Piers Morgan wants masks worn whilst running...

[Trulyatraditionalman]

AIBU to think this is ridiculous?

I don’t care if they are spreading the virus or world peace - I don’t want to be barged off the pavement by runners “doing fitness”.

I love how doing fitness is in inverted commas as if rubbing isn't really keeping fit at all 😂😂

There seems to be a ramping up of face masks, for 4 years olds, wear 2 to be safe, and now joggers.

There must be warehouses full of masks and other PPE now, surplus to requirements. Most people will not be buying anymore. The cynic in me thinks it needs shifting before masks get lifted. People with mates with high influence will be whispering in ears, I need to sell this stock. I am giving my head a wobble as I type, it sounds batshit, but who knows. It just seems very odd timing.

We should be easing down, not ramping up,

I love how doing fitness is in inverted commas as if rubbing isn't really keeping fit at all

I suppose it depends on the rubbing.

@Melange99

There seems to be a ramping up of face masks, for 4 years olds, wear 2 to be safe, and now joggers.

There must be warehouses full of masks and other PPE now, surplus to requirements. Most people will not be buying anymore. The cynic in me thinks it needs shifting before masks get lifted. People with mates with high influence will be whispering in ears, I need to sell this stock. I am giving my head a wobble as I type, it sounds batshit, but who knows. It just seems very odd timing.

We should be easing down, not ramping up,

Perhaps because there are variants going around that are more transmissible? And many people still haven't been vaccinated? And nobody wants yet another lockdown?

@IrmaFayLear why do you keep saying runners should go to tracks or stadiums? Aside from the fact that they're being used by others, there's a bigger risk by people driving to somewhere where they'd otherwise run from their home. My nearest fitness track is 15 miles away and stadium 25 miles away, according to Google.

I suspect you're not serious in your suggestion though

I am generally pretty easy going and I don't think runners should wear masks but they get also shouldn't breathe heavily within 2 metres of other users or the pavement or park. I have noticed runners not stopping when I have been sharing the pavement and there is no way of crossing the road to avoid each other. They should stop and wait the same as everyone else.

[quote MaddieElla]@Trulyatraditionalman CONGRATULATIONS! Very happy for you and your PB, but even happier that some batshits on this thread will be absolutely furious. [/quote]
😂😂

@MaddieElla

For the love of god *@JamesMiddletonsMarshmallows* don't mention the pounding.

Pounding
Honestly I've been running for years and I've never "pounded". I think I'm doing it wrong.

Let's imagine that someone said this a year ago. If you started a post on Mumsnet saying that someone ran past you with "lots of breath coming out of their mouth" you'd be torn to shreds. What lunacy is this?

So much this!!
My god, what has Covid done to the world?! 😳

@LucieStar I am very heavy footed 🤣 or maybe I just need new running shoes

@LucieStar

Let's imagine that someone said this a year ago. If you started a post on Mumsnet saying that someone ran past you with "lots of breath coming out of their mouth" you'd be torn to shreds. What lunacy is this?

So much this!!
My god, what has Covid done to the world?! 😳

But there WERE threads over a year ago about joggers/cyclists barging through walkers on footpaths etc. The emphasis then was nothing to do with their breath/covid, it was about their general self entitled attitude and potential injury to walkers. Lack of consideration is nothing new.

@user1497207191

But there WERE threads over a year ago about joggers/cyclists barging through walkers on footpaths etc. The emphasis then was nothing to do with their breath/covid, it was about their general self entitled attitude and potential injury to walkers. Lack of consideration is nothing new.

You're right. Some moany cunts will find anything to be cunty and moany about, COVID or no COVID. Just seems to be a lot more of you about these days.

[quote JamesMiddletonsMarshmallows]@LucieStar I am very heavy footed 🤣 or maybe I just need new running shoes [/quote]

Are people running in military boots?!
I can't work it out ....

But there WERE threads over a year ago about joggers/cyclists barging through walkers on footpaths etc. The emphasis then was nothing to do with their breath/covid, it was about their general self entitled attitude and potential injury to walkers. Lack of consideration is nothing new.

No you're right, lack of consideration is indeed nothing new. I've been running in areas where walkers in a line can see me coming from a good few hundred metres away, on a narrowish footpath. Have they always moved to single file? Nope, they haven't. So, lack of consideration works in many different ways and doesn't just apply to runners who, surprisingly, are not a homogenous group of individuals who all behave equally the same.

It would just be yet another law that is designed for urban area with no consideration given to those of us living rurally.

I didn't pass another person whilst running yesterday and if I had we would have had 10m that we could put between us.

The problem is with many of the rules based around urban areas and applied to everyone, in rural areas we have to break them to carry on any kind life. The Welsh 5 mile rule last summer (there are no properties for 2 miles in one direction from my house, supermarket 8 miles away etc); the current situation where we are allowed to meet for exercise but only when exercising from the front door, so that leaves me and my nearest friend having to walk 5 miles each to meet each other in the middle; my 3 year old has to walk a 3 mile round trip to legally use a play area; I can drive to the takeaway 5 miles away, as its the nearest one, but legally can't use the park there or meet my friend for exercise.

So I end up breaking the rules every day just to do what everyone else is legally allowed to do, and it's exhausting knowing that if I'm unlucky I could be stopped and questioned on all these occasions.

