Parkrun..

Sunny Dayz

Are they still going ahead in Northern Ireland?

rainbow kirby

Sunny Dayz wrote: »

Are they still going ahead in Northern Ireland?

Yep, administered by parkrun UK.

Burkie1203

robinph wrote: »

Doesn't take much to avoid that contact though. Pair of gloves for the token hander outer, scanners don't need to touch tokens, the runners then drop them in a bucket after scanning and the RD throws them in the sink when they get home.

Your taking about changing the normal behaviour pattern of 100s of people in a 20-30 minutes timeframe. It sucks but its sensible call. If even one person contracted covid19 via a parkrun visit and it became public knowledge the organisers would be crucified on SM.

It can also make contact tracing tricky if one person contracts the virus and there is 20-30 "unknown" runners.

wirelessdude01

pc11 wrote: »

Panic has won. Logic has lost.

If supermarkets, bars, restaurants, offices and public transport are open, then some small local runs are simply irrelevant.

Bars and restaurants will be ordered to shut within the next fortnight. Mark my words.

Burkie1203

pc11 wrote: »

Panic has won. Logic has lost.

If supermarkets, bars, restaurants, offices and public transport are open, then some small local runs are simply irrelevant.

Not really. People running will be sweating, wiping face etc. The very thing that allows this to transmit is saliva etc. Major races all over are being cancelled or postponed.

Govt department public offices are being closed for the forseeable with a few exceptions such as Social Protection.

robinph

Burkie1203 wrote: »

Not really. People running will be sweating, wiping face etc. The very thing that allows this to transmit is saliva etc. Major races all over are being cancelled or postponed.

Govt department public offices are being closed for the forseeable with a few exceptions such as Social Protection.

It's a lung infection. Do they normally get transmitted through sweat?

Being in close proximity to others is a risk, but other than at the start line where everyone is just looking at someone elses back people really are not in that much contact with anyone else during a race. You are outside, all running the the same direction and all breathing in the same direction and breathing in fresh air.

Go hang around in a busy bar and your all on top of one another for far longer, breathing the same air and interacting with far more people than you are during a running race.

adrian522

robinph wrote: »

It's a lung infection. Do they normally get transmitted through sweat?

Being in close proximity to others is a risk, but other than at the start line where everyone is just looking at someone elses back people really are not in that much contact with anyone else during a race. You are outside, all running the the same direction and all breathing in the same direction and breathing in fresh air.

Go hang around in a busy bar and your all on top of one another for far longer, breathing the same air and interacting with far more people than you are during a running race.

People should not be either running races or hanging around in a busy bar. Correct decision to cancel all events for the moment.

Burkie1203

robinph wrote: »

It's a lung infection. Do they normally get transmitted through sweat?

Being in close proximity to others is a risk, but other than at the start line where everyone is just looking at someone elses back people really are not in that much contact with anyone else during a race. You are outside, all running the the same direction and all breathing in the same direction and breathing in fresh air.

Go hang around in a busy bar and your all on top of one another for far longer, breathing the same air and interacting with far more people than you are during a running race.

Sweating, meaning people start touching their face etc. Then they take their parkrun barcode out to be scanned by handing it to someone. All 150 to 500 people literally have to go through a funnel to one person dishing out tokens and a few more scanning.

robinph

Burkie1203 wrote: »

Sweating, meaning people start touching their face etc. Then they take their parkrun barcode out to be scanned by handing it to someone. All 150 to 500 people literally have to go through a funnel to one person dishing out tokens and a few more scanning.

No need for the person handing out tokens to touch people or to touch the tokens with the use of a pair of gloves. No need for the people scanning to touch peoples barcodes or finish tokens.

Yes there are risks, but not any more than paying for your latte on the way to work or spending the day sat in an air conditioned office next to someone.

Skid X

robinph wrote: »

No need for the person handing out tokens to touch people or to touch the tokens with the use of a pair of gloves. No need for the people scanning to touch peoples barcodes or finish tokens.

Yes there are risks, but not any more than paying for your latte on the way to work or spending the day sat in an air conditioned office next to someone.

These are not normal times

Parkrun would be perceived as reckless if they had gone ahead when every other sporting organisation in the country has taken action

Media and Social Media would not look favourably on it. Sponsors and participants could quickly withdraw support.

Emotions are high - Hard earned Goodwill could disappear over a single cluster of local infections traced back to an individual Parkrun and the brand could become toxic in Ireland

No brainer to cancel.

Burkie1203

robinph wrote: »

No need for the person handing out tokens to touch people or to touch the tokens with the use of a pair of gloves. No need for the people scanning to touch peoples barcodes or finish tokens.

