The parkrun board of trustees holds formal meetings four times a year, attended by members of the executive and senior leadership team. Over the past few months, many members of our group have directly contacted the trustees of parkrun to share their views on the changes, and the leadership team's subsequent responses. Many also queried the alarming tone of the recently updated T&C's, such as the statement:

"Should parkrun be notified, and it be proven to our satisfaction, that you have participated at parkrun in a way that is not in accordance with parkrun rules and/or guidelines, and/or that you have carried out actions/activities in any location that places parkrun at risk or into disrepute then parkrun will take any action we deem reasonable and appropriate which can include up to relinquishing your duties from roles of responsibility within parkrun, deletion of your parkrun profile and banning from attending and/or participating at any or all parkrun events." Click here for the full document.

Some trustees replied that these issues would be discussed at their meeting at the end of June.  Following this meeting, many received this identical response from various trustees. 

"Thanks for your email.

Over the past few months, together with the senior leadership team, we have continued to reflect on the changes made and listen to the views shared by parkrunners in response.

Most recently, the Trustees discussed the concerns you and others raised (regarding the removal of certain statistics from the website) at its board meeting in June.
We remain of the view that the decision was the right one, consistent with our ambition to remove barriers to participation.

But we do also acknowledge that this decision and some of the subsequent communication has upset some of the community, and that a number of parkrunners have felt excluded, unwelcome and unheard.

The organisation has acknowledged that the changes were not implemented or communicated in the way we would have wanted, or in the world-class way that we aspire to operate. One of the lessons learned from this change is that broader and deeper engagement with the community now and in future is critical.
So, with that in mind, I want to share with you what we’re doing next.

With the very recent appointment of a new Head of Digital Transformation, we are about to start work on a digital strategy that will include looking at how we share the data and information that is useful and interesting to all parkrunners in a way that is consistent with our objectives and values; as well as provide the best possible experience for everyone that interacts with parkrun, wherever they are in their own parkrun journey.

Developing a new digital strategy is a big project (and long overdue) but will take a fresh look at how the technology and digital systems that underpin the parkrun experience are improved upon to best support our growing community, and continue to provide value for those that have been parkrunning for many years now.

This work will involve consultation and collaboration with parkrunners, with a number of opportunities for the community to provide input, ideas and feedback as we consider how parkrun evolves in the future.

Within this project we will look at how data can be displayed in other ways; ensuring that we continue to remove barriers to participation whilst also recognising the value and importance of certain data and information to individual parkrunners.

Opportunities to get involved in this project will be communicated via our email and social media channels over the coming months. Do look out for that and, if you are able to, I would encourage you to get involved.

Thanks again for getting in touch - it is appreciated,"

Whilst we appreciate the acknowledgement of the upset that has been caused, it is disappointing that they continue to dig their heels in on this change, adhering to their apparent motto that it removes barriers to participation. This stance persists despite all evidence showing that the statistics only provided motivation and that their argument lacks any validity.

For our part, we are resolute that the stats should be made accessible for the many people that benefitted from them. We will continue to campaign for this, and raise awareness amongst our community. Further detrimental changes are planned - making each person's data hidden to all but their official 'friends', which we also oppose. The sense of community would be reduced further, along with the opportunities to connect with others that arise from it.

Please do join us our Facebook group if you wish to here where we enjoy much camaraderie from all over the globe, and unite in our efforts to challenge the changes. It is great to see the Bring Back the Stats T-shirts popping up all over the place each weekend too, and they can be ordered here. (white writing on a blue t-shirt really stands out)

The removal of the stats remains as nonsensical today as it was in February. For the good of our community, we continue to urge parkrun to bring back the stats!

Thank you.