Joggers should be banned from paths and pavements

[BalancedIndividual]

As a car driver I find that the occasional cyclist breaks highway codes, cycles dangerously, or cycles without care and consideration. Key word being occasional, so no biggie. Just like how the occasional car diver is a .

But as a pedestrian going for a stroll in the park, the number of rude, selfish, careless and aggressive joggers i've seen is ridiculous high.

I see a jogger coming towards me, I walk to the side/edge of the path, but joggers always decide to keep running straight down the middle....

Similar to the above, joggers not keep a safe distance, and actually brushing past me.

And lastly, the worst offenders, joggers running side by side taking up the whole path, coming towards me, and giving me looks as if im supposed to jump out the way and off the path. ***

I honestly think legislation should be brought in to ban jogging on paths and pavements. Restricting joggers to grassland/cross country, outdoor tracks, private land, and the gym. The same way that cycling isnt permitted on pavements.

AIBU?

It’s weird. I think some people are jealous of runners/cyclists. Seeing people looking after themselves triggers them. I remember years ago running near a river a few years ago. It was a lovely day so there were lots of runners that day but it was a very wide path so there was lots of space and nobody had to move aside to let others by. As I went past a couple of rough looking blokes smoking, one looked angry and said to his companion very loudly so others could hear that ‘he had much better things to do with his lunchtime than running!’. His friend looked a bit embarrassed but it felt like the shouty guy was simply annoyed that he was smoking whilst others within his sight were being healthy.

When I’ve been out cycling I’ve also seen this weird jealous behaviour from a minority of drivers. They just don’t want you to be doing something to improve yourself. There’s a crabs in a barrel mentality.

I drive, run, walk and cycle and find there’s a minority of tits in all groups. The most dangerous being the drivers due to the potential impact of any poor behaviours on their part.

I go running at 6am to avoid people like the OP, I also cycle to work using 80% off rd route to avoid people like the OP

Whilst they think they walk in straight lines and follow the Highway Code it’s often the case they walk like a drunk and haven’t retained the information in the Highway Code or read it for several years and consequently drive badly 🙈

They are at lo east annoying and at worst fucking danger to life

OP you get that the UK death rate is due to us being one of the fattest counties in the world? And that the gyms are closed? And the amount of walking pedestrians who walk 2 abreast in a world of their la la own, refusing to move over? Apologies if you are non UK, but obvs mumsnet is UK, so most readers are from the UK. We need to get fitter and lose weight. Covid is here to stay.

Oh another hate thread about "joggers".

But as a pedestrian going for a stroll in the park, the number of rude, selfish, careless and aggressive joggers i've seen is ridiculous high

Yeah right. Most of us can go out every day and not come across a selfish careless and aggressive "jogger" but you encounter them all the time.

I wonder what you would think about me, as I walk at some peoples' running pace. And my son walks even faster than I do. Should we be banned from pavements too? And is it ok for runners to use pavements if they run more slowly than some people walk?

Whether I am out running or walking, the most inconsiderate people I come across are couples and family groups who refuse to walk single file and/or dog walkers who don't keep their dog to heel. Not runners.

Oh and walkers who walk along staring at their mobile phones and expect everyone else to get out of their way. Less of a problem during covid, but will no doubt come back once we get back to normal.

I was out running in our local park a couple of days ago and came across 2 dog walkers who had stopped to chat. They were standing in opposite sides of the 10ft path. Their respective dogs had both crossed the path on extended leads so that the leads were crossed in the middle of the path effectively blocking it completely. I literally had to come to a stop in front of them for a couple of seconds before they noticed and moved their dogs so I could pass.

What does this prove? Just that sometimes people get distracted and aren't paying attention to the needs of everyone else around them. That could be any of us at any time. When did our society become so judgemental?

I’ve honestly never had an issue with a single runner in my life. They always move to one side and are always polite. Cyclists on the other hand...

@SleepingStandingUp

pedestrians erratically walking children dogs on ridiculously long leads puppies??

Oh this tickled me 😂

I’ve honestly never had an issue with a single runner in my life
Me neither. When I've been out running, cycling, walking the dogs, or out with DC the most annoying and inconsiderate people I've encountered have typically been:

• People with long extendable dog leads on busy/shared use paths as their dogs are all over the place and the owners typically seem to consider being ages away on a retractable lead is a substitute for proper control of their dog.
• families / couples who think they need to take up the whole path (forcing everyone else to go in the road to get round them), or meandering aimlessly down the middle of shared use paths and make no effort to get to one side. They're evidently a special type of family/couple who can't walk closer together or go single file on paths where 95% of path users manage to exactly that.

I saw on the last thread that there are people who believe that it is a group of walkers right to not move to allow others through.

And that it is nobody’s responsibility to turn their head occasionally if they are in a group blocking the path, and this includes families with small children and prams, and check if they should fall to the side enough to give the person passing some distance. And that includes allowing other walkers overtaking them. It wasn’t answered on the other thread, but is it controversial to expect people to make room for others to pass safely on a path?

