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parkrun thread

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Spideog Sep 2018 10:45am, 27 Sep 2018 223 posts	Quote Pin Spideog Good that they are listening and making changes based on the feedback, and admitting to doing that. <waves to PSH or his minions> We do love what PSH does, and parkrun does, but I continue to get the impression from multiple things that they do and say that they don't speak to anyone outside of the general synod of the church of parkrun very often. They could do with questioning themselves and what they are saying a bit more often as they keep getting thing a little bit off. But a quick check with the outside world and alternative opinions and a minor tweak to what they are doing/ saying could make the messages they are trying to give a whole lot clearer and more open to those not already indoctrinated into the church of parkrun.
parkrunPercy Sep 2018 10:50am, 27 Sep 2018 37 posts	Quote Pin parkrunPercy Despite wishing PSH-CBE nothing but the very best for this venture, my initial thoughts, browsing at the sight, is that the man has potentially made an error going into the sports clothing market. Lets see where we are in 6 months. If I turn up at a parkrun & before me is a sea of runners/walkers in Contra clobber, as opposed to hideous , badly designed apricot, then kudos & cake all round. Its a notoriously tough market to crack & loyalty to parkrun & PSH-CBE will only stretch so far when outlets such as Decathlon sell baselayers for a fraction of the Contra price.
Yazoo Sep 2018 10:52am, 27 Sep 2018 669 posts	Quote Pin Yazoo I had a bit of a sneak peek at the Contra stuff before launch and heard Nick Pearson talk about it quite a bit and agree that the website as yet doesn't really reflect a lot of the values/reasoning behind why Paul wanted to launch this. In terms of reaching out to people, I appreciate they are in the parkrun bubble but I know a few people (parkrunners) were involved in fitting/testing who would sit in that 'normally excluded from running gear' group so there is definitely some element of looking outside before launching this... At some point there is going to be a proper feedback mechanism on the site to help them decide future direction but it's very much just a pilot at this stage.
The_Saint Sep 2018 10:59am, 27 Sep 2018 6,332 posts	Quote Pin The_Saint 'normally excluded from running gear' Could you translate this into non-parkrun-general-synod-speak for me please ? I am genuinely baffled.
Dvorak Sep 2018 11:01am, 27 Sep 2018 16,765 posts	Quote Pin Dvorak I hope there is not a sea of Contra clobber - I like the diversity of all the garments, particularly all the race shirts, at parkruns. Sprinkled with some landmark shirts and even a bit of apricot (which I was never keen on either). The whole "shamed into fitness" rolls eyes and "complete lack of suitable clothing" things - nah, not on board with that. It suggests that P S-H and crew never visit "normal" neighbourhoods, Asda or Morrisons, or indeed Sport Direct. And whilst I have seen some very large people at parkrun, none have been naked. People run parkrun in all sorts of stuff (I have scratched my head over the repeat cardigan-wearers, mind); and there is a line you could fall to the wrong side of between "accessible for all" and " here is suitable* clothing for parkrun".
philip_m_jones Sep 2018 11:01am, 27 Sep 2018 152 posts	Quote Pin philip_m_jones Is it a backwards N or a Cyrillic И? On www.parkrun.ru: parkrun Россия COИTRA
philip_m_jones Sep 2018 11:03am, 27 Sep 2018 153 posts	Quote Pin philip_m_jones I suspect Putin has his fingers in this.
Spideog Sep 2018 11:09am, 27 Sep 2018 224 posts	Quote Pin Spideog Should parkrun staff be spending time working on the Contra stuff? I actually think that parkrun has to branch out into selling far more stuff in order to survive and be able to provide the milestone tshirts in house. But is Contra a PSH brand that happens to support parkrun, or is it a parkrun commercial arm? Would be far cheaper, quicker, easier and profitable for parkrun if they just got some branded coffee mugs, phone cases, hats, non sports tshirts etc sorted and flogged them off. Also would be "free" advertising getting their brand into places other than parkruns. By trying to go into the sportswear market, but at the high end expensive, customised designs end seems doomed. Lovely and noble idea, but they are picking the hardest way possible to try to make money of the methods available to them.
jdarun Sep 2018 11:12am, 27 Sep 2018 3,093 posts	Quote Pin jdarun Remind me again, why does parkrun have to sell stuff and make money? Like many commenters, I don't wish them any harm, but what exactly is broken here that needs fixing? Agree that mugs etc would be better than overpriced sports gear.
Spideog Sep 2018 11:19am, 27 Sep 2018 225 posts	Quote Pin Spideog They need to sell stuff as they no longer get shirts for free from other sports manufacturers, but the number of shirts they have to provide is only ever going to increase. They have massively increased their costs by producing the tops themselves, but the only income stream is still the same sponsorship from the likes of Leeds, Vitality, a bed manufacturer (?) and a tour operator that goes to places parkrun doesn't happen. Unless they have stuck an extra couple of zeros on the end of what they get from Leeds and Vitatilty then not sure how their current model can be sustained.