Beyond the job: To direct a parkrun

Paul Bradley, Principal Consultant at PA Consulting and an APM Fellow, volunteers as a run director at his local parkrun in Woking, which is a free, weekly community event, based on a 5km distance.

Having run (in a physical sense) my local parkrun 120-ish times, and being in my mid-50s trying to fight off the inevitable march of time and gravity on my body, I was very much in the camp of ‘I have to run this every week’. Then came the ultimate ignominy for a runner: a back injury from tying my shoelaces! The doctor told me no running for eight weeks.

With a gap in my Saturday morning, I started volunteering as a marshal. It was good fun encouraging others; however, I soon realised that perhaps I had some professional skills that could be transferable to this context. I’m a project manager, after all – I can plan, organise, lead, communicate, learn, coach and build teams, so why not be a run director?

I read the official parkrun guidance, which states ‘the run director has overall responsibility for event safety and oversees proceedings during the event and at the finish line’. A doddle – isn’t that what we think when we start a new project?

Keeping an eye on the weather forecast

The weekend before my debut, I was handed the equipment for the following week: the defibrillator (a bit scary), finish tokens and the keys to the equipment shed.

The most important part of the initial planning is getting volunteers to sign up to the many roles. Some were proactive and forthcoming in wanting to help and sign themselves up early, but most roles were still empty. The key to any team building is understanding people’s strengths and assigning them roles they are competent and confident to perform, while also giving others the chance to stretch themselves. Our volunteer roles range from marshalling duties (cheering on runners and making sure everyone is OK) to more technically focused ones (such as barcode scanning, using the new fancy app).

Included in the planning process is keeping an eye on the weather forecast. Our course is made up of mixed terrain – I need to worry about torrential rain making the course too muddy and severe wind making trees unsafe. Storm Eunice brought some significant challenges for us!

Volunteers make it work

Friday morning comes and we’ve only got a couple of marshals and a timekeeper signed up. I schedule a ‘call to arms’ email to encourage volunteers for specific roles.

I get to our local park early, as I don’t want any surprises, and this time gives me contingency to adjust the course if needed. Check the radios, loudspeaker and temperamental microphone. Walk the course and lay out the signs, markers, cones and hazard warnings. Globally, parkrun shut down as COVID-19 struck in 2020. When it restarted later that year, we had to put in special protocols for social distancing and hygiene. We retained some aspects of these as they proved to be beneficial for reducing congestion. We have to retain an agile mindset when it comes to race management.

The first runners turn up 20 minutes before the start and I need to welcome and brief first-time runners to familiarise themselves with the course and local protocols. Marshals are placed at strategic spots on the course with radios in case runners need medical help (risk mitigation in action!). I make sure they are comfortable with using these so I can be informed immediately if there are any issues (I’m the escalation point).

Volunteer roles include tail-walkers, who make sure no one is in trouble and ensure anyone who wishes to walk the course doesn’t feel left out. We also regularly need guides for our visually impaired runners – they have to both run the course and make sure their runner is safe. Not all roles can be filled by volunteers, so I shoulder the burden of some of the ancillary roles, such as funnel manager, number checking, etc. The ability to multitask is a key attribute for a project manager.

Run, walk, hobble, stroll, chat

As any good project manager will know, the project initiation is critical and, in this case, the run director brief is the point when all 300-plus runners are welcomed, and the specifics of the course and protocols outlined. I have my notes ready: any new guidance that might need briefing (such as COVID-19 guidelines); looking after dogs on the course; guidance for children under 11; look out for other park users. Finally, we celebrate any achievements: 50th, 100th run milestones. Then, any questions? All that remains is the ‘3-2-1-go!’ and they’re off.

As run director, I must be alert and available to respond to any problems during the run. There is constant communication between me, the timekeepers, barcode scanners, finish token-givers and the marshals. I need the situational awareness to be able to react to situations in an agile fashion. Sound familiar? One of my primary concerns is the health and safety of runners, encompassing wasps’ nests, slippery or icy paths, dodgy bridges and potentially those who may have overexerted themselves. This responsibility extends to the volunteers.

Clear up, close-down, coffee!

Everyone is over the line with no dramas. Now to turn my attention to close-down: walking the course (again) retrieving signs, poles, cones and markers, packing up the start and finish stations, locking it up for next week. My job is not finished: I am wrestling with the results processing.

It’s time to consider lessons learned: what preparation steps worked well? What didn’t? What are the handover concerns? The final task is to write and publish the run report on the website, Facebook and Twitter.

I’ve now been run director six times, and I get a kick out of seeing people enjoy an event I have organised; this extends to helping other run directors when I’m physically running the race, now that my back is better. There’s also been transference of skills I’ve developed as a run director into my professional roles. The ability to think in an agile manner and shape teams quickly while communicating clear goals to stakeholders is something I do every day as a project management consultant.

THIS ARTICLE IS BROUGHT TO YOU FROM THE Summer 2022 ISSUE OF PROJECT JOURNAL, WHICH IS FREE FOR APM MEMBERS.