Jul 27, 2020
The Event Show is celebrating success stories in our world of events, speaking with influential leaders, sharing their experiences and giving you some inspiration and meaningful info to walk away with and use in your work.
So I’m eager to share this discussion I had with Tim Oberg, who 10 years ago brought the parkrun movement to this part of the world, and has driven it to huge success. With over 600,000 parkruns completed across almost 400 events each and every week before COVID hit, this is a fascinating example of the influence our events can have on communities, and in building communities of like-minded people around them.
This a really valuable chat on many levels looking at the journey of a parkrunner, the moments of influence and the different elements of value. Parkrun has done what we all aspire to, of shifting people from being ‘Aware’ of us, to ‘Active’ with us, and then ‘Advocates’ for us. Where our events have such a tight relationship with our participants that they become part of their lives, not just showing up again, but bringing others with them.
Tim also gives us a valuable insight into the focus behind the scenes, staying true to the core concept, but evolving where needed, and how ‘keeping it simple’ has enabled the growth across 22 countries and seen over 9 million parkruns globally.
I do hope you enjoy this chat with Tim, and, if you want to reach out as you design - or redesign and rebuild your events, please do just let me know.