Studley parkrun event #466
One of the aspects of being a parkrun ambassador that I really enjoy is jumping in the car or on the bike on a Saturday morning and heading to a parkrun event. I have blogged before about using my NENDY to decide where I should go, which is all well and good, but it’s not the only way I choose. Each event can only be your NENDY once. I also very much enjoy returning to events and the “p-index” is a good heuristic for deciding which event to head back to.
# What is the p-index?
Simply put, a parkrunner’s p-index is the number of different events (p) that they have completed at least p times. When you complete your first parkrun, you have a p-index of one. To increase this to two, you must complete that same event once more and another event twice. To increase this to three, you must complete those two events once more each, plus another event three times. Computer scientists may look at this and think, “this is an O(n2) problem!” Scientific researchers may look at this and think, “this sounds like Hersch’s h-index!”
The earliest reference to the p-index I can find is when Andy Taylor added code for the “p-value” to the Running Challenges Chrome extension on 21 May 2018. If you know of the origin of tracking this, please do contact me!
# My p-index history
# 1. Westerfolds parkrun, 14 June 2014 (+1)
The first parkrun I completed was at Westerfolds parkrun in June 2014 and if the p-index existed as a concept then, that would have been one for me.
# 2. Coburg parkrun, 25 July 2015 (+34)
Westerfolds was my home parkrun for almost a year, until establishing Coburg parkrun in May 2015, and by then I had completed Westerfolds parkrun 28 times.
I had enjoyed a few other courses when I had been away. At this point, I was looking for parkruns where I was travelling, not looking to travel where there were parkruns!
As parkrun was getting established in my home suburb, I was volunteering for the first few weeks and ran at the seventh and tenth events to take my (yet-to-be-coined) p-index to 2 after my 35th parkrun.
# 3. Darebin parkrun, 20 October 2018 (+127)
If 35 finishes over 13 months seemed like a long journey to complete four parkruns, then 162 over 51 months to complete these nine specific parkruns must be an odyssey! Most of these parkruns were at my home parkrun of Coburg. It’s great to have an event on my metaphorical doorstep.
By this time, I had discovered the joy of visiting other parkrun events, inspired by listening to Scott & Mel on the parkrun adventurers podcast. I also saw it as important that, as Event Director, I should not be at Coburg parkrun every week. As with my professional life, I like to eliminate key person dependencies in my teams. Indeed, I had stepped aside as Event Director in August 2018, after a three-month handover period with my successor to ensure the continued sustainable running of the event.
The concept of the p-index wasn’t something I remember being aware of at this juncture. I certainly don’t recall deliberately heading to Darebin parkrun for a third time to improve this stat. It was far more likely that I had gone for a gentle parkrun with friends while recovering from Melbourne Marathon. Many of my running buddies who I met in the early days of Coburg parkrun, before Darebin was established, live closer to this course and it’s an event we love to go back to.
# 4. Sunbury parkrun, 13 July 2019 (+39)
I became a parkrun Event Ambassador (EA) in January 2019 and Sunbury parkrun was one of the four events I was supporting along with Coburg, Darebin and Mernda parkruns. By this stage I was also using the Running Challenges browser plugin, so was aware of the p-index. It would have been around this time that I started using the p-index to help me choose where to head on a Saturday morning. Clearly I had been to Coburg and Darebin parkruns more than Sunbury or Mernda. And so I set out to gain a p-index of five.
Sunbury parkrun was well established when I first visited as EA in March 2019. I had been to one of their trials and, let’s just say, the hill had not enticed me back! Now I endeavoured to get there about every five weeks on a cycle with the other three events I was supporting along with a weekend for adventuring.
Sunbury is somewhere I still like to head of a weekend. I actually managed to run the whole hill in March 2020.
# 5. Mernda parkrun, 29 February 2020 (+30)
Like Sunbury parkrun, I had been to Mernda’s trial event. I had also been to Mernda in 2018 as I think it may have been my NENDY and I loved the course, and was glad to have a reason to keep returning.
My third visit there was the Saturday before we set off for our big European adventure in 2019 (I feel a little sad that I didn’t blog while we were overseas). We got to enjoy 14 parkruns across the UK, Ireland, Italy and even France on that trip, none of which count towards my p-index. Two of these events are no longer operating (there are tourist challenges around these but I don’t really see the point of such things).
I got back into a cadence of returning to Mernda, Coburg, Darebin and Sunbury at the start of 2020 and reached a p-index of 5 on the 29 February. One for the Date Bingo enthusiasts!
# 6. Aurora parkrun, 30 April 2022 (+38)
For various reasons, not least a pandemic and a cardiac arrest, it would be over two years before I reached a p-index of six, despite only needing to visit Mernda once more and the new parkrun at Aurora four more times.
I had supported the event team at Aurora parkrun through the prospective parkrun process in 2019. Unfortunately, the launch was scheduled for while we were in Italy, so I didn’t get to visit the event until the morning we landed back in January 2020. Aurora joined the rotation with Mernda, Coburg, Darebin and Sunbury parkruns, but of course things came to an abrupt stop the day I ran the hill at Sunbury. And a couple of months after that I woke up in an intensive care unit.
parkrun, like many gatherings, was on-again-off-again through 2021, so it took a wee while for me to make this increment.
# 7. Albert parkrun, Melbourne, 27 January 2024 (+83)
The other thing that changed during the pandemic was that our Regional Ambassador stepped aside and I was encouraged to apply for this role; supporting Event Ambassadors around Victoria, which I did. I have been enjoying this role since September 2021.