Yes there are risks, but not any more than paying for your latte on the way to work or spending the day sat in an air conditioned office next to someone.

Its not the one person who hands out tokens or scanning that is the issue. It's the 150 200 250 or 300 participants who all have to be aware of that too changing the normal routine. Of course its an added risk. Idiotic to think otherwise. These are participants who are running Breathing heavy, sweating wiping face etc.

Parkrun have made the only decision they could in the circumstances. It's common sense

robinph

It is absolutely the right thing to cancel parkruns where the government advice is around stopping public gatherings. That is down to the bad publicity that would come parkruns way 100%. There isn't any need for parkrun UK to make the call to cancel though when the actual risks are minimal compared to everything else still happening in the country and there is no requirement to from government policies.

parkrun is an insignificant social gathering compared to what else people will be doing during the next week.

average_runner

Time will tell who has made the right call. I have more faith in Leo than Looney Tune Boris

robinph

average_runner wrote: »

Time will tell who has made the right call. I have more faith in Leo than Looney Tune Boris

Absolutely, but there was nothing from yesterdays announcements that seemed to have come from Johnson. He totally deferred to the experts for a change and they had good justification for their choices.

Time will tell, but not certain it makes a whole lot of difference what you do this week, but what you do this week may affect what you can do in a months time.

Skill Magill

You could run a freedom course? Haven’t done one but it looks like you do a course and record your own time.
https://www.parkrun.com/runner/freedom/?Ath=3715763&Conf=daa10d216a8c1371c219&utm_medium=email&utm_source=resultsemail&utm_campaign=systememail

Reg'stoy

Was due to do my 100th tomorrow, had been holding off actually reaching the 100 so herself and a few friends could join me, but absolutely the correct decision.

I'll continue with training for Cork but fully expect it to be delayed/cancelled.

rainbow kirby

Shockingly enough, I'm still able to go to a hugely busy run tomorrow if I want... I'm debating whether to go to busy Stretford or quieter Burnage.

jimmii

rainbow kirby wrote: »

Shockingly enough, I'm still able to go to a hugely busy run tomorrow if I want... I'm debating whether to go to busy Stretford or quieter Burnage.

Same. I had intended to go for a PB at the edinbrugh run and that got almost 700 last weekend. Nicola has asked for events over 500 people that could effect the emergency services to be cancelled from Monday so as far as they feel theres no reason not to go ahead. Think I'll still go to my local one as it normally only gets around 60.

robinph

Going to find a quieter event ourselves, but because we much prefer them and we don't have to rush back for other kids activities like normal. Have a 20 mile race on Sunday also so intending to take it a bit easier than most weeks.

KJ

I forgot to post to say that last week I was first finisher for the first time ever! Also, with events cancelled for the rest of the month, does that make me the March Champion for my local parkrun?

Tigerandahalf

Could parkrun have continued but have no timing in place plus no cafe afterwards? If this shutdown continues for longer than a couple of weeks people are going to have awful cabin fever. Junior parkruns could continue as well. Kids could really need to burn off the energy.

So many races and events in general have been cancelled.

On the other hand you see the Arsenal manager possibly picking it up from a brief encounter with the Greek Olympiakos soccer team manager who has tested positive.

Can it be transmitted from people just breathing in and out rather than sneezing etc?

adrian522

Tigerandahalf wrote: »

Could parkrun have continued but have no timing in place plus no cafe afterwards? If this shutdown continues for longer than a couple of weeks people are going to have awful cabin fever. Junior parkruns could continue as well. Kids could really need to burn off the energy.

So many races and events in general have been cancelled.

On the other hand you see the Arsenal manager possibly picking it up from a brief encounter with the Greek Olympiakos soccer team manager who has tested positive.

Can it be transmitted from people just breathing in and out rather than sneezing etc?

Holding Junior parkruns would completely go against the point of closing schools.

"Message from consultant respiratory paediatrician at CUH. I hope you all stay safe during this difficult time .

The children will get through this no problem . Paediatric hospitals are empty in Italy at present after 3 weeks of school closure as the usual viruses stopped circulating .

Remember with Corona, children are vectors not victims . In most epidemics young children are the transmitters .

Therefore for school closure to be effective it’s really important that the kids aren’t mixing with other kids while out of school . They will give it to each other silently pass it on to our loved ones.

What we do now will contribute to how this develops in Cork . Avoid situations that the children will interact.

If the community respond to this it will shut it down more than anything we do in hospital . From my experiences in the hospital this last week I would say that corona virus is closer to all of us than we realise and the degrees of separation for all of us is getting narrower.

