What are the keys to longevity in parkrun?

At time of writing I have now completed 377 parkruns. One thing which I keep thinking about is how long can I keep it for and how I can keep going with it for a long as possible. It can be seen that routine is the key, but there is so much more than that to keep the interest going and I will explore those in this blog.

Milestones

This is a big one and I think is one of the reasons people stick with parkrun.  The milestones in parkrun are very rewarding and with the range of merchandise parkrun offer to commemorate your achievement only adds to the incentive in reaching it.  Parkrun has milestones for both run/walks and volunteering when reaching 25, 50, 100, 250, 500 and 1000, as well as a more milestones for kids doing junior parkruns.

Aiming for milestones is a good way to achieve parkrun longevity. However you will notice that as you go up through the milestones they get further apart.  I have seen people in the past say to me they will reach a certain milestone then stop. For example 250.  This is not uncommon.  One of the ways to get through this is to make up your own milestones.  Often your local parkrun will appreciate this too and acknowledge going up in 50s. 150, 200, 250, 300, 350, 400, 450, 500, 550 etc.  Basically it puts in smaller goals on the way to bigger goals.  Personally I think the jump between 500 and 1000 is too big and I know I am not the only one.  Its basically 10 years worth of parkruns.  Going up in 100s for official ones seems more sensible, but whether this will ever happen remains to be seen.

Challenges

Challenges have become a big part of parkrun thanks to the Running challenges extension and the 5k app along with various other parkrun apps.  I would say most of the challenges are tourist related. Which are when people do lots of different parkruns. For example in Scotland I completed the Club Alba challenge which is a challenge to complete all the parkruns in Scotland.  This is also known as regionarie and can be completed completed in all the different regions in the UK, eg LON-DONE for all the parkruns in London.  

While initially regionnaire challenge is both a fun way to see places and get the accolades of completing a challenge while doing so.  Everyone has both there travel limits and fund limits.  Think about this. If you want to reach say 500 parkruns, that would mean you would have to do all the Scottish parkruns 6 times over or venture into England constantly.  This is both time consuming and expensive.  Some people do manage this, but I would say very few and kudos to them. But it is definitely not for everyone.  There are other challenges too like the popular Alphabet challenge, the Beegees challenge, Pirates. But again these will only take you so far. You can also start exploring the 20 plus countries in world that have parkruns but suddenly costs go up a lot.  But if you can make part of the journey these will certainly tick off a good few parkruns.

Having a Home parkrun

I think one of the big keys to longevity in parkrun is to have a Home parkrun.  You don't even have to go every week and you can mix them in with other challenges.  But really being associated with a parkrun and getting involved in a parkrun is so rewarding.  Not only will you get to know a course inside out but you will meet lots of people with similar goals to you.  Those people you will see in the good days and bad, and go through life together.  If you are running/walking parkrun every week mixing in with some volunteering is good too.  Not only does it keep the event running. But volunteering allows you to meet new people and learn new skills.  Therefore having a home parkrun is for me one of the keys to parkrun longevity.  

And you may be thinking what about challenges when it comes to your home parkrun.  Well there are a number of challenges you can do. Date bingo - run a parkrun every date of the year. Position Bingo - Finish in every position 1-100 (and you just need the position to finish 01 so so you don't need to finish first you can finish 101 to tick that off).  Stopwatch bingo - finish with a time ending each second.  I've done 377 runs and I have completed none of these challenges but I am very close and I always look forward to seeing how close I am to getting the remaining things I need.  Another one is single and double ton which is completing 100 and 200 runs at one parkrun.  All these challenges are great for having goals if you only have access to one parkrun, like doing your home run, don't have the time or money for touring etc.  

P index

If you like to mix up your parkruns but still like to stay local. Obviously you need to be in an area where there is a bunch of parkruns which you can get to. If that is an option P index is your friend.  This is where you complete says 10 different parkruns 10 times each to have a p index of 10 or 11 , 11 times each to have a P index of 11.  If you have 10 parkruns handy to get a p index of 10 that's 100 parkruns and after that to get 13 you need 169 parkruns.  So the number of parkruns you do climbs rapidly.  If you like visiting different parkruns and have lots near you this can be seen I think as another way to achieve parkrun longevity.  

Staying injury free/ageing

I have had a few injuries in my time which have stopped me from parkrunning only for short periods of time fortunately.  But there is plenty of advice and guidance out there on ways to stay injury free so you can do parkruns for longer.  When you are injured there is always the option to volunteer.  When I volunteer there are always plenty of people there who tell me about their injuries.

Ageing obviously increases the chances of injury and slows recovery so patience is a bit more important here.  But I think one thing you need to accept to have a long parkrun life is that you will get slower.  There are ways you can compare your times though to your younger days through age grading you will see in your results.  I have also seen people stop doing parkruns and become full time volunteers for parkrun too which is also an option.

Consistency

I think a big part of parkrun longevity is consistency.  Getting into that routine if you can. The weather can play a part especially in Britain as there can be some nasty weather during the winter. But if you can get to a parkrun that is not cancelled, that's a win.

Adapting

If your wanting to parkrun for a long time, you will undoubtably go through changes in your life which can have an affect on your parkrunning.  Job changes/location changes/marriage/kids etc.  It's all about adapting. Maybe some periods you will have to go through periods that you will have to accept that you need to de-prioritise parkrun. But it will always be there when you are ready to come back.  

Bad days

I think the thing which may put people off parkrun is when you have bad days whether running or volunteering.  In terms of running this maybe where you may be way off the time you wanted, got beaten by your rival or fell over.  In terms  of volunteering you may have messed up timekeeping/dropped the tokens/Slept in for volunteering all together.  Point is we all have bad days but it is how we react and learn from these days. We can either chuck it in and not bother or rise above it and come back stronger.  In sone instances a bad experience may put you off a certain job. But don't worry, if you don't want to do a job no one will force you to. Just put in your email what jobs you are willing to do.  I really think how you get over your bad days is another key to parkrun longevity. 

Getting involved in junior parkrun

This is not only good for parents with kids between 4-14.  This is also great for folk who have time on a Sunday morning and want to volunteer at parkrun. You get the same volunteer credit that you would get at a 5k Saturday morning parkrun and get involved in a great community.  I have met many people through junior parkrun who I have hung out with at 5k parkruns too.

And that's it. Unless you know any more. If so, let us know in the comments....