The only constant certain as change is the fact that not everyone will be happy about it. And changes at parkrun experienced the same fate when it was announced that the free, volunteer-led runs would no longer publish certain data on its website. Not a decision made on the local level, mind you, but one from the organizers that oversee the now 20-year old program.
A lot has changed in those 20 years, too. Since 2004 we’ve witnessed the era of social media and smartphones; lived through a global financial crisis, Brexit, and a pandemic; and seen the Cubs and Red Sox BOTH broke generations-long World Series droughts. As runners, we’ve seen the top men’s marathon times drop by 4-plus minutes. Training, research and technology have allowed even us regular runners to live better, healthier, and sometimes even fast running lives. In 2024, even the most basic running watch can now precisely track data we could only guesstimate 20 years ago.
Along with all of that, parkrun has grown from a modest 13 persons at its first-ever London-area run, to a weekly opportunity for runners to find community in the UK, Canada, Australia, Japan and the US. That includes an every Saturday parkrun along Charlotte’s Little Sugar Creek Greenway, where you’ll likely find dozens of runners and volunteers regardless of the weather.
We spoke with then-organizers Mitch Mitchell and Sarah Kline about parkrun about a year ago on The Running Around Charlotte Podcast. There’s been a change here, too, Mitchell tells us. Sarah’s moved from Charlotte, and Jess Bilbrey has joined Mitchell as co-organizer. Mitchell also says he doesn’t expect the global changes to impact participation locally.
“It’s important to stress that there have been no changes in participants’ personal data, both historic and going forward,” Mitchell shared via email. “You still get the same email that says what your time was, tells you how many parkruns you’ve completed overall, how many times at that particular event, what place you finished, what your personal best time is, some information about your age grade.”
The main elements now missing are a footer from the webpage that showed the fastest times by age and gender. The global decision to remove that data is the root of the controversy; a move organizers say was meant to be more inclusive and de-emphasize competition.
Locally, Mitchell says, participants at Little Sugar Creek Greenway parkrun don’t seem too invested in the pages that were removed,
“People come to parkrun to socialize, be outdoors, and have fun with the timing in their own way regardless of where they finish in the field.”
The Little Sugar Creek Greenway parkrun is every Saturday morning at 9am. The run starts and finishes at the greenway entrance along Sharon Road West, and is an out-and-back course. There’s a pre-run briefing, and post-run coffee at an area coffee shop. All paces are welcome, and a volunteer walks the course behind the last participant.
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