We Want parkrun to Well Outlive Us

Behind the Dissemination and Sustainability of parkrun in Australia

Bibliographic Data

ID4645067
AuthorsLeonie Cranney (0000-0002-9441-5703, University of Technology Sydney, corresponding author), Anne C Grunseit, Anne Grunseit (0000-0003-1250-3265, University of Technology Sydney), Femke Van Nassau (0000-0002-3726-550X, Department of Public and Occupational Health, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute at the Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, Netherlands), Andrew Milat (0000-0003-3126-3463, The University of Sydney), Verity Cleland (0000-0001-8358-3237, Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, Australia)
Year2025
Pages10497323241307202-10497323241307202
Publication date2025-01-22
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueQualitative Health Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1049-7323 • E-ISSN: 1552-7557
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/10497323241307202
PMID39840928
OpenAlexW4406698203
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited34

parkrun is a free, weekly organized mass participation physical activity event providing a remarkable example of at-scale dissemination, with over 1 million participants and 150,000 volunteers in Australia. This qualitative study draws on stakeholders' experiences to explore how parkrun succeeded with its dissemination and sustainability in Australia. Maximum variation and snowball sampling methods were used to select interviewees representing three parkrun stakeholder groups: parkrun Australia employees; volunteer organizers (event directors and ambassadors); and local external stakeholders (e.g., running clubs and landowners). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 67 adult stakeholders in two phases (February-May and August-October 2023). We conducted a reflexive thematic analysis of interview data to explore contextual factors and mechanisms of parkrun growth and sustainability. We identify four themes to explain the growth and sustainability of parkrun in Australia: "Belief in an essential parkrun" comprises varied but overlapping ideas of what parkrun is fundamentally about; "Fluidity of movement" reflects the way individuals move freely in and out of the parkrun model, between roles and events; "Organizational and individual evolution" describes individuals' engagement journey and how the organization adapted with growth; and "Shared custodianship" reflects the dispersed leadership and shared responsibility across time, place, and people. These themes illustrate elements of the parkrun model that create broad buy-in, foster stakeholder commitment and longevity, and maximize resources for enhanced reach, dissemination, and sustainability. Our findings contribute practice-based evidence that may inform scale-up and sustainment of similar public health interventions

Political science · Public relations · Qualitative research · Reflexivity · Snowball sampling · Social science · Sociology · Stakeholder · Stakeholder engagement · Sustainability · Thematic analysis · Behavioral Health and Interventions · Medicine · Physical Activity and Health · Sport and Mega-Event Impacts · Ecology

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