This message should be shared as widely as possible with parents in Cork it will help. This message needs to go viral to stop the virus."

arybvtcw0eolkf

KJ wrote: »

I forgot to post to say that last week I was first finisher for the first time ever! Also, with events cancelled for the rest of the month, does that make me the March Champion for my local parkrun?

LOL

Hail the champ

Murph_D

robinph wrote: »

No need for the person handing out tokens to touch people or to touch the tokens with the use of a pair of gloves. No need for the people scanning to touch peoples barcodes or finish tokens.

Yes there are risks, but not any more than paying for your latte on the way to work or spending the day sat in an air conditioned office next to someone.

Robin, I assume you are a multiple volunteer. Don't take the piss.

average_runner

I think the forum has shown two type of runners:

The one that cant say no to racing no matter at what health risk .

The one that can see the big picture and step back from the races.

Both train and are as committed.

Lazare

Murph_D wrote: »

Robin, I assume you are a multiple volunteer. Don't take the piss.

This.

I did barcode scanning last week. I wore gloves for the cold but had to remove them to work the scanner. Must have come into contact with about 90 people.

Mad how quickly this is moving. I had no worries doing that last week. Wouldn't dare do it this week.

Using car keys to operate ATMs now.

rainbow kirby

jimmii wrote: »

Same. I had intended to go for a PB at the edinbrugh run and that got almost 700 last weekend. Nicola has asked for events over 500 people that could effect the emergency services to be cancelled from Monday so as far as they feel theres no reason not to go ahead. Think I'll still go to my local one as it normally only gets around 60.

At least she has her head somewhat screwed on, compared to Boris the blathering buffoon...

jimmii

rainbow kirby wrote: »

At least she has her head somewhat screwed on, compared to Boris the blathering buffoon...

I don't know might turn out he's done the right thing. No matter what way you think is correct you have to consider it brave to not follow everyone else and shows trust in the advisors. I can see why they're doing it this way and if it plays out how they seem to think it will it could work out being a lot more manageable than it ends up being elsewhere. Truth is no one knows what's best to do in this situation so everyone is relying on getting lucky!

Having said that it doesnt seem to have made any difference everyone seems to be in a self imposed lock down never seen the roads so empty as yesterday.

robinph

Murph_D wrote: »

Robin, I assume you are a multiple volunteer. Don't take the piss.

Not sure why you think I'm taking the piss. Perfectly reasonable suggestions for how to limit contact during a parkrun. Also parkrun is a very very tiny social interaction compared with the time people spend in offices and public transport during the week.

Didn't have physical contact with anyone during parkrun this morning, or stand within their range of breathing on me. Bigger challenge was avoiding driving the buggy through dog poo.

Anyway, will be the last for a while as I doubt they will happen next week. Not because of any big risks at a small running event, but because of the bad publicity of them happening. Even if there is 100,000 people already infected in the UK, the chances of meeting one of them at an event this morning are tiny, and the chances of having shared bodily fluids with them in the outdoors are even more tiny. Those numbers will of course change over the next few weeks, but for now the biggest risk anyone is doing is going into work on Monday morning.

I'm in a couple of at risk groups, but the benefits of doing the parkrun this morning far outweigh any risks for the moment.

adrian522

Spare us the whataboutery.

It's pretty irresponsible for parkrun to continue when most sporting organisations have stopped not only games and large gatherings abut small things like training sessions.

Having non essential events like parkrun will only speed up the spread of the virus, particularly in NI when people from the south will travel to NI to partake and spread the virus when they return.

Head in the sand stuff from the parkrun HQ, no leadership whatsoever.

average_runner

robinph wrote: »

Not sure why you think I'm taking the piss. Perfectly reasonable suggestions for how to limit contact during a parkrun. Also parkrun is a very very tiny social interaction compared with the time people spend in offices and public transport during the week.

Didn't have physical contact with anyone during parkrun this morning, or stand within their range of breathing on me. Bigger challenge was avoiding driving the buggy through dog poo.

Anyway, will be the last for a while as I doubt they will happen next week. Not because of any big risks at a small running event, but because of the bad publicity of them happening. Even if there is 100,000 people already infected in the UK, the chances of meeting one of them at an event this morning are tiny, and the chances of having shared bodily fluids with them in the outdoors are even more tiny. Those numbers will of course change over the next few weeks, but for now the biggest risk anyone is doing is going into work on Monday morning.

I'm in a couple of at risk groups, but the benefits of doing the parkrun this morning far outweigh any risks for the moment.

