To think ParkRun need to consider banning racers?

Why would an athlete want to run with a load of amateurs?
Why would an author want to do a year 1 spelling test?
Answer - so they could win, easily, and feel smug.

Then take away the rankings then. Everyone just gets their own time. No need for gender/sex/age classification- just your time.

That is not quite true. A lot of serious runners will do a park run for timing. You can even use some park run times to qualify for certain races. It is a broad range of people who do it. Park runs vary quite a lot from place to place.

Dame Kelly Holmes and Alex Yee have both done our local Parkrun. DH and DS both do it regularly and both also volunteer. DH bumbles along happily and DS tries to better his time every week.

I much prefer Parkrun to the local running groups who thunder up and down the pavements at random times of day. On one occasion I was walking the dog and a large group came flying along in the opposite direction. Two women shoved me and my dog into a hedge, didn’t even notice, and just kept on running.

Anything with timings and ranking is a race. It is, in fact, exactly the definition of a race.

Because park run is meant to be fun, and is meant to be a place where novice runners can get involved. Surely the more serious racers would join a running club.

Apart from anything else, if you’re a serious runner then 5k is nothing. And how can you get a PB when you’re running in a throng of people? That’s what I mean when I say it’s performative. Their priority is not their actual time. It’s being seen to be faster than the mere mortals who are there for fun exercise.

PB stands for Personal Best. It’s personal. No need for it to be the “look at how fast I am” show.

Why though? There are 2 very distinct groups who are doing park run. Competitive athletes using it as a race and the people who are using it as a sociable fun run for fitness purposes. Both can be true at the same time.

if you want to restrict it to the second group you have to remove the timings. If you want both to coexist then some thought needs to start going into having separation of the groups.

things are always evolving and so there isn’t reason that park run can’t evolve as well so everyone is happy and catered for.

Shitty entitled and embarrassing why are they like this.

I think the point is that he also does park run and is the fastest park runner in the UK I think?

I bet he doesn't shout and push though. There are proper athletes at park run but I reckon it's not them acting like idiots.

Well what if Ben also does lots of races AND pops down to his local parkrun to shout at kids. Those two things can be true at the same time.

Really? That’s a weird way of looking at it. Loads of “athletes” do parkrun. As well as other races.

It’s the same with lane swimming. Full of selfish, ignorant people who take up lanes they shouldn’t be in and either swim over people or hold people up. Usually men and old women. It’s infuriating.

I’d have thought an athlete going to a park run would be a bit like an author asking to join in a year 1 spelling test!

I suggest you go google Nick Griggs

My local park run is a local playing field and its three laps . We get all sorts , club runners to pram pushers. Im a walker and I aim for a PB every time :)

Its a timed run, so why would you not aim for a PB?

We group at the start, fastest first, walkers last , walkers know where about they are going to get lapped and move to the side . We are all aiming for a PB, not a dander, catching up with friends , blocking the course

Pushing and shoving isnt on. But again, why was there a need? Are you just merrily grouping up and chatting away oblivious to other users?

What is wrong with being performative? Competitive sports by its nature is performative. The whole point of the Olympics is performative. Yes, this is on a Very micro level but I’d be chuffed honestly to have my name in the top 10 of a park run.

My nearest PR is three flat laps in an otherwise hilly area and it's overwhelmingly people in club vests who yell at slower runners and push past. There's no point trying to change it and it has put my two teen daughters off trying to run now. I drive to a more distant PR now, but its hilly so my girls don't want to come with me. The local run does feel very male, aggressive and excluding.

Reading about pinch points and looping and how that definitely means elbows and pushing... I'm not a runner, but are elbows and pushing a normal permitted part of running? I would hate it and feel endangered.
If, as I'd hope, running is a non-contact sport then surely the very first thing you as an organiser do is point out the pinch points and note that there are cameras there and people making contact will not be allowed to place. Multiple offences leading to a ban.
I mean I get you can't have eyes everywhere, but you can have eyes in the obvious places.

Why is that? We have lots of club runners at ours and they definitely are athletes.