To ask a man to move at parkrun

He was 100% in the wrong.

My local parkrun is through woods so it’s a trail run with narrow sections of track and as he was taking part in the run and not a random dog walker, he should have stopped and made way for you as a faster runner.

That’s the standard parkrun etiquette that we remind everyone about before the start of the race. (I often act as Run Director.)

I’d mention it to the run director so they can either have a quiet word with him or make sure they remind everyone of the rules before the start of the race next week.

If he was taking up the whole path, then excuse me would have been fine.

But there was room for other runners to pass and so he obviously wasn’t taking up the whole path.

All OP has to do was wait for the other runners to pass, before overtaking.

Some paths can get very narrow and even without a dog, it’s normal to wait for someone else to pass you before overtaking the person in front.

Couldn’t you have gone onto the grass to overtake him or are runners only allowed on the path? I think you were a bit cheeky, it’s Parkrun not a marathon. It’s a bit like when someone drives right behind you and does a dodgy overtake just to end up right in front of you at the next red light

You yourself said:

To be fair he had the dog on a very short fixed lead and was as far left as he could get

So if he put the dog to his left he would have been further out to the right himself and in your way.

If he was as far over as he could get and the dog was on a short fixed lead (this is great, by the way, long leads are so dangerous) then there was no room to pass them. Such is the way of paths that are too narrow.

I think a polite "excuse me please" can be acceptable if the path is wide and everyone can pass each other comfortably with just a bit of shifting. If the path is as narrow as this you're just going to have to slow down until it gets wide enough again (which it sounds like it did, fairly shortly).

Wtf? If parkrun isn't for someone who just didn't estimate her running pace correctly once, there would be no-one there.

Dog had a right to be there and the OP had a right to ask to pass them, it was a complete non-issue. And yet, he decided to loudly turn it into one, when she was outside if the the running path.

Gender is relevant, a woman would be far less likely to have a loud dig at the OP for this.

Haven't done the park run for years but from what I remember when I did is that they take place in public spaces and the organisers would always mention to give way to dog walkers or members of the public while participating on the run. Unless this has changed, I'm not understanding the posters who are saying park runs are no place for a dog, irrespective of whether the man and his dog mentioned in the op's post were participating in the run, or just on a walk.

If you hadn't then stopped to recover I'd say you had a point - ie. any PB you were aiming for that necessitated having to get past someone ASAP would still be on, but the fact it made no difference to your time and as PP said, you couldn't pace yourself, does make you seem impatient.

That said, the dog would have annoyed me.

Interesting! In my local, they're on the public paths - would need to look at who has priority. Not that I run, or have dogs.

Excuse me please is quite normal when you are stuck behind soneone , walking , running, parkrun

But so many men are arrogant

As am I! I am saying it's pointless to make such a request since it won't solve the issue the OP having to navigate her way round dogs on the path. And also would be really petty, since the only result would be getting back at someone she's crossed words with.

Why? Parkrun doesn’t cordon off areas of the park for its exclusive use, does it?

Depends on the Parkrun. Ours has priority (albeit not exclusive) use of the first 3km of course and the finish line. Others take place on private land that opens to the wider public later in the day.

@Butchyrestingface that's fine, of course. I'm talking about the Parkrun - as is OP.

YABU

There were runners coming towards you and this man.

They were able to get past and so you could have too.

You should have just waited a few more seconds for the other runners to pass and then overtook him or sped up before they got there and overtook him before they passed.

Why? Parkrun doesn’t cordon off areas of the park for its exclusive use, does it?

There will surely be dogs all over the park, being walked by their owners, and at a pace much slower than someone running with a dog?

Imagine how this would have gone if it had been "I was doing a lovely parkrun with my dog and a man barged past me only to run out of breath!"

You say he was part of the parkrun, therefore he and his dog had every right to be there, whether you like it or not.
You still made yourself look and sound ridiculous by pushing past him then having to stop....are you sure parkrun is for you?

Incidentally, there's a lot of people slating the man here, would you say the same if op had overtaken a woman? Gender shouldn't come into it, the dog runner was allowed to be there, and op was rude.

Sounds like it's a short narrow part, since you soon reached a wider section. Just don't overtake on the narrow parts. You're not a faster runner than him because you had to stop shortly after. He wasn't holding you up. It really does seem like you were trying to make a problem of him. Either because of his dog or his pace. And he embarrassed you by pointing out your ridiculous behaviour.

What I might do in your shoes is write to the organisers and ask if they'd consider not allowing dogs, given the narrowness of the course.

The thing I like least about Parkrun is the early section, where it's really crowded and lots of people find they're among others of the wrong pace, so a lot of passing takes place.

People have to pass and allow for passing. It usually settles down as you go on but awareness of people around you, people approaching from behind and actively allowing others to pass is important. It's part of the community spirit of parkrun.

So for that reason, I think the other runner should have allowed you to pass - if possible. The question in my mind is how possible it was for him to move the dog. Or whether this was more about you expressing irritation that dogs are allowed.

The stopping afterwards undermines you - but is a separate incident. You might have needed to pass and kept going.

@Operatenate Ours is. So are all the others we've attended. Although there's a lot less audible thanking of the volunteers at the London events we've been to. Maybe a consequence of so many visitors.

The very occasional Parkrunner is a bad apple, but unfortunately they get everywhere.

Ours also does have official priority use of the first 3km of the course, so worth those complaining about the hour once a week checking that the same doesn't apply where they are.

You weren’t being unreasonable to ask him to move but yeah a bit cringe that he overtook you later while you stopped for breath….

its like when someone drives up your arse and dangerously overtakes then stops just in front of you at the lights. Was it worth it mate?

So you made a fuss to get past as you wanted to run faster. And then couldn't maintain the faster pace to the point that you then had to stop to catch your breath?
Just run slower and within your fitness level and you won't have to catch your breath or squeeze past people on a narrow path.

Ugh Parkrun is definitely not a lovely event.

I took it that she only asked him to move over? That’s what faster runners do at mine too. Maybe I misread.