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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To give up on Parkrun - photo related

225 replies

Parkrunmisery · 14/10/2018 08:59

OK so this is shallow but I did Parkrun yesterday and whilst I love its open and friendly ethos I look BEYOND SHIT in the fb photos they've posted. I'm honestly not being vain, but I am old (50s) and fat. I want to run to get fitter and thinner but having my photo on the Internet looking horrible makes me miserable.

So AIBU to sack off lovely Parkrun due to their insistence on posting photos of me looking utterly shit*.

*old, fat, red faced, baggy, flabby, grey, no make-up and hair looking shit. I really don't want to have to think about getting made up for sodding photos at 8am.

OP posts:
nostaples · 14/10/2018 10:50

FWIW, I love Park Run. It's not necesssary to take photos and certainly not of those people who don't want them. Therefore it's an emormous shame that some people are being put off like the OP and others on this thread for this reason.

itsnotarace · 14/10/2018 10:50

@ShadyLady53 If the police are involved, this would count as an exceptional reason to be allowed to register under pseudonyms. However, you don't actually have to be scanned each week - you are welcome to turn up and run without a barcode. This means you would be recorded as Unknown - you wouldn't get your exact results, but you could still run.

You can also ask the event team to make sure no identifiable photographs are published online.

However, I do appreciate that you may not want to take the risk. Whilst there are strict policies with photographs that all volunteers must follow, most parkruns take place in areas where the law does not stop the general public from taking photographs, and whilst those photographs may not be as widely shared, that may not give you any comfort.

NotANotMan · 14/10/2018 10:55

Literally nobody would look at those pictures and think 'whoah that woman looks red faced and sweaty!' They just see pictures of people running. You're the only one who will look at the picture closely or critically.

Gronky · 14/10/2018 10:55

Might I suggest that if you're looking awful (in your opinion) it's a demonstration that you're putting all your effort into what matters (running)?

itsnotarace · 14/10/2018 10:56

@nostaples I'm sorry you think I'm condescending. I'm just genuinely trying to be helpful. Clearly that attempt has failed, and I am sorry if I have upset you. As I stated, photography should be mentioned in the pre-run briefing and if that hasn't happened, it would be helpful if you could feed that back to the local event teams, so can correct their own procedures next time.

I have been a victim of stalking before, so I do understand safeguarding risks. I really do. And I'm not a paid employee of parkrun either, I'm just a volunteer who gives up their time to help encourage other people to get more active.

NothingOnTellyAgain · 14/10/2018 11:02

I didn't know this (and don't do parkrun - disability! - so know little about it) but I'm surprised that they essentially say that you have to havephotogrpahs of you all over the internet.

It's to feed social media and make them "active" I assume? Like others say, many MANY women avoid photos at all costs and knowing they will be put on the internet is really offputting while for some women obviously it's extremely dangerous (those who have escaped abuse). I suppose this sort of thing isn't their problem though and they have a right to market how they like. Was it invented by men? Grin which might explain their flat "no exceptions" policy.

TBF it would be pretty impossible in a group to take only some people or is it a time trial situation? Anyway up to them but it is a shame.

YeOldeTrout · 14/10/2018 11:02

4 yrs of primary, I was bullied by everyone in the school, lots of verbal abuse & mean tricks (my fault, all the adults said). Lots other people in my life have said to my face "My GOD you're awful musician/singer/runner/at that". I don't think the later group disliked me for other reasons, they just felt compelled to state what they felt was the bleeding obvious about my glaring lack of talent at many things.

So yes I'm a bit weird about being publicly humiliated & shamed and being conspicuously bad at things. I don't cope with it well. Doing stuff by myself & not sharing the info with anyone is better.

Why publish PkRn results with individual names if they aren't meant to be scrutinised.

NothingOnTellyAgain · 14/10/2018 11:03

Do children do parkrun?

nostaples · 14/10/2018 11:05

@NothingOnTellyAgain yes

itsnotarace · 14/10/2018 11:07

@NothingOnTellyAgain The whole point about the photos is to make parkrun seem more accessible. A lot of people think running isn't for them, because they're not the right weight or build and/or they're not fast enough. parkrun is for everyone - yes, there are some people who run the 5K in 17 minutes. And parkrun is for them. But there are also some people who walk it in over an hour - and parkrun is also for them. The photos are intended to show you that there is someone already going to parkrun who you can relate to.

It depends on the individual event, but many are suitable for wheelchairs and buggies. Also welcome. Smile

SurreyMumof4 · 14/10/2018 11:07

Long time parkrun and tourist. There are NO RULES about having to have your photograph up or taken. I've had photos deleted on the spot. If you see the photographer whilst out just tell them then and there. That's not hard as a back of the packer
OP only needs to ask not to have photos taken or uploaded. Especially if you are a regular the volunteers will know not to take your photo.

KickBishopBrennanUpTheArse · 14/10/2018 11:08

ParkRun take pictures of children and post them online? What about children that cannot have pictures put online? They can't take part, can they?

