International News Holiday Makers "Entitlement"

MarkG said:
Well just wait til June. The men in tights can surely run 5k without it being organised ?
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I tend to agree, but some people just need that structure. In the same way people wanted gyms back open when it was perfectly possible to maintain fitness and body strength without all those mirrors to pose in front of 😉
 
parkrun you say?

They have no control over who turns up where.
Some starts are VERY crowded.
The finish funnel can`t do social distancing and folk will be gasping, spitting and throwing up (seen it all).
Volunteers have to give a spluttering runner a token, another volunteer scans it to get the time.
Some lucky volunteer has to sanitise all the tokens (500 at ours on average) and wash/clean all the kit.
Then there is the public perception thing.......
Some landowners have to do their own risk assessment and consider other users.

parkrun HQ should have aligned with the road map from the start, less fuss, less angst....easy.

Us men in tights will be back on the 26th June. :)
 
Essexyellows said:
parkrun you say?

They have no control over who turns up where.
Some starts are VERY crowded.
The finish funnel can`t do social distancing and folk will be gasping, spitting and throwing up (seen it all).
Volunteers have to give a spluttering runner a token, another volunteer scans it to get the time.
Some lucky volunteer has to sanitise all the tokens (500 at ours on average) and wash/clean all the kit.
Then there is the public perception thing.......
Some landowners have to do their own risk assessment and consider other users.

parkrun HQ should have aligned with the road map from the start, less fuss, less angst....easy.

Us men in tights will be back on the 26th June. :)
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Okay, that does make a lot of sense.

So why are things like the Cheltenham running festival going ahead then?
 
The reason Parkrun delayed was because not all venues could open, and they didn't want the others to become overwhelmed because of this (according to my smartspeaker this morning) . Fair enough. Wait a few more weeks then try again.
 
MarkG said:
4000 people separated by 2 seats and a row from people outside their bubble with masks on. Or 100a if runners all breathing heavily running in a line? Stupid is as stupid does.
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Parkrun’s on in Oz. We sign in to the SafeWA app, keep socially distant, no cross handling of items, no spitting or high fiving. Works fine.
 
SteMerritt said:
The reason Parkrun delayed was because not all venues could open, and they didn't want the others to become overwhelmed because of this (according to my smartspeaker this morning) . Fair enough. Wait a few more weeks then try again.
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Yup. We waited a long time in WA despite no disease, until they decided it was possible to start in some states and not others. When a lockdown stoppped events over 200 lots our smaller Parkruns wanted to continue, but couldn’t because of people decamping from the bigger one.
Disinfecting the tokens and washing the volunteer bibs is no biggie.
 
chuckbert said:
Parkrun’s on in Oz. We sign in to the SafeWA app, keep socially distant, no cross handling of items, no spitting or high fiving. Works fine.
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We can`t even get folk to remember their barcode so signing in to an app is at best unlikely!

We normally get 550 at ours and 500 at the other one in the City, what are the numbers like in Oz?
 
Essexyellows said:
Tickets, staggered starts, chip timing, restricted entry?

All things parkrun can`t do.
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I’d say the only thing we do at our parkrun that pushes best practice is the start. The briefing is under 2 mins (1.5m distancing, no applauding milestones or welcoming visitors) and we move straight to the start line and go. For about 30s to a minute people are a bit closer than ideal. Only 150ish at our run though.
 
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chuckbert said:
I’d say the only thing we do at our parkrun that pushes best practice is the start. The briefing is under 2 mins (1.5m distancing, no applauding milestones or welcoming visitors) and we move straight to the start line and go. For about 30s to a minute people are a bit closer than ideal. Only 150ish at our run though.
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I regularly use to do the Oxford one at Cutteslowe, but with an average 500 runners on a 3 lap course (winter) and a 2 lap course (summer) can see it being a logistical nightmare when it starts back - I don’t envy the volunteer organisers!

The one at Harcourt Hill, Botley probably easier to organise as half the number of runners and less ‘heavy traffic sections’ like Cutteslowe.
 
BeechRoadUpper said:
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I regularly use to do the Oxford one at Cutteslowe, but with an average 500 runners on a 3 lap course (winter) and a 2 lap course (summer) can see it being a logistical nightmare when it starts back - I don’t envy the volunteer organisers!

