Parkrun Stats are currently a bit of a contentious issue with parkrun HQ recently removing a fair few of them. This was the catalyst for the Parkrun Numbers Count (PNC) to form. This post isn’t to address the issues at all but to talk about the expansion of the PNC forms. It also explains some of the stats and challenges that avid parkrunners may use.
Why
This is because someone asked me about some of the challenges and it’s just easier to have an explanation here on my blog in case anyone else wants to know the same. The details are subject to my interpretation – please put in the comments any others I may not have included or how you think they should be explained.
At the end of the day parkrun is growing all the time. If you fancy a change of course, or the challenges of tourism then these challenges can help you whittle down the selection. Of course you could just stick to doing your NENDY (nearest event not done yet).
How to Access Your Parkrun Information
How you get this information is all linked to your own personal parkrun profile. Some of it will also be e-mailed out to you. A lot of parkrunners also have a number of Apps that have the information pooled for us. These include 5K, parkrunner and Running Achievements.
The Expansion of the Parkrun Numbers Count Stats
As Parkrun Numbers Count has grown it has evolved to include more things than in my original post. Currently there’s two forms both with optional information being added to it.
You now only need to submit information that has changed. The deadline is now 1pm the following Thursday. Although you may miss out on a Wednesday shout out – I am not sure if you’d get one if you fill it out on the Thursday. Apart from the identifiers it is all optional.
The Basic Form
The basic form covers just the following:
- Number of different Venues. That is each unique parkrun you have been to, regardless of the number of times you have been there.
- Total number of parkruns – this is how many days you have run, jogged, jeffed or walked a parkrun. This will also include if you were in a moving volunteer role – that is parkwalker, tailwalker or pacer.
- In the detailed stats you will see that there’s a total days attendance – which will be your total number of parkruns plus any days where you solely volunteered in a non-exercise way (so excluding the above).
- The highest number of parkruns you have done at one venue.
- Which country your home parkrun is located.
The Detail Stats
The age grading is part of the touchy issues surrounding parkrun stats in my opinion. This is because your gender is taken into account, along with your age and time to create a percentage – and not your sex at birth.
Parkrun Age Grading
Age grading takes your time and uses the world record time for your gender and age to produce a score (a percentage). This score allows you to compare your personal performance against other people’s performances even though they might be a different age and a different gender to you – the higher the score the better the performance.
The scores can also be compared across different distances – to allow you to, for example, compare a 5km time against a marathon.
No allowance is made for different weather conditions or the varying terrains of the courses.
| Age graded Percentage | guidelines as stated by the WMA |
| A. Above 100% | Usually, at least, a record setting performance for that age and distance |
| B. 100% | Approximate world record level |
| C. Above 90% | World Class Level |
| D. Above 80% | National Class Level |
| E. Above 70% | Regional Class Level |
| F. Above 60% | Local Class Level |
- Age grade today
- Best ever Age Grade
Parkrun Days
- Years parkrunning (since your very first parkrun)
- Total days attendance (see above)
Parkrun Tourism
- Current tourist streak – that is each different parkrun you have been to in a row without repeating. You can volunteer at (a repeat) one and it not count (if you just include running), or just volunteer (at a different one) and it count – or you can miss weeks from parkrun and it still to count.
- Longest tourist streak – what is the longest number of different parkruns in a row that you have been to.
Other
- P index – this is the number of parkruns that you have done that number of times. So if you have done one parkrun once then your p is 1. Two (different) parkruns twice (each) two; Three (different) parkruns three times (each) three – and so on.
- V index – the number of volunteer roles you have done that amount of times. Again one role once equals once; two different roles twice, is two – and so on.
The Wilson Index
- Wilson Index – the Wilson index is basically the consecutive event numbers you have done starting from an inaugural. If you have never done a parkrun having its first event you will be on zero. You do not need to do this in order for them to count – but for your index to get higher you must have each number. So if you have events 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7 – then your Wilson would be 3. But when you do an event 4 then your Wilson would jump to 7.
- Floating Wilson Index – the most amount of consecutive event numbers in a row. So if you have from events 50 all the way to 60 then your Floating Wilson would be 11.
- There’s a question as to whether your Wilson Index includes volunteering and running.
On the 5K app you can see which event numbers you haven’t done because they are pink (background). The ones you have done most in a row are purple. Finally the others you have done are green. This includes your actual Wilson – as that doesn’t colour any differently.
More Stats
- Time today
- Age Grade Category – these are divided by male and female and into age groups.
- Clubs – select from a limited list of clubs. This includes things like Bring Back the Stats and Parkrun Tourism Groups. Unfortunately there’s not a Jeffers Club option yet.
Additional App Challenges Form
The following challenges are entered in percentages:
- Alphabeteer – attend a parkrun starting with each letter of the alphabet – excluding x. This is not possible in the UK alone as we do not have a Z.
- Cowell Club. The Cowell Club is 100 different parkrun locations – named after the first parkrunner to complete it.
- Date Bingo – attend parkrun for every date of the year. Obviously this can’t be completed in one year, and you actually need a leap year too!
- Groundhog Day – this is finishing with the same time at the same parkrun venue on two consecutive parkruns.
- Pirates – attend parkrun locations whose names start with & cs (seven seas) and an R!
More Challenges
- Position Bingo – get all the finish positions from 00 to 99. Don’t worry this includes the hundreds so you don’t need to be first finisher to achieve it!
- Snakes – 10 parkrun locations which begin with the letter S.
- Stopwatch Bingo – finish your run with all the second times from 00 to 59. I am naturally on 97% – I hear it can be quite annoying people just stopping at the finish trying to complete this!
- World Tourist – attend a parkrun in every country. Unfortunately the UK is all one country – so England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are all one.
- Volunteer Ratio – this is either 0 or 100% depending on whether your volunteer ratio is over 10%.
- 5K App overall percentage – you will need to disable your own challenges first
- Regionnaire – what is your % complete of your current most completed region with a minimum of 15 parkruns in it (e.g South West England).
- Cassabeteer (taken from RunningAchievements App) (% completed. Max is 100 if completed all 150 letters, so please write the number to two decimal places. If you have done 120 out of 150 , you have 80.00 percent etc
The Periodic Table
Periodic Table – you need to participate at 118 different locations which meet the criteria of the 118 elements of the Peridoic Table.
- The first letter of the element symbol matching the first letter of the location name, but the second letter of the element symbol can appear anywhere else in the location name.
- Xe (Xenon) is the only exception. This is because there are currently no locations starting with X. Therefore a location with X anywhere in the name is acceptable.
- Letters not within the UK alphabet, including those with accents, also will not match.
- Xe (Xenon) is the only exception. This is because there are currently no locations starting with X. Therefore a location with X anywhere in the name is acceptable.
Other Things to Note
You can just fill in the ones you want – so not all apps need to be downloaded. I personally didn’t want to spend the time disabling all my own challenges.
Now you can join Parkrun Numbers Count if you have been to just ten different parkrun locations. It was previously 20.
Further decision making can be made from reviews. Mine are here and I have a joint parkrun Tourist reviews Pinterest board for other people to add theirs too.
Oh my goodness! I had no idea there were so many challenges! I couldn’t keep up with all of those. At the moment I’m just happy doing parkrun every week, volunteering a couple of times a month and aiming to do one tourism event a month.
No-one can keep up with them all. The beauty is there’s lots of different ones and you don’t have to go travelling – chasing an alphabet etc to pick a venue.