Skip to content

We recently published our new global five year strategy that sets out the direction for the future.

March 2022

Thanks for checking back into the Volunteer Hub to view the March volunteer update.

International Women’s Day parkrun

On Saturday 5 March we will be celebrating International Women’s Day at parkrun events all around the world. On this day in March 2020 we were delighted to welcome 15,000 additional women and girls to parkrun, and we also saw a record number of female volunteers on that day, including the highest percentage of female Run Directors ever! Please get in touch with your local event if you’d like to get involved with volunteering to celebrate International Women’s Day 2022 wherever you are.

IWD image

Changes to our Dogs policy

As you may have heard, we have recently announced a change to our policy regarding participation with dogs. From (and including) Saturday 2 April we will no longer permit parkrunners to use waist harnesses when participating with their dog. Our new policy on participation with dogs states the following:

“One dog on a short, handheld, non-extendable lead by the side of the participant, and within reach at all times. Care must also be taken to avoid tripping other parkrunners.”

For more details around the background to this decision, please head to your country’s blog site.

Dog on short lead image

Bringing a automatic external defibrillator (AED) to the scene of a serious incident

This is a reminder to all teams that if a potentially serious incident occurs at an event, it’s incredibly important that the AED is brought to the scene of the incident as quickly as possible as every minute counts.

As soon as a serious incident is reported, wherever it is on the course, please make sure that you take the defibrillator with you when going to assess the incident.

Some incidents may not turn out to be as serious as first feared, but it is always best to err on the side of caution.

We recommend that you discuss this with the entire core team so that everyone is aware of what to do if a serious incident occurs out on the course.

First Timers Welcome

This month we return to the volunteer video series that has been developed using feedback from event teams around the world, along with research into people’s attitudes towards volunteering at parkrun.

The First Timers Welcome plays an important role in creating a welcoming and friendly atmosphere for people taking part in parkrun for the first time. By explaining how parkrun works and highlighting any relevant course-specific information, it helps to reassure any newcomers who may have been nervous about joining us. Even seeing this role on a volunteer roster may be very comforting to a brand new parkrunner.

We encourage all events to include a First Timers Briefing on their volunteer roster (soon to be officially renamed ‘First Timers Welcome’) to ensure everyone gets a true parkrun welcome when they first take part!

Share the video series with your event team and start the conversation around volunteering at your local parkrun and how you can promote volunteering in a positive way to involve as many people as possible to join the fun. Each video ends with a ‘call to action’ to remind people of some of the ways they can volunteer, enjoy watching!

Meet parkrun Volunteer Naoki Ozawa, Hirono kaigan koen parkrun

I have been participating at Hirono kaigan koen parkrun as a volunteer since it launched in November 2019. I remember being very excited about having such a global event in my local park.

Chatting with fellow volunteers every week is a great way to get to know each other and to gain local knowledge. I feel so grateful and happy when parkrunners share their thanks and wave goodbye, I know I’ll see them again next week.

For me, every Saturday starts at Hirono kaigan koen parkrun with good health and a smile! It’s a lovely feeling knowing that I am connected with everyone in the world through a love of parkrun.

Volunteer Naoki Ozawa

Wherever you are in the world, wishing you a great month of parkrunning in whichever way you choose to participate, be that volunteering, walking, jogging, running or spectating.

James Kemp
Global Operations Manager