Parkrun’s enduring magic – free, fair and the family values behind the movement

10 takeaways from the webinar:

1. Genesis and growth: The webinar celebrated Paul Sinton-Hewitt’s new book, One Small Step, The Definitive Account of a Run that Became a Global Movement, detailing parkrun’s origins and its fundamental values that have birthed a global social movement.
2. Visionary voices: Moderator Mark Heywood highlighted the rare collaboration of Sinton-Hewitt, the visionary founder, and Fordyce, a nine-time Comrades Marathon winner and parkrun SA president.
3. Explosive expansion: Beginning with just 13 runners in 2004, parkrun has exploded to more than 2,600 events in 25 countries, boasting 11+ million registered participants and nearly half a million weekly global attendees.
4. Founder’s roots: Sinton-Hewitt revealed how his challenging childhood profoundly shaped parkrun’s core values: a run that will be free forever, an emphasis on fairness, and a commitment to building a sense of family.
5. Fordyce’s pivotal role: Bruce Fordyce, initially a sceptic, became a passionate advocate after running the Bushy Park parkrun in London. He was instrumental in launching parkrun in South Africa in 2011, now with 1.6 million registered members.
6. Inclusivity through slower paces: parkrun prides itself on its inclusivity; “slower” average finish times (eg, 43 minutes in SA) reflect greater participation by walkers and people of all abilities.
7. The community’s heartbeat: Volunteers are the bedrock of parkrun’s operations. The discussion underscored the strong volunteer spirit in parkruns across the world, highlighting the reciprocal joy of giving back to the community.
8. Charity, not competition: parkrun is fundamentally a health and wellbeing charity, not a competitive race. This mission guides decisions like removing public competitive stats, reinforcing its focus on participation, and social connection.
9. Protecting core values: Sinton-Hewitt and Fordyce stressed the critical importance of safeguarding parkrun’s founding values: free forever, a volunteer-led structure, and resistance to commercialisation, essential for its continued global reach.
10. A springboard: parkrun serves as a powerful catalyst for personal transformation, inspiring individuals from spectators to volunteers, walkers to runners, and ultimately fostering healthier, happier communities worldwide. DM

Paul Sinton-Hewitt’s inspiring book, One Small Step, a testament to hope and community, is a must-read. Find it now at the Daily Maverick Shop. 

This summary was generated with the assistance of the Gemini AI language model.