How do I get Running Challenges in my life? Head over to the Chrome Web Store and install our free Running Challenges extension now! If you are a Firefox user, or want to install it on Firefox for Android, head to the Running Challenges Add-on page in the Firefox webstore.

How does Running Challenges work? Running Challenges looks at your results on the parkrun website and works out how you’re doing in a set of challenges. For each completed challenge or volunteer role, it displays a badge on your page.

Do I need to log in to Running Challenges? Nope! After installing the Running Challenges extension in your Chrome/Firefox web browser, just visit your (or anyone else’s!) parkrun results page to see all your lovely badges. Click the shortcut icon in the top-right of the browser window to go directly to your parkrun results page.

Can I install Running Challenges on my phone or tablet? Yes! If you use Android, you can install it in Firefox for Android. Sadly, browser extensions for Firefox and Chrome are prohibited for iOS devices, so we aren’t able to create a version for an Apple iPhone or iPad.

Can I use Internet Explorer, or Safari web browsers? Running Challenges is currently available only for Chrome or Firefox web browsers. If you normally use a different web browser, you’ll need to install Chrome or Firefox on your computer.

Why does the Chrome Web Store say the extension can “Read and change your data on www.parkrun.ca” when I’m not in Canada? The Running Challenges extension works on several parkrun country websites, not just Canada (.ca). The Chrome Web Store just chooses (for some reason!) to display one of the web addresses. If you want to know what the Running Challenges extension does with your data, read on…

What does the Running Challenges extension do with my data? Take a look at our privacy page.

Can I use the Running Challenges badge images for something else? Take a look at our licence page for answers to common questions about how you can use the Running Challenges badge images and other parts of the Running Challenges extension.

Limitations

Why can’t I have a grace period for the ‘Regionnaire’ challenge?

Many people have pointed out that it is a common convention in the various online groups that someone who has attained ‘Regionnaire’ status is entitled to retain that status for a period of time, e.g. 8 weeks, even if new parkruns start up that region. So why can’t the Running Challenges extension do the same? The extension retrieves the details of each parkrun from the data used to generate the map of events on the parkrun website. The only details contained within this data-source are the name, location, and region for the event - there is no additional data relating to when the event started, or how many events there have been at that parkrun, therefore it is not possible to work out which are new additions. Unfortunately this means that we are limited with the calculations we can do, and the badge is only displayed for those runners who have completed all of the currently known parkruns - we recommend you take a screenshot of your badge when you first achieve it if you want to keep a record of it.

Why isn’t my volunteering included in more of the challenges?

We agree that it would be nice to include volunteering in more of the challenges; for example, counting volunteering weeks in the Gold Obsessive challenge. However, the only volunteering data we have access to is what you can see on your results pages. The parkrun website displays only the volunteer roles you’ve done and which year you did them. As it’s possible to do multiple roles in one week, we can’t even work out how many weeks you volunteered, let alone which role you did on a given Saturday. If parkrun add more volunteering data to their website, we’ll look at including it in challenges and stats.

Why don’t I see a French flag when I’ve done parkrun Mandavit in France but I can still see it in my list of parkruns I’ve done?

When a parkrun closes, parkrun HQ remove it from the map file that they maintain of all the currently live parkruns. Your results page on the parkrun website still lists you having done the closed parkrun, so the extension can include the closed parkrun in challenges (eg alphabeteer). However, your results page does not include country data so we can only go off the map file to know which country a parkrun is in and which flags your page should display. When the parkrun is removed from the map file, your flag unfortunately disappears too (if that’s the only parkrun you have completed in that country).