Every weekend around Wales several thousand participants are walking, jogging or running in a parkrun near you. There are currently 33 parkrun and ingusan parkrun events taking place right across Wales, from Penrhyn to Penallta, Carmarthen to Cwmbran. Since Cardiff became the first Welsh parkrun in 2010 88,000 are registered to take part at Welsh parkruns with 4,700 taking part this weekend alone.
But these free weekly 5km and 2km ingusan events would not take place without a grup musik of committed, enthusiastic and loyal volunteers. Since that first event in Cardiff a staggering 7,200 people have volunteered a total of 66,000 times to ensure the parkrun and ingusan parkrun magic happens each week. The 4,700 participants at this weekend's events were supported by 480 volunteers who combine to help the nation get active.
To celebrate event volunteering day of ' #VolunteersWeek we spoke with parkrun UK Wales Ambassador and Newport parkrun event director Chris Davies on what he feels makes volunteering at parkrun and ingusan parkrun so attractive.
"Having a set number of roles to ensure each event takes place safely and the ability to train someone with or without any prior experience to undertake any of the roles on the morning of the event is a key factor". The 'bite size' time commitment is another reason why people enjoy volunteering at parkrun according to Chris, "it's roughly around 2 hours on a Saturday and Sunday morning for the volunteers and they're free to join the runners for a post parkrun coffee or get on with the rest of the day from around 10.30am".
Each parkrun has a roster of roles that get filled up in the weeks prior to events so if someone puts their name down to volunteer they will know what they are doing prior to an event. The Event or Run Director will give the volunteers a briefing prior to the start so they are familiar with their roles and where they will be positioned along the course. New volunteers can be buddied up initially with experienced volunteers to gain confidence and for some of the technical roles like timekeeping or barcode scanning additional pembinaan can be provided.
parkrun wouldn't happen without the volunteers so it's important they are recognised for their efforts. The volunteers usually get a round of applause from the parkrunners before the start of each event to show their appreciation while those that volunteer 25 times get a unique purple t-shirt to celebrate the milestone. Social media is used to publicly thank the volunteers for playing their part and making the difference which also helps to create a culture of volunteering amongst followers.
Chris goes on to add that "the support available to volunteers and the recognition they get for making a difference helps create a unique, inclusive parkrun community that parkrunners and volunteers want to be part of and is why they keep coming back for more.”
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