To ask a man to move at parkrun

I understand where you are coming from. People blocking the pavements with dogs should be more considerate. I often walk and encounter people who have dogs on extending leads blocking the pavement. In the dark the leass can be difficult to see. Roads are busy where i liv and sometimes when walking towards people with dogs they expect you to walk in the road instead of moving their dog over. Rude and inconsiderate.

You sound very entitled, be patient.

I wouldn’t bother. I emailed after having a very similar experience and got a patronising response saying we ALL had to learn to share the space. A lot of cyclists in the area complain about the park runners on the shared use path, they stand round in groups before they’ve started and don’t move at all even when ringing your bell, etc. they don’t care.

You should contact the organisers. They would be appalled to learn of this behaviour (being yelled at etc).
Participants are reminded every week that they share the space with other park users.

You were unfortunate to be using the same path at the exact same time as "the stampede" as the group usually spreads out very quickly. Unless it is a HUGE parkrun in which case I'm surprised you were not aware it was happening. That doesn't excuse poor negations of course.

I can’t stand park runners. Went for a walk in my park at the wrong time one weekend with my dogs (both on leads) only to be met with a stampede of runners taking up a path the width of a country road. I had my bum up against a wall and my dogs in by my legs. Got yelled at for being in the way, people shouting at me to move - I couldn’t move. No courtesy, no thank you for giving them right of way when the path was big enough for anyone else who happened to be in the park and not participating that morning. The temptation to stick my leg out and watch an sweaty entitled prat trip over it……

If you are at the point where you are having to physically stop to rest during the 5k there is no need to ask people to move out of your way.

I disagree. I ran a cross country race yesterday. There were plenty of people allowing others to pass, or letting runners know they wanted to pass. There were quite a few who stopped (maybe lost a shoe, maybe after 4 miles of mud despite feeling quite strong to start just ran out of steam on the last bastard hill).
This was a club event ie. most are not new to running, run with a club and have probably raced quite a bit.

OP needing to stop is not relevant to the dog man situation.

Actually the parkrun rules state that the dog must be at your side at all times.

There were runners able to get by in the opposite direction so he wasn't taking up too much space

The OP needs to enter a competitive race if she doesn't want to run in the conditions of a fun community event. She did not go there with the correct spirit.

to be honest if you can't run 5k without needing to stop and catch your breath then you're running too fast.

maybe he shouldn't have had the dog alongside him -but maybe you shouldn't have bothered overtaking in the first place?

Depends how she asked. Totally fine to say excuse me please. Commenting on her catching her breath later, totally not in line with park run ethos.

If you are at the point where you are having to physically stop to rest during the 5k there is no need to ask people to move out of your way.

There are parts of parkrun that are congested and slower / narrower but the paths tend to widen out and the pack spreads out dramatically soon enough. You find your rhythm and push yourself to go faster when there is clear air in front of you, if you are invested in getting a PB.

Is it a park used solely for the park run at this time, or can anyone with their dog also walk on these paths? Can you see the problem. The paths are probably public parks so anyone can use them.

The OP was rude and impatient. Had she not tried so hard to overtake, perhaps she wouldn't have had to stop to catch her breath.

Hopefully this is a little lesson in being less selfish and judgemental and more patient.

Actually, dogs evolved from wolves, and wolves are persistence hunters. Aside from breeds that we have completely crippled via selective breeding, dogs are built for long distance. Many traditional breed purposes require endurance (terrier, working, gun dog, scent hound, personal guard). Even some sighthounds are more capable than people think they are.

Humans aren't really meant to run at one speed either, but with a bit of training, it's fine. 5k is nothing to a healthy dog.

There are several dogs at our Parkrun every week living their absolute best lives. No huskies that I can recall seeing, but I'm not sure what the 'etc' covers.

One is a guide dog. Her owner runs with a human VI guide and a few of the fast runners take it turns each week to run with the guide dog. She gets a really good fast run out without being 'at work' and is clearly very excited about it every week. She can drag someone around run the 5km in about 22 minutes. Without the fast runners volunteering to take her then her owner wouldn't be able to run at all. Not sure I'd classify any of them as cunts.

You din't say that. You said, "anyone running with a dog is a CUNT". I run with DDog off lead (where it's allowed) and he zooms ahead, sniffs stuff, waits impatiently, I catch up, he sighs, runs ahead, rinse and repeat.

You could have said that people running dogs breeds not bred for distance and a certain gait should do some homework. Calling people cunts and making them cry might be... counterproductive.

Really?! You'd say he should stop his run and step aside so she can carry on running at a marginally faster pace? 100% agree with just running politely to one side to allow others to overtake but there's no way it's fair or reasonable to ask others to come to a stop so they can pass??

You made a stranger cry??

I can't imagine 5k is exactly a long distance by dog standards?! I'd see your point if it was a marathon but it's a 1/2 hour run (if you run slowly like me)

Why do people who parkrun think they own the fucking place? Why couldn't you wait two minutes for the faster people to pass and then overtake?

Surely there must have been a gap between runners coming towards you to go past on his left? Is the whole course so narrow it's single file most of the way round?

Runners should let faster people past by moving aside, which the runner did. If the course is so narrow the whole way round and so congested that people can't pass a person with a dog on a short lead then I'd find a different parkrun.

@Attelina why are you "tearing strips" off strangers?! 🙄

I wouldn't bring a dog to PR
But you are impatient op.

@MrsTerryPratchett

'This is a hot take. Why? DDog would be very annoyed to hear that.'

Only certain breeds have evolved to run long distances at one gait.

If you're taking an average dog breed for a run and forcing them to run at your pace then that is unnatural for them and cruel. I google as and they doing their own thing and catching up with you every now and then, that is different.

I met a woman and her whippet running with the poor thing on a short lead and forced to jog with her on a hard surface whilst she wore thick rubber soled trainers.

She was as thick as a plank and I tore a strip off her and then she cried and said her previous whippet has been PTS aged only 6 because of joint problems and arthritis! She was very upset and I calmed down and she took onboard what I said and now the Whippet is off lead on soft grass whilst she runs and we talk and chat sometimes.

If you'd shouted at him to get out of the fucking way then booted his dog then he would have been within his rights to make his shitty little comment. Probably made the wee dick's day.

Yabu it’s park run not the olympics

I googled parkrun rules as I haven’t ever seen a rule about stepping aside before. Can’t find anything on the national parkrun website about stepping aside or passing,

Found this on a local parkrun website, Your time is not as important as the safety of our runners.
• Remember that not everyone has the same level of experience.
• Give courteous notice if you wish, but don’t assume you’ve been heard or understood.
• Don’t make a gap where there isn’t one. Slow down if you can’t get by.

nothing about stepping aside, in fact I’d say it suggests the opposite. It’s up to the person who wants to pass to wait u til they can do so 🤷‍♀️

Sounds like you made a bit of a tit of yourself.