Parkrun is succeeding where London’s Olympic “legacy” is failing. Ten years ago on Monday, it was announced that the Games of the 30th Olympiad would be in London. Planning documents pledged that the great legacy of the Games would be to level a nation of sport lovers away from their couches. The population would be fitter, healthier and produce more winners. It has not happened. The number of adults doing weekly sport did rise, by nearly 2 million in the run-up to 2012 — but the general population was growing faster. Worse, the numbers are now falling at an accelerating rate. The opposition claims primary school pupils doing at least two hours of sport a week have nearly halved. Obesity has risen among adults and children. Official retrospections continue as to why London 2012 failed to “inspire a generation.” The success of Parkrun offers answers.
“Parkrun”在伦敦奥运会“遗产”失败之处取得了成效。十年前的一个周一宣布，第三十届奥林匹克运动会将在伦敦举行。计划文件承诺、奥运会的伟大遗产将会让一个国家的体育爱好者离开他们的沙发。人们将身材更好、更键康，并将产生越来越多的冠军，但是这些并未发生。每周锻炼身体的成年人数量的确在2012年前增加了将近两百万，但总人口增长速度更快。更槽糕的是，这个数字现在正在加速下降。反对者声称，每周至少进行两小时体育运动的小学生减少了近一半。肥胖的成人和儿童人数在增加。官方仍在反思为什么2012年伦敦奥运会未能“激励一代人”。“Parkrun”的成功给出了答案。
Every Saturday morning, at 9 AM, more than 50,000 runners set off to run 5 KM around their local park. The Parkrun phenomenon began with a dozen friends and has inspired 400 events in the UK and more abroad. Events are free, staffed by thousands of volunteers. Runners range from four years old to grandparents; their times range from Andrew Baddeley’s world record 13 minutes 48 seconds up to an hour.
每周六上午九点，五万多名跑步者在他们附近的公园跑五公里。“Parkrun”这一现象最初由十几个朋友发起，如今在英国却已引发四百个类似活动，在国外就更多了。活动是免费的，还招募了大量的自愿者。跑步者从四岁到祖父母辈都有，他们的用时区间从安德鲁·巴德利创造的世界记录13分钟48秒到一个小时不等。
Indeed, there is something a little absurd in the state getting involved in the planning of such a fundamentally “grassroots”, concept as community sports associations. If there is a role for government, it should really be getting involved in providing common goods: making sure there is space for playing fields and the money to pave tennis and netball courts, and encouraging the provision of all these activities in schools. But successive governments have presided over squeezing money from local authorities and declining attention on sport in education. selling green spaces, Instead of wordy, worthy strategies, future governments need to do more to provide the conditions for sport to thrive. Or at least not make them worse.
实际上，国家把这样一个基本的“草根”概念作为社区体育协会来参与规划是有些荒唐的。如果政府要发挥作用，它应该真正参与到公共设施的建设之中：确保有运动场地的空间，有资金用于建设网球和篮网球场地，并支持学校开展所有这些体育活动。但是历届政府都卖过绿地，从地方政府压榨资金并不断减少对体育教育的关注。除了口头和相应的战略内容，未来政府需要作出更多的行动来创造条件，使得体育运动蓬勃发展。或者至少不让情况更加糟糕。
Parkrun is not a race but a time trial: Your only competitor is the clock. The ethos welcomes anybody. There is as much joy over a puffed-out first-timer being clapped over the line as there is about top talent shining. The Olympic bidders, by contrast, wanted to get more people doing sports and to produce more elite athletes. The dual aim was mixed up: The stress on success over taking part was intimidating for newcomers.
“Parkrun”不是竞赛、而是计时赛：你唯一的竞争对手是时间。其精神在于欢迎任何人。气喘吁吁的初次参与者在冲线时会得到人们的掌声喝彩，由此产生的快乐堪比最有天赋的新星的表现。相比之下，奥运会申办者则希望让更多的人参与体育运动并产生更多的精英运动员。双重目标混为一谈：成功而并非参与的压力会让初次参与者望而生畏。
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