This has meant that I have a wider range of events that I’d like to understand in order to be effective in my role. Albert Melbourne was one of a few events that could have been the seventh event in my p-index, which goes some way to explaining why it took so long to increment from six. There were more events in the rotation.
Albert Melbourne is one of Australia’s longest running parkruns. It is also one of the largest parkruns globally. At the time I became a Regional Ambassador, it was the only 5km parkrun event I had been to that had a finish funnel. And a lead bike (this role was retired in March 2023). It’s also in an iconic location, inside the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix circuit. I love returning during the period where they’re setting up for the race.
One of my most memorable visits to Albert Melbourne was not a contribution to my p-index but volunteering at Albert parkrun, Melbourne 21/10/2023 | #555 on Finish Tokens and handing out 797 little pieces of plastic as folks crossed the finish line at a rate approaching 60 per minute. This was one of the most intense experiences I’ve had (and just after the then COO had appealed for an end to the so-called “Nelson Club”). The team at Albert Melbourne now have two people handing out Finish Tokens in batches of 30, which helps keep things simple, safe and sustainable.
# 8. Warringal Parklands parkrun, 24 February 2024 (+4)
Just four events later Warringal Parklands parkrun became the eighth event in my p-index. Warringal Parklands parkrun started five weeks before the pandemic closure and during the closure period went through a change of event teams. Many of the people who help keep this event going are friends I made through Westerfolds and Coburg parkrun events and so it’s certainly an event I enjoy returning to.
I don’t have “favourite” parkruns but for a while I had a favourite post-parkrun breakfast and the Panko Eggs at the café Warringal Parklands parkrunners went to was it for a few years. Unfortunately, the establishment changed hands, the service went downhill quickly and then the menu changed.
# 9. Warringal Parklands parkrun, 21 September 2024 (+28)
Having nudged the p-index to 8 at Warringal Parklands parkrun, I had four events sitting on eight finishes and three sitting on four. It was unclear at this point whether Studley, Parkville or Brimbank parkrun would be the ninth event to contribute to the index.
I had first been to Brimbank in September 2018 and had enjoyed the hill almost as much as the one at Sunbury! Oh my word, that’s a tough climb. The views at the top are spectacular. It’s a lovely place to run with native flora and fauna.
In April 2023, I returned to Brimbank as it was DJ’s NENDY. He loved it so much that he asked to go back later in the year to celebrate his 50th parkrun. The hill hadn’t become flatter. The Run Director (RD) on the morning appealed for locals to join the event team as there were just two RDs on the team after another event had been established nearby. I volunteered as a guest RD a couple of months later to give the team a rest.
Brimbank parkrun became somewhere I returned a few times over the next twelve months and there were still just two RDs on the team. After talking with them, their EA, and parkrun Australia it was agreed that I would help out as a temporary RD and endeavour to recruit some more RDs. I treated Brimbank much as I would my home event and over the next year I was a regular volunteer and participant. This left Studley and Parkville behind as candidates for my ninth p-index event.
I completed nine events at Brimbank parkrun as well as one each at Aurora, Albert Melbourne and Mernda parkruns before I returned to Warringal Parklands, which meant that this was the first time I had incremented my p-index twice at the same venue. I also celebrated with a personal best (PB) at this event.
# 10. Parkville parkrun, 21 December 2024 (+10)
It won’t surprise you that it didn’t take that long to increase my p-index from nine to ten, given how close Studley, Parkville and Brimbank parkruns were. I also had quietly set myself a target of getting my v- and p-indexes into double figures in 2024. So I was focused!
Parkville parkrun is another of Melbourne’s iconic events, running, as it does, around Princess Park, just North of the CBD. It’s also a short bike ride from home, which makes it a great place to meet a friend for a trot. This is usually how I get to enjoy Parkville parkrun. It also has a great post-parkrun café and I recommend the Fancy Mushroom Toast.
Much like Albert Melbourne, its proximity to the city, easy public transport location, and flat looped course around a park, all make Parkville a popular destination for parkrun tourists. Also, like Albert Melbourne, the team run a well-oiled machine.
# 11. Kirkdale Reserve parkrun, 27 December 2025 (+48)
It may then surprise you that it took me nearly a year to go up to eleven! It may also surprise you that Kirkdale Reserve hasn’t yet been mentioned and yet here it is, overtaking Studley parkrun into my p-index.
Kirkdale Reserve parkrun was a prospect that I helped with in my time as an EA. It came up during the pandemic and despite the start line being within the 5km radius within which I was allowed to move, I couldn’t reach the South end of the course! The event launched in June 2022, and being so close to Coburg parkrun, was supported by many Coburg parkrunners and members of Merri Creek Running Club.
One of my goals for 2025 was to cycle to parkrun more, which makes Kirkdale a great destination, straight down the beautiful Merri Creek Trail. Breakfast at nearby CERES is also a delight.
# Studley parkrun event #466
This weekend I found myself without plans and without a running buddy. I consulted my p-index and saw how I had been neglecting the beautiful Studley parkrun, along the banks of the Yarra River. It’s not that far from home (all of the events in my p-index are within 27km of home as the unladen swallow flies), so off I went. It was while I was enjoying running this lovely trail course on Anzac Day morning that it had occurred to me that I had recently blogged:
Maybe I’ll work on my p-index in the mean time. More on that in another post, I am sure.
And that was the inspiration for this long blog post.
And this chart.
And the goal to ensure that Studley parkrun is included in my p-index by the end of 2026.
It has been fun to reminisce on these experiences. I am glad I resurrected this blog.