To think a 60mph road is not an appropriate place to go for a run?

[benadrylcucumberpatch]

I've noticed recently people running on a main road bear me which is national speed limit.

Is this a thing now!? I live in an area with an abundance of footpaths and quiet rural roads.

Cyclists on the road are less bother as they tend to be going at about 20-30mph, so even when your stuck behind them for a few miles at least your not massively held up. With someone running it's a huge hold up if your behind them. It seems a bit selfish to expect people not to be able to use to road as intended so you can run on it!

Aibu to think it's a ridiculous place to run?

Lockdown has made it clear to me that plenty of people don't know you should face oncoming traffic if you are walking or running along a road with no pavement, that you should shut gates behind you, even if numpty ahead of you left it open, and that you should take your litter home with you if there is no bin. I had one woman I have never seen before or since tell me not to lock the gate I was walking through. This was in a semi-rural area with livestock all around. 1. it doesn't have a lock, and 2. it should be shut and not left open. She was standing looking at something about 10ft away and could have gone in any of three directions.

Victim blaming is OK when it's cars vs anything else, apparently.

i live in a village, every road out of it is the national speed limit so technically people could drive at 60mph on them (though as they're so bendy it wouldnt be safe to do so).

none of the roads have pavements - pavements are not really much of a thing in villages

I run between 5-10K depending - if I didnt run on those roads, Id have nowhere to run at all

The road as intended was intended as a route from a-b quite possibly before most people had cars, in many cases before cars were even invented. A runner is using a road as intended just as much as a car is.

All the runners I've seen have been running in the same direction as the traffic, so you do get stuck behind them. I imagine this is because if they were running towards the traffic they'd have to step off the road if a car was coming towards them.

The road in question is quite bendy, but you can still safely do between 50 and 60. I tend towards 50, a lot of drivers will be at 60 or even over. (Not saying this is right, just that this is what happens)

And to the 'slow down and wait' brigade, why are you defending people running in the same direction as the traffic, which they're not supposed to do, and making the road dangerous for everyone? If there was an accident in this situation the blame would lay 100 percent on the driver, even if the runner was behaving like an idiot.

YANBU - wish some people didn’t risk their ( and others ) lives
(Then expect someone else to take responsibility!) 😡

If anybody is considering walking or running with their backs to the traffic, this study might change your mind...

Does facing traffic improve pedestrian safety Juha Luoma, Harri Peltola 2013

The main finding was that the mean effect of facing traffic compared to walking with traffic was a 77% decrease in fatal and in non-fatal injury pedestrian accidents.

and to the 'slow down and wait' brigade, why are you defending people running in the same direction as the traffic, which they're not supposed to do, and making the road dangerous for everyone? If there was an accident in this situation the blame would lay 100 percent on the driver, even if the runner was behaving like an idiot

Perhaps you should revise the Highway Code, OP? The guidance is:

Rule 2
If there is no pavement, keep to the right-hand side of the road so that you can see oncoming traffic..It may be safer to cross the road well before a sharp right-hand bend so that oncoming traffic has a better chance of seeing you

The advice to pedestrians to walk on the right is so they can see the traffic, not because 'it makes the road dangerous" if they don;t. And it is recommended to cross to the other side when that is safer.

You sound like a typical entitled driver who thinks the roads belong to you. The rest of us aren't putting up with that any more.

YANBU, lots putting themselves at risk. Also cyclists, one entered the dual carriageway the other day without even glancing around. Ironically right into the path of the ambulance that was in front of me.

Ok, if they are running with their back to the traffic, I can see that is frustrating. But your first post seemed to say they shouldn't be on the road at all, which is quite a different thing.

Either way, it is your responsibility to ensure you are driving in such a way as to be safe, no matter what might happen on the road.

What I don't understand is when people go jogging through a town centre, […]. Just go to the park!

How do you get to the park from your home?

OP do you mean ON the road or alongside the road?

There does seem to be a bit of a epidemic of runners on roads at the moment - including alongside empty pavements (so not doing it to social distance).

Cars and bikes go on roads.

Runners and walkers go on pavements.

If the road is too fast and busy you don't run on it.

OP you are right - they're on a suicide mission. I occasionally go on busy 40mph roads with my running club but only in a group with plenty of hi vis.

I think that cyclists etc. should also have to undergo a test and have insurance to be there out of interest, why? Cyclists usually only kill themselves, not other people. Drivers don't like them because they're an inconvenience, not because they are dangerous.

You sound like a typical entitled driver who thinks the roads belong to you. The rest of us aren't putting up with that any more.

I don't think it's entitled to want to be able to drive on a road to work without being in constant anxiety about the well-being of idiots who lack the ability to risk assess where it's appropriate to undertake their hobby. Im not against runners because their annoying, more that I think it's massively unsafe. It is also really bloody annoying but that's an aside

Come to Cornwall! I got stuck behind runners, cyclists, horses and some loose sheep today.

If you are behind a runner on the road then the runner is on the wrong side of the road. Should always walk/run facing traffic.

I live in the country. All the roads are technically NSL. Doesn’t mean I’m not going to go for a run. There’s a big difference between running up a busy A road and running along a quiet country lane so referring to a road just by the speed you can legally do on it is pointless. It’s worth remembering that roads are for all road users to share considerately , not the sole use of cars.

I love rurally - apart from the 30mph village, all the roads are National Speed Limit. I am a road runner.
Some of them I don't run along during rush hour, but other than that it's not a problem.
I often feel safer on these roads than the small tracks as I can take evasive action.

On the smaller roads you annoy car divers more and the only place to go is up the bank.