I am sorry, the benefit of a parkrun today does not out weight any risks.

You simply dont believe corona is serious and you dont care who you could spread it to.

The Black Oil

Perhaps we can get back to why people do parkrun at all. For me, it's about the range of people you meet and the pre/post ribbing that happens, be it from running or volunteering.

robinph

average_runner wrote: »

I am sorry, the benefit of a parkrun today does not out weight any risks.

You simply dont believe corona is serious and you dont care who you could spread it to.

I believe it is a serious threat, and I definitely believe that it is an additional very serious threat to me on a number of counts.

The miniscule risk of going to parkrun this morning though doesn't bother me in the slightest. It would do in a month and possibly would in a week, but not today. Working from home I had more interaction with different people within the first 30 seconds of arriving than I would during a month during the working day (even if just a nod hello from the other side of a flower bed this morning). That is a significant benefit to me and loads of other people, the risk of transmission of the virus is still tiny though at this stage.

Yes it does make sense to shut down various things. I don't think parkrun is anywhere near the top of that list though and there are much more effective things that could be done first. Anyone turning up to an office on Monday is at significant more risk to themselves and others than anyone running around a park this morning was.



I'm hoping that things do subside in time for the London marathon weekend in October which will also be parkruns 16th birthday the day before at Bushy. No guarantee of that yet as nobody knows what will happen next.

opus

Got out for a freedom run this morning just to keep the routine, wasn't the only one. Tbh I'd be surprised if the parkruns in the UK keep going given every other parkrun country has stopped (I think).

robinph

I'd hope that they allow Cape Pembroke Lighthouse to continue, even though in parkrun world its classed as being in the UK region. Same goes for the prison events which should really be allowed to continue based on their own situations .

Even if a prison is hit with the virus, letting the lads run around the yard would be the least of their worries. Very similar environment to the cruise ships, except they are not going to be going ashore after 2 weeks quarantine so they should be let run.

Burkie1203

robinph wrote: »

I believe it is a serious threat, and I definitely believe that it is an additional very serious threat to me on a number of counts.

The miniscule risk of going to parkrun this morning though doesn't bother me in the slightest. It would do in a month and possibly would in a week, but not today. Working from home I had more interaction with different people within the first 30 seconds of arriving than I would during a month during the working day (even if just a nod hello from the other side of a flower bed this morning). That is a significant benefit to me and loads of other people, the risk of transmission of the virus is still tiny though at this stage.

Yes it does make sense to shut down various things. I don't think parkrun is anywhere near the top of that list though and there are much more effective things that could be done first. Anyone turning up to an office on Monday is at significant more risk to themselves and others than anyone running around a park this morning was.

The miniscule risk you talk about could be massive for people who walk at parkrun because they simply cannot run for medical reasons.

Can you point to any evidence that workplace is more or less at risk to a parkrun?

Cancelling Parkrun is the correct thing to do. We need to minimize risk at all levels regardless of how big or small. In an ideal work people don't have contact but in reality where people chasing a time sprint over a line are they really thinking clearly enough etc?

I can see parkrun initially returning whenever that is with untimed events for a few weeks.

Pawwed Rig

The current Irish government advisory would seem to still allow for parkrun (except the biggest 3 or 4) I suppose it depends who you are listening to.
Alot of places have shut down but seem to be contrary to the 'official' advice (whatever that is worth)

Burkie1203

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

The current Irish government advisory would seem to still allow for parkrun (except the biggest 3 or 4) I suppose it depends who you are listening to.
Alot of places have shut down but seem to be contrary to the 'official' advice (whatever that is worth)

The official advice is one thing but the "social distancing" places a few ppl in an unnecessary position

Also if someone has a medical issue the first aiders etc are also put at risk

Pawwed Rig

Not denying any of that but the official advice is the official advice which would allow for a parkrun. It is ultimately up to individuals themselves if they want to be more conservative than the official advice so I think people have been a little unfair to Robin here.

plodder

adrian522 wrote: »

Having non essential events like parkrun will only speed up the spread of the virus, particularly in NI when people from the south will travel to NI to partake and spread the virus when they return.

Looking at some of the numbers in NI this morning, I don't see any evidence of that happening. Many events are down slightly, and a few up by a small amount.

Head in the sand stuff from the parkrun HQ, no leadership whatsoever.

They are just following the advice from the authorities in each country they operate. That said, I'd be surprised if it's still going ahead next week.

cheekypup

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

Not denying any of that but the official advice is the official advice which would allow for a parkrun. It is ultimately up to individuals themselves if they want to be more conservative than the official advice so I think people have been a little unfair to Robin here.

