To think ParkRun need to consider banning racers?

I don’t use a park myself. I was thinking of others that will do.

And, that once upon a time there was no running en masse in a park. A park was just for walking around in.
People who wanted to run had to join a running club. And did.

I can see the benefits for people health wise. I do.

I suppose it is the sense of righteousness that goes with it I find difficulty with. Owning a public space for over an hour makes it essentially not one for that time. I know you will say you share it. But given the numbers of some park runs, not really.

HRTFT but I suspect you didn't position yourself considerately at the start line. Slower rummers atr supposed to stand further back. At our park run we have people carrying boards with paces on at the staft line and you stand by the one which matches yoir speed of running so this sort of thinh doesn't happen. I also find the assumption that all the fast competitive runners are men to be very patronising.

Park run is for everyone.

They should remove the arseholes from the results though. I got pushed out of the way in the finish funnel by some dick. I complained to the RD and he gave us both exactly the same time. It wasn’t even that good of a time.

The park is for everyone, not just you, runners are enjoying the park too.

PR takes up about 1 hour once a week.. & a very small part of it at that, 100s of 1000s of people get out and about, staying fit and healthy.

Oh & where do you think people in a running club will hold their races? they don't all have athletics tracks.

People are very selfish, wanting a public space entirely for themselves 24/7

Parkrun is a timed run. The behaviour you encountered was unacceptable, but your attitude that athletes shouldn’t run a park run and that runners shouldn’t try and get a PB at a park is just bizarre.

Lucy Charles Barclay runs our local parkruns occasionally. She’s Ironman World Champion. Why shouldn’t she run if it fits with her training plan? Why shouldn’t I try and get a PB as long as I am not behaving rudely to other parkrunners?

Obviously people shouldn’t be swearing or shoving.

Also, people who know they are slower than many others shouldn’t be starting at the front - is that what you did?

Eh? Who said it wasn’t for slow runners.

It’s for everyone.

It’s for everyone to individually choose to run it in the way they want. Rudeness is unacceptable and registering as a woman when you are a biological male is unacceptable.

Bar that, it’s whatever you want to make of it.
Everyone welcome.
Wear what you want
Race it
Slow run it
Try for a winners recognition
try for a PB
Job around socially
It’s for everyone.

Oh come on!

1 hour on a Saturday morning is hardly taking over.
The health of our country on the whole is DIRE. Anything that gets people moving should be supported.

And all city races have to post their road closures in advance.

Why’re you being goady again, OP? The problem you encountered wasn’t fast runners it was a small group of faster, antisocial / verbally abusive runners.

Can't you see the irony in your posts? Surely this is a wind up now.

The arrogance of dictating who you believe parkrun should and shouldn't be for. You're just as bad as the idiots who annoyed you by behaving inappropriately this morning.

Parkrun is for everyone, period, as long as they respect other parkrunners and park users. Arrogant individuals come in all forms, it's not exclusive to faster runners.

Of course it ia for slow runners, that is why there is a tail walker. And fast runners may also be, at times, slow runners. The regular tail waller at our local parkrun is someone who was a fast runner but is still recovering from illness so the tail walker role alllows them some exercise

Parkrunners do not take over a park. They use a specifc route at a specific time agreed with the owner of the land. They are not allowed to deviate from the agreed route unleas there is prior agreement with the landowner. I have watched Mr Monkey undergo weeks of negotiations to agree an alternative route for our local parkrun in a few weeks when the park is being used for an event.

you are being very rude about some runners. It’s not for you to know why anyone runs at parkrun, it’s meant to be for everyone

Bollocks. Parkrunners are as diverse as people who do other hobbies.

Park runners are a different breed. They seem to believe that because they choose to gather in huge groups and take over the park, everyone else should kowtow to their presence.

I thought it was for everyone to run in their own way?
You seem to be saying parkrun isn’t for some people.

That is NOT chip timing.

That's not what chipped timing is.

There will always be some people complaining. 2 or 3 people on a MN thread hardly outweighs the tens of thousands of people clearly happy enough with the way PR is currently organised to keep going every week.

My point was more that, if it does need amending/changing (perfectly possible) the people best placed to do that are the people actually involved with it rather than a complete random on the internet who has absolutely no experience making no-shit-sherlock suggestions.

I stopped going for this precise reason. The competitive and aggressive men doing their 5ks in 15 minutes. I found the sheer amount of people there overwhelming anyway- at least 400 turn up to my local one and it’s just a round track with a fairly slim path. It’s always men being aggressive as well, obviously…

Will I still get a result if I walk at parkrun?

Of course! As long as you’ve scanned your barcode after you’ve been through the finish funnel you’ll normally get your results via email within a few hours. You can also see your full parkrun results history in your parkrun profile.

I'm incapable of motivating myself when running. Too much listening to birds, saying hello to nice dogs, dicking around with my music and stopping to pick up the odd bit of litter.

Parkrun keeps me moving forward and focused. And the fact I don't enjoy running means I just want it over with and to be home as quick as possible.

parkrun offer timed runs
parkrun has a start time and everyone sets off together like a race
parkrun publishes times by categroies of age and ‘gender'
parkrun publishes fastest (winners) records for categories
parkrun also publishes runners 5km times not from parkrun

Some people don’t check or care about their time
Some people compete with themselves for PB's
Some people want to win and get the best time in their category.

This is why parkrun should not allow men to self identify into the female category.

280 women’s parkrun titles have gone to men self identifying into that category.

In answer to the OP the runners were out of order for swearing but it is a race for many people.

Also, if you really don't like the idea of fast runners, or indeed anyone 'racing' at parkrun (in an appropriate manner, of course), here's a novel idea. Go out for your own 5k run, anywhere you like, any time you like, completely on your own if you so wish. Your right to attend parkrun is no greater than anyone else who is faster than you or chooses to approach it differently to you.

I'm not sure what is so difficult for some people to understand about the concept of parkrun. It can indeed not be a race but still provide each participant with an official time. This is so people can track their own progress. You are free not to look if you have no wish to track your own times, but many people enjoy this aspect of this community event. Whatever your pace, everyone can strive to better themselves. It's what motivates a huge number of parkrunners to get out of bed early every Saturday morning. Not everyone, but many.

Parkrun isn't for everyone. If you don't agree with the ethos, there is the option not to go 🤷🏻‍♀️

I’m involved in my local parkrun. We use part of the local park for about 45 minutes, once a week.

We always ask everyone involved to be courteous and respectful to other park users.

We pick up litter from the course and we have contributed to work parties in the park to make improvements.

We support our local food bank with collections 3 or 4 times a year.

Our participants and volunteers use the cafe in the park. I would estimate that parkrunners spend c£30,000 per year in the cafe, which is run by a local couple.

i don’t think any of this is disruptive and cheeky.