Masks whilst running would just add another rule to break and worry about.

I'm fed up of some (not all, by any means) runners ignoring the 2m distancing and huffing past so close I can smell their breath. I'm not sure why they can't just slow down a bit and take a step to the side of the path to keep a distance. Their desire to run really fast doesn't trump everyone else's need for a safe walking space.

However, mandating masks for runners isn't going to make any real difference to covid spreading, and it's unenforceable. How do you define a "runner"? How fast do you have to be walking to have to wear a mask? What if you're walking and then suddenly sprint to catch a bus, should you stop first to put on a mask? It's nonsense.

@DenisetheMenace

Robintakeover

We all have the right to be there but running is a lot harder work than walking .. the non runners should try even the first few runs of couch to 5k - then maybe they might do their fair share of the giving way .. they might even improve their health! - and they’d probably understand a little more why some of us would prefer not to wear a mask when running !”

Tbf, I think it depends on the “walking” and “running”. I walk quickly, using my arms too (much to the hilarity of the teenagers in the park and the old men saying “go on gal”) and frequently overtake “runners”. My walking marathon time is just under 6 hours now, was 5.5 when I was younger. It’s pretty hard work.

We just all need to be considerate and move aside for people less able or more vulnerable than ourselves.

I was waiting for that old chestnut to surface "I walk faster than the runners." You do realise that that really slow runner may have been running at a really fast pace 20 mins prior to you seeing them. Or they're having a slow recovery day.

It doesn't make sense to wear a mask when running. A cloth mask becomes damp after a short time of hard exercise. If the person is asymptomatic the virus particles would be concentrated around the outside of the mask thus reducing its efficacy.

Well! I have returned from my run, and went out of my way to say "hello", "excuse me", "I love you 3000" to everyone I encountered, in my helium voice (good description by the way). And do you know what they did, dear reader? They mostly smiled, waved, said hello back. Only one person didn't acknowledge me but she may have been an ally of Thanos. Or just a mardy arse walker, perish the thought.

It's almost like I come on Mumsnet and it's filled with people who are not in the real world. Thankfully none of those people are in mine.

@MaddieElla

Well! I have returned from my run, and went out of my way to say "hello", "excuse me", "I love you 3000" to everyone I encountered, in my helium voice (good description by the way). And do you know what they did, dear reader? They mostly smiled, waved, said hello back. Only one person didn't acknowledge me but she may have been an ally of Thanos. Or just a mardy arse walker, perish the thought.

It's almost like I come on Mumsnet and it's filled with people who are not in the real world. Thankfully none of those people are in mine.

I suspect a few of the joy suckers don’t even go out at all.

I've actually been out "doing fitness". I haven't managed to pound or pant but I think the"doing fitness"thing is hilarious and should become a meme!

Why use one adjective when you can use two less informative ones?

But there WERE threads over a year ago about joggers/cyclists barging through walkers on footpaths etc. The emphasis then was nothing to do with their breath/covid, it was about their general self entitled attitude and potential injury to walkers. Lack of consideration is nothing new.

Yes, there were threads about inconsiderate behaviour on footpaths pre-covid. Not much as changed really.

ALL groups have inconsiderate people in them. Walkers, dog walkers, runners and cyclists.

The point is: the public footpaths are for ALL people and frankly aiming hostility at one group over the other is pointless and it is absurd. In my three weekly runs and twice weekly walks I come across many inconsiderate people who don't seem to understand that the path is for everyone and is not just for their personal use, as and how they want to use it.

There does seem to be some excellent hyperbole and exaggeration on this thread though. That is good for a laugh.

@MaddieElla

Well! I have returned from my run, and went out of my way to say "hello", "excuse me", "I love you 3000" to everyone I encountered, in my helium voice (good description by the way). And do you know what they did, dear reader? They mostly smiled, waved, said hello back. Only one person didn't acknowledge me but she may have been an ally of Thanos. Or just a mardy arse walker, perish the thought.

It's almost like I come on Mumsnet and it's filled with people who are not in the real world. Thankfully none of those people are in mine.

I think I probably shout hello to everyone because I run with earphones. Happy AND deranged! Oh and I can't tell if I know someone or not without my glasses so I err on the side of caution and presume I do.

Happy AND deranged AND overfamiliar.

I am also highly visible and courteous.

Well! I have returned from my run, and went out of my way to say "hello", "excuse me", "I love you 3000" to everyone I encountered, in my helium voice (good description by the way). And do you know what they did, dear reader? They mostly smiled, waved, said hello back. Only one person didn't acknowledge me but she may have been an ally of Thanos. Or just a mardy arse walker, perish the thought.

When I went this morning, this thread was high in my mind. I wish I had a go pro (I know right, more 'tech' to weigh me down!!!) to show everyone the reality. It might make a few posters livid to see it.

In fact, it was bloody brilliant this morning in that in one busy section nearly every person walked or ran on the left and gave way to others if they were in a group. It was like being back in Australia. Of course, there were a few arseholes, but there always is.

Yes @TheOrigRights I pause my music now when I'm approaching because I'm sure I sound like I'm yodelling if I keep it playing and shout too loud.

Also I don't want them to hear my banging tunes 90s trance