Some people choose not to walk or jog off the path because it can cause falls or injury on uneven ground. Is this controversial also?

It does seem weird that we are so pedantic about queuing and cannot understand that respect is needed on pathways for all users.

I wonder what you would think about me, as I walk at some peoples' running pace. And my son walks even faster than I do. Should we be banned from pavements too?

Such a good point. I too often walk at a faster pace than some people's running pace. So it's back to the policing of speed limits of pedestrians, basically. Ridiculous.

I'd also like to ban those Facebook posts that say something like:
"These people are going to have a wild time this weekend!"
And then lists 5 billion names and then invites you to share the post.
I want to know the science/logic behind their reasoning before I share. Are they actual experts in statistics and wild fun having? Seems like they're just making it up.

I keeping having to stop myself, think and then be kind to others, even trespassers who disobey laws (walk on our private estate which is clearly signed - hundreds of them every day, walking, running, riding, cycling) because lots of people are suffering currently in individual ways. So cut people some slack is my advice.

In our case the joggers are not worse for me when I am in my garden. It is those people dropping litter, those who park on the verge or the estate (banned for residents!) and those who make a noise - usually the estate would be silent so I can hear birds.

I am hoping once they are forced back to work and school things will fall silent again.

YABU.
Everyone on foot should be able to use paths and pavements. Everyone should do so considerately. The more mobile and less encumbered people should make more adjustments than those who are less mobile or more encumbered.

A big element here is safety for is runners. I live on the edge of Epping Forest and I'd love to be able to run in the forest where it's beautiful and the air is clean but if I'm running on my own, especially if it's very early or after dark then I want pavements and street lights and people so if I need to scream someone will hear me.

Yep. When I'm running, I'm always looking out for where I could knock on a door if I got attacked. I think I'd run into the road if someone attacked me on the main through road. It's 30mph, so I'd take my chances. I'd be screwed in the woods.

Everyone on foot should be able to use paths and pavements. Everyone should do so considerately. The more mobile and less encumbered people should make more adjustments than those who are less mobile or more encumbered.

I agree. If you are a fast-moving user of the pavements, you may occasionally be inconvenienced by a slower-moving user struggling to get out of your way. The solution is for both sides to show tolerance (walkers need to move, runners may need to slow down while walkers move). It is not to ban anyone.

Female runners are often harassed and targeted by men even in busy areas, coupled with the general resentment of runners expressed on here.... it's no wonder we don't feel safe, plus we have to be wary of dog attacks😡

I can't stop thinking about how fucking stupid this thread is.

Should we ban people from walking fast too?

What about children running around, should that be banned?

What about dogs, they run sometimes.

Scooters and bicycles? Kids playing tag? Roller skating?

What about people running for the bus? Would you ban that too?

Or is it only people who are running for fitness that you can't stand?

You are kidding, right? I find the joggers far more considerate round here. Certainly more considerate than those walking who often are on their phone unaware of their surroundings, or 2+ people who don't go single file.

Not to mention the electric scooters zooming past.

You've inspired me to go for a jog in my local footpaths this weekend though. Thank you

I've no issue with runners. I've only encountered a very few utterly obnoxious ones but I don't understand why they can't slow or stop to give you a moment to move to one side, grab your toddler or call your dog. If it's to keep their heart rate up surely they could jog in place, like they do when waiting to cross the road?

wow there is a lot of jogger hate on MN recently!

I'm a runner so it doesn't affect me!

And a decent, couteous human being so I am perfectly aware ,able and willing to move if approaching other people.

Athletic tracks are closed (and not all are open to the general public anyway)
Gyms are closed
fields until recently have been incredibly boggy and very impassable without trail shoes (which not everyone has)...and running in boggy mud while good for you is much harder and a different type of training than using paths or pavements.

Most of my running is done on country lanes and I manage to share these in a civilised manner with cars, horses, cyclists and other pedestrians, but now the weather is nicer I will start on trails and footpaths. I try to avoid the more main or well known footpaths nearby as they are usually busy.

If a runner is going so fast on a path being used by other people that they can't swerve or slow down, then they're being unreasonable and inconsiderate. It's exactly the same dynamics as someone trying to speed in traffic, really.

@Januaryissodull

I can't stop thinking about how fucking stupid this thread is.

Should we ban people from walking fast too?

What about children running around, should that be banned?

What about dogs, they run sometimes.

Scooters and bicycles? Kids playing tag? Roller skating?

What about people running for the bus? Would you ban that too?

Or is it only people who are running for fitness that you can't stand?

I suspect your last sentence is accurate...

I thought about this thread on my morning run. I encountered a lady with two small DCs one holding each hand and thus taking up the entire wide path, a number of dogs running in my path, people walking in twos but trying to social distance again taking up most of path and didn't want to run through the middle of them and almost being cycled into by small DC out of control on bike. Oh and having to stop as running on farmers field path to let tractor go by.

It's just life.