Lessons learnt from Parkrun

Upon reflecting on a conversation I had with a former colleague over 15 years ago, I have come to the realization that I had severely misjudged the appeal of Parkrun. During our conversation, my colleague informed me that he had started a free 5km run that takes place every Saturday morning. Apparently it had become so popular that he was in the process of starting up a second venue. At the time, I couldn't appreciate the appeal of getting together with others for a ‘long distance’ run. However, unbeknownst to me, this was the beginning of Parkrun, which has now grown to include over eight million registered runners across 22 countries worldwide. 

After having a conversation with my father, who is quickly approaching his 200th Parkrun, I understand what makes this event so incredibly attractive to so many people. He explained to me the profound sense of community that is felt, particularly because it is run entirely by volunteers, as well as the competitiveness that comes with tracking his personal best and comparing it to others in his age group both locally and internationally.

So what have I learnt from this - that my opinion did not matter because I was not the target audience for Parkrun. Hence, if you are trying to convince investors or senior stakeholders about one of your ideas, it is beneficial to gather evidence from your target market to demonstrate the need for your product. This will help alleviate any personal biases that the listener may have. 

For those interested in learning how to gather evidence for their product, I highly recommend checking out my recent post on "How to prove your problem assumption." As for me, while I don’t consider myself a runner, I am excited to join my father for his 200th Parkrun, just as I did for his 100th at Bushy Park, where it all began.