I do park run with my 13yo foster child. She loves it and it's been so good for her fitness and mental health. I know most of the organisers and they make sure her photo is not put online. Also we made up a fake name for her so she can have her barcode scanned although for the first few she didn't give them a barcode.

I completely agree though that their policy of opt-out is totally wrong and has stopped us taking part in other parkruns when away for the weekend because I haven't wanted to have the conversation in front of her. She hates being treated differently.

itsnotarace · 14/10/2018 11:10

@NothingOnTellyAgain Children are welcome at the adult 5K events on Saturdays, but there is also a specific 2K event on Sundays for children. Adults can't participate in the 2K events - you can run with your child if you want to, but you can't 'finish' at the very end. So the only people who appear in the results are children. You get some children who only do the 2K or the 5K, there are others who will happily participate in either/both.

Siun · 14/10/2018 11:13

I love women who aren't afraid of a bad photo of themselves. I am 48.
I can look utterly shit. Or I can shower do my hair makeup choose my earrings, scent, lipstick. We all know it can go either way! But people who just laugh at a bad photo,you know they'll be good company.

NothingOnTellyAgain · 14/10/2018 11:13

Is the photo policy the same for the 2K races?

Everyoneiswingingit · 14/10/2018 11:15

You're right Siun and I try hard to do that.

ShotsFired · 14/10/2018 11:15

@Parkrunmisery I understand. I really do. People just saying "ignore it" is not a helpful thing to say.

I am one of a minority (which I fully accept!) that loathed parkrun.

I found it completely beyond cringey to be cheered on, and it felt false and patronising (sorry, but there you go), because I ran so shittily that I had been lapped 2 or 3 times by people doing 10 or 15k "for fun", and even the tail walker had collected all the cones behind me and was standing chatting with someone so she wouldn't over take! If I'd known it would be a public spectacle I never would have gone.

And then a picture of me in that state turned up online as well and I was horrified.

I never went back, obviously.

(yes I get everyone is volunteering, yes I get some people love it, no I don't expect people to agree with me etc etc)

itsnotarace · 14/10/2018 11:16

@KickBishopBrennanUpTheArse That's a shame. Whilst you can email the event team in advance, I appreciate it would be difficult to explain who you didn't want in the photographs if they hadn't already met her. I'm not really sure what the answer is, but I agree that there should be one.

It might be worth flagging this scenario with Clare (the safeguarding lead), as it may not have already been raised with HQ. If you're comfortable doing so, it might be useful to get in touch, as I'm sure you're not the only family to have this issue (parkrun tourism is gaining in popularity).

Meet0nTheIedge · 14/10/2018 11:19

I didn't know about this before this thread, but the thing that has put me off the most is having your times posted online for everyone to see, I'd be fine if I was identified by a number, I agree it's useful to be able to see how you fare against others of the same age and sex but I don't want my name on it.

C8H10N4O2 · 14/10/2018 11:20

Cleverer people than I have written the legal wording. Where there is photography taking place at a parkrun event, it is mentioned by the run director before any of the photos are snapped. Choosing to take part in the event is you actively consenting to that official imagery

They are gambling on it never coming to court. Apart from having to prove the announcement was made and was clearly audible to all runners (plainly not happening in all PPs experience) they would also have to prove that people had understood this and consented. This kind of bulk opt in forcing people to opt out is exactly what GDPR is designed to stop.

There is no justification for taking identifiable pictures of children/minors with or without consent.

Its not reasonable to make people responsible for telling organisers and getting it recorded that they don't want to be photographed. Recording this is a safeguarding issue for people who have been victims of abuse even if they don't give the reasons.

I know Parkrun experiences are varied. That is exactly why opt in to indentification needs to be very clearly opt in and not opt out.

megletthesecond · 14/10/2018 11:21

Even though I mostly look daft in my photos I kind of like them because no one else ever takes photos of me (LP). Photos of me are either selfies or parkrun.

I totally understand where people are coming from I'm a security point of view though.

NothingOnTellyAgain · 14/10/2018 11:21

They do it by gender not sex Grin

Just FYI (nto trying to derail).

itsnotarace · 14/10/2018 11:22

@NothingOnTellyAgain Yes, it's one policy for all parkrun events.

There are lots of other policies that apply to the child-only 2K events though, which I guess interact with the photography policy to an extent.

Practically, the junior parkruns tend to get a lot fewer participants than the adult parkruns (mainly because it's age-restricted), so it should be easier to identify and remove photographs of children prior to publication, if that's a concern. Also, because of the general concerns around children these days, you're far less likely to get a random person taking photographs - it will usually just be the volunteer photographer with a camera.

Children don't generally take selfies of themselves in front of a field of runners and post it in on social media!

NothingOnTellyAgain · 14/10/2018 11:22

Sorry thread moved that was to meetontheledge

Littlelamb73 · 14/10/2018 11:26

Oh God it's not just you, I'm in my 30s with the exact same problem, I am not very photogenic at all! Had the same problem with tough mudder, really, and I mean REALLY minging pics of me they were trying to tag me on fb. I just untagged myself and carry on doing it, I enjoy both