I didn't volunteer as much. My shaking had also got worse which my doctor had said is because of the medication I was on. So, that made me a bit embarrassed to volunteer having gone from being able to do everything to having to say I can't do this job or this job. Things like barcode scanning, timing and finish tokens do require a steady hand and I just didn't have that anymore.
I still did volunteer sometimes though once I had got some of my confidence up. One time I think they put me on finish tokens accidently and I did it anyway. I managed but I did find it difficult with the shaking. In that 3 year period between 2014 and early 2017 I probably only volunteered about 7 times. The thing is you would have thought the number of parkruns I would have been a lot. But especially in 2016 where I was trying to up the distance, I only did 26 that year. Then I did 35 in 2015. But most important thing about this period was that I was into running again, a lot more than before.
2017-2019
In about April 2017 I volunteered at Rouken Glen junior parkrun for the first time. I had previously visited in November 2016 with my brother and niece as I ran round with my niece marking her first parkrun. I can't remember why I volunteered that day, but I went back time and time again. In fact, it became part of my Sunday routine. The thing is like when I started volunteering at Pollok, I didn't know anyone. But week by week, you gradually get to know more and more people.
In October 2017 I went on the Rouken Glen night out to celebrate their first birthday. This is where I was asked to become a member of the core team. A team I am still a member of to this day. Meanwhile in parkrun 5k land I wasn't volunteering that much still and, in my head, because I was volunteering a lot at the juniors I didn't need to volunteer at the 5ks that much. Somewhere during this time the tail walker job began to become unpopular due to generally their being at least one kid crying at the back and eventually having to drop out. But I started doing it and all of a sudden they started to give me the job on a regular basis. To be honest I didn’t really mind the crying kids, obviously I’d rather see them happy but I usually their parents would be their to deal with them so all I had to do was ask the question of whether they were continuing or not.
2019 to present
In 2019 I began touring a lot more and I think by the time October came around I had only volunteered at a 5k once and that was Drumchapel in June. I was still volunteering at Rouken glen a lot though. In October though I did think I should be volunteering a bit more at 5ks and when I did go back and volunteer at Pollok it was noticed that I hadn't volunteered there for quite a while. So, I decided that really, I should be volunteering at 5ks once a month and that would be a good ratio. Queen's parkrun didn't start long after this and for a time I couldn't decide which would be my home run, Queen's or Pollok before settling on Queen's. Mainly because it's closer to my flat. I still try and keep up my volunteering at Queen’s to this day.
Thoughts
It's very difficult to know how much you should volunteer. Mainly because some people don't run parkrun as much as others. Some say, every 10 runs, some say every 20, 30. Some still say 3 times a year. Some say only when you feel comfortable. Then there's the argument about volunteering where you can still run. Does that still count? I.e. token sorting, pre-event setup, first timers briefing. Should you be giving up your run? Is it really giving up your run when it is so rewarding?
I don't have the answer. All I know is that when I do run my home run, I know I will know at least some else running. And when I am running round, more often than not I will know many of the volunteers. There is no way I would know nearly as many people in the running community if it wasn't for volunteering at parkrun. It is environment which makes socialising and meeting new people easy.
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