I was down to be Run Director this morning and although i was dissapointed it wasn't on, I fully respect parkrun HQ's decision and glad the decision to call off the run was taken out of my hands.

I'm glad there was no opportunity for me to call emergency services for any accident or incident that may have occured to any parkrunner and therefore no taking the frontline services away from where there are needed most at the moment.

Pawwed Rig

cheekypup wrote: »

I was down to be Run Director this morning and although i was dissapointed it wasn't on, I fully respect parkrun HQ's decision and glad the decision to call off the run was taken out of my hands.

I'm glad there was no opportunity for me to call emergency services for any accident or incident that may have occured to any parkrunner and therefore no taking the frontline services away from where there are needed most at the moment.

Nothing I wrote contradicts any of that

robinph

.

https://twitter.com/WithMeNowPod/status/1238907375945465859?s=19

adrian522

So they are going to follow the government guidelines in each country and not make any determinations themselves. Fair enough I guess but obviously the UK and Ireland are following different paths on this and its strange to have such differing policies in 2 jurisdictions beside one another.

I think they are showing a complete lack of leadership and they are putting volunteers and runners in harms way unnecessarily. He quotes a" medical expert on radio 5" but if that is going to be the standard I really worry about parkrun and the decisions they are taking. Experts all over the world (and the World Health Organisation) advise against this sort of strategy and I think we've seen the consequences on this in other countries.

KJ

plodder wrote: »

Looking at some of the numbers in NI this morning, I don't see any evidence of that happening. Many events are down slightly, and a few up by a small amount.

It probably didn't happen much but I know for a fact some people from Louth went to the Castlewellan Parkrun this morning as I saw them posting about it on Facebook.

average_runner

adrian522 wrote: »

So they are going to follow the government guidelines in each country and not make any determinations themselves. Fair enough I guess but obviously the UK and Ireland are following different paths on this and its strange to have such differing policies in 2 jurisdictions beside one another.

I think they are showing a complete lack of leadership and they are putting volunteers and runners in harms way unnecessarily. He quotes a" medical expert on radio 5" but if that is going to be the standard I really worry about parkrun and the decisions they are taking. Experts all over the world (and the World Health Organisation) advise against this sort of strategy and I think we've seen the consequences on this in other countries.

UK are changing their approach, getting in line with the rest of us now.

Sunny Dayz

I’m glad parkrun Ireland made the decision to suspend parkrun for the foreseeable. I was RD last weekend, and I was quite nervous about it. What if the virus was inadvertently passed around the parkrun? I went in earlier than usual that morning and cleaned all the equipment and tokens with anti-bac wipes. I had hand gel available. I tried to keep enough distance from people but it was difficult to do once people started crossing the finish line. A lot has changed in the week since then and the correct decision was made by parkrun ireland.

robinph

Sunny Dayz wrote: »

I’m glad parkrun Ireland made the decision to suspend parkrun for the foreseeable.

Don't think it can be laid completely at the feet of each country team. The decision is still going to be lead by parkrun HQ policy from the UK, and that is for each country to follow the local government guidelines.

South Africa, Australia, New Zealand were all still running this weekend. Doubt anywhere will be next week, but neither the praise or blame for what events took place or not this weekend should be directed at parkrun. They are just following the guidelines they have been given in each country.

annapr

adrian522 wrote: »

Spare us the whataboutery.

It's pretty irresponsible for parkrun to continue when most sporting organisations have stopped not only games and large gatherings abut small things like training sessions.

Having non essential events like parkrun will only speed up the spread of the virus, particularly in NI when people from the south will travel to NI to partake and spread the virus when they return.

Head in the sand stuff from the parkrun HQ, no leadership whatsoever.

I could not agree more with this. parkrun HQ has not covered themselves in glory at all.

Also, let's remember these are community events run by volunteers... many of whom might be in at-risk categories. And anyone who has seen the token handling at a junior events, for example, knows that every germ going is hitting those tokens. :eek:

annapr

robinph wrote: »

Don't think it can be laid completely at the feet of each country team. The decision is still going to be lead by parkrun HQ policy from the UK, and that is for each country to follow the local government guidelines.

South Africa, Australia, New Zealand were all still running this weekend. Doubt anywhere will be next week, but neither the praise or blame for what events took place or not this weekend should be directed at parkrun. They are just following the guidelines they have been given in each country.

The decision in Ireland was actually being lead by some of our local event teams, we had to wait for hq to catch up. We were cancelling this week, no matter what policy was coming from the UK.

I love parkrun events, but I'm very disillusioned with the central leadership on this topic.