Presentation from Nick Pearson, Chief Executive of parkrun, from the Sport and Recreation Alliance's Governance Workshop 09/06/2016

1. SPORT &
RECREATION
ALLIANCE
Nick Pearson
CEO, parkrun

2. free
weekly
timed
5k
Oct, 2004
2

3. 900
weekly events
The biggest running event
in the world.
10,000
weekly volunteers
150,000
weekly runners
40%
annual growth
20,000
weekly registrations

4. 100,000
weekly runners
500
weekly events
(400 5k, 100 2k)
7,000
weekly volunteers
12,000
weekly registrations
1,000,000
unique runners

5. what’s driven
the growth
of the world’s
biggest
running event?

6. Removing
Barriers

7. Empowering
Teams

8. Building
Communities

9. Consistent
Delivery

10. Challenging
Bureaucracy

11. Not being
Distracted

12. Organisationally-
lite

13. Social Media
Era

14. what have we achieved so
far?

15. UK participation:
Growth 2012-16
0
200,000
400,000
600,000
800,000
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

16. Previously inactive runners:
Growth 2012-16
0
25,000
50,000
75,000
100,000
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

17. Female participation:
Growth 2012-16
0
100,000
200,000
300,000
400,000
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

18. • Females account for:
• 55% of Registrations
• 42% of Runs
• Since Q1 2015 Females have
been a majority of ‘New’
parkrunners, growing Quarter by
Quarter, reaching 52.5% in Q1
2016

19. Junior participation:
Growth 2012-16
0
50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
2k junior parkrun 5k events Expon. (5k events)

20. Social deprivation:
Growth 2012-16
0
17,500
35,000
52,500
70,000
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Least deprived 3rd

21. • 110,000 runners come from
England’s most deprived
postcodes, accounting for
10.2% of runners.
• Weekly runners from most
deprived postcodes have
grown 72% since 2014.

22. Volunteering:
Growth 2012-16
0
25,000
50,000
75,000
100,000
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

23. • Around 120,000 unique volunteers in the
UK
• 44% Female / 56% Male
• Over 65’s account for 3% of runs, but 7%
of volunteering
• 5,736 individuals have volunteered first
and then gone on to run

24. Over-65s participation:
Growth 2012-16
0
3,000
6,000
9,000
12,000
15,000
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

25. • Over 65’s fastest growing group in
parkrun. 49% growth in 2015, now
account for 3% of runs
• Over 50’s account for 21% of runs

26. THANK YOU