The one at Harcourt Hill, Botley probably easier to organise as half the number of runners and less ‘heavy traffic sections’ like Cutteslowe.
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I am one of those hapless volunteers and a plodder. :ROFLMAO:
We are lucky that our start is huge and wide and then naturally funnels onto the paths on our two lapper however the challenge comes at the finish funnel when folk are naturally gasping, puffing, panting, and throwing up (seen it all).
Amongst that will be the folk handing out tokens and the extra required volunteers doing the scanning using the app on their phones.
HQ wants at least 1 scanner per 50 runners so I hope the fast ones stop & help!
The other problem is the 29-32 minute "surge" there is no way we could make the funnel long enough to distance them.

However, we`ll adapt, improvise and overcome!! (y)
 
Essexyellows said:
I am one of those hapless volunteers and a plodder. :ROFLMAO:
We are lucky that our start is huge and wide and then naturally funnels onto the paths on our two lapper however the challenge comes at the finish funnel when folk are naturally gasping, puffing, panting, and throwing up (seen it all).
Amongst that will be the folk handing out tokens and the extra required volunteers doing the scanning using the app on their phones.
HQ wants at least 1 scanner per 50 runners so I hope the fast ones stop & help!
The other problem is the 29-32 minute "surge" there is no way we could make the funnel long enough to distance them.

However, we`ll adapt, improvise and overcome!! (y)
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In spite of all the whining, I can see why our local park-run in Bushey Park (nr Hampton Court) isn't being allowed to start up for the time being- it always attracts over 1,000, regularly 1,300 and on occasion, up to 1,500.
 
Essexyellows said:
I am one of those hapless volunteers and a plodder. :ROFLMAO:
We are lucky that our start is huge and wide and then naturally funnels onto the paths on our two lapper however the challenge comes at the finish funnel when folk are naturally gasping, puffing, panting, and throwing up (seen it all).
Amongst that will be the folk handing out tokens and the extra required volunteers doing the scanning using the app on their phones.
HQ wants at least 1 scanner per 50 runners so I hope the fast ones stop & help!
The other problem is the 29-32 minute "surge" there is no way we could make the funnel long enough to distance them.

However, we`ll adapt, improvise and overcome!! (y)
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Kudos to you! 👏🏻
 
Big Ron said:
In spite of all the whining, I can see why our local park-run in Bushey Park (nr Hampton Court) isn't being allowed to start up for the time being- it always attracts over 1,000, regularly 1,300 and on occasion, up to 1,500.
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Bushey is seen as a pilgrimage you know! :ROFLMAO: (y)

Yes, I`ve done some tourism as well!
 
Big Ron said:
In spite of all the whining, I can see why our local park-run in Bushey Park (nr Hampton Court) isn't being allowed to start up for the time being- it always attracts over 1,000, regularly 1,300 and on occasion, up to 1,500.
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It’s all-or-nothing. If others start up then all the bushey folks will go to them and there’ll be too many at those places.
 
Essexyellows said:
I am one of those hapless volunteers and a plodder. :ROFLMAO:
We are lucky that our start is huge and wide and then naturally funnels onto the paths on our two lapper however the challenge comes at the finish funnel when folk are naturally gasping, puffing, panting, and throwing up (seen it all).
Amongst that will be the folk handing out tokens and the extra required volunteers doing the scanning using the app on their phones.
HQ wants at least 1 scanner per 50 runners so I hope the fast ones stop & help!
The other problem is the 29-32 minute "surge" there is no way we could make the funnel long enough to distance them.

However, we`ll adapt, improvise and overcome!! (y)
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Run director, me :)
People who volunteer are legends. We need 12ish for our course, and getting volunteers signed up is definitely the most stressful part of directing.
We need 3-4 scanners with covid rules, but usually 2 of them are runners who can do <29 mins. With the app it’s easy to just join in. Runners get scanned then drop their token in a tin.
We’ve got plenty of space at the finish so just get people to disperse before they barf.
 
chuckbert said:
It’s all-or-nothing. If others start up then all the bushey folks will go to them and there’ll be too many at those places.
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I'm not sure they will to be honest - a lot of people do Bushy for social reasons. With so many people it's difficult for those looking to improve times and there are lots of jogger/walkers (although the fastest male park run at 13:48 was done there as well). There's another nearby that goes along the Thames and 100 or so regular runners.
 
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