Why don't people like runners now?

[Bog]

I'm sometimes fortunate to be able to go for a run in the evenings as some me time from working and being a dad to my son.
I remember in lockdown and before my son was born when my wife and I would go running, the torrent of abuse we would get from others. Things like run in the road or get away from me/ don't breath on me.
I figured since that ship has sailed I would restart as my wife wanted me to be healthy and fit for our son ( my diet is/was pretty much beige and crisps lol).
Yet still, the comments. It was a bit icy on the road so I didn't feel safe running there and don't anyway as I'm not a car. So I'm running on the pavement and I'm still getting the glares and tuts, even had one woman whip out her mask.
Then it's the deliberate not moving. Is it such a crime to want to have a run?
I feel I'm on the same hate level as a cyclist. Unless there was a running lane that would be handy.
I can't afford or have space for a treadmill or to go to the gym but why am I being punished? People are baffling at the best of times.

As long as runners give way to slower pedestrians and don't run straight across side roads I'm driving out of without even looking, let alone stopping at the kerb, then I don't have a problem with them. What's wrong with people not moving? I'd say it's often safer to stop and let a runner go around you if you don't know which way they will go.

I don’t encounter this, yes during lockdown maybe, but I’ve always been considerate and made sure I give people space, run in the road if possible and never cut too close from behind.

I hope I am a polite runner. I'm always checking behind in case I'm being slow and someone needs to pass. I wait to cross the road unless absolutely safe to just run. I actually bought a mask for running but it made me dizzy and I looked pretty menacing in it. Then I thought but it's no different to someone sneezing, coughing or smoking nearby when im breathing and running.
I'm not running right up to people and blowing air in their faces.

As a runner it's the people who insist on using the entire path and refuse to move even a tiny bit aside who really piss me off. Narrow pavement with a road on one side and a wall on the other, someone who obviously sees me coming but think they can just continue ambling down the middle leaving no space for me to pass. Or couples/families who simply have to walk abreast.

There are just a lot of people who seem to have no awareness of anything or anyone around them.

I'd run in the road if I was certain that there were no idiotic drivers. Last time I ran in the road I got told to "fuck off back onto the pavement you cunt".

Ah yes and the dog walkers who insist their dog needs to have the entire pavement. Although I don't mind the dogs lol.

I run. A lot.
The level of abuse is no where near what I get when I cycle. As cyclist I get sworn at on average once a ride despite being a law-abiding risk-averse middle aged plodder.

Around here I've only seen runner being given a hard time when they don't give pedestrians enough time to make adjustments.

If there's not really enough space for two then can't you walk past people instead? Like I was always taught as a child to dismount and walk a bike past pedestrians on a shared path.

You do know that cars turning in to a junction should give way to pedestrians, including those waiting to cross?

Then it's the deliberate not moving.

I'd run in the road if I was certain that there were no idiotic drivers. Last time I ran in the road I got told to "fuck off back onto the pavement you cunt".

In general I agree with you that people being rude to runners is weird however I wonder from these comments whether you are expecting a bit much.

You are moving faster so if there is room to pass you should be going around people and making clear what you are doing. You really shouldn't be in the road if there are cars on it at all. If you can't pass easily then you need to slow down, not expect people to move out of the way.

Yes I do, I thought I was clear in my post that it was when I was driving out of side roads (usually my own).

I haven't found this at all, maybe you've been unlucky. I went out at 7:30 am yesterday and it was practically just runners!

I have never ever had this, certainly not actual comments. People do tend to block the pavement but I tend to just check it’s safe and nip onto the road. I always give dogs a wide berth especially if the pavements are icy as I once saw a lady pulled over by her dog when it went for a runner.
the only abuse I have ever had while running is middle aged men leering at me (I am not in anyway a beauty, it’s just that men of a certain age seem to think it’s acceptable to stare at women exercising 🤷‍♀️) and I have also twice had people/passengers photograph or video me from behind and then as the vehicle goes past me then from the front. Very blatantly filming.

I have had a number of dogs chase/jump at me though 😂

That woman sound a bit odd tbh (and I still wear masks indoors).

I've not had a problem with anyone being rude to me. The people hogging the footpath and dogs leads across the path do my head in though. I'm tempted to get a bell sometimes.

Oh yes I will run over front lawns if I can't say excuse me please loud enough. Or I try to stomp run so they can hear me. But maybe I should do what a pp said with the bike. Dismount and walk past or stop and walk past then. I guess it's for a selfish reason of wanting to have a consistent reading of progress, which can be wrong if constantly stopping. I did ask my inlaws if they could have the baby monitor and I go running at 5 in the morning but then it's not fair on them incase my son wakes up.

Gosh, the filming thing is creepy!

That's disturbing. Did you call them out for that.

I live in an area popular with runners. I've had them kick my dog, run within centimeters of me from behind with no warning and dominate the pavement.

Numerous runners also run with their dogs off lead. They bother my reactive dog despite the fact shes on a yellow lead with a yellow 'I need space' jacket, don't know where their dogs are or try to control them. They also don't pick up their poo as they can't possibly stop exercising to do that.

Pavements are a shared space. Runners are not more important that pedestrians and they do not automatically have right of way simply because they are exercising/moving faster than others.

We've had dashcams installed due to the dangerous and entitled behaviour of runners (and cyclists) in our area. They run in the dark with no lights, round blind bends and 3 abreast across the road. It's an accident waiting to happen. I deliberately drive slowly in our lanes as I'm so fed up with it.

There are some very polite and considerate runners who I have no issue with. However, the vast majority do the things I've described sadly.

I have the same problem when walking as I walk faster than most people. I need to slow down to their speed and wait for a spot to overtake if they don't hear me. I will say excuse me if nowhere to pass for a while but don't expect them to jump aside.

Woah that's disgraceful your poor dog I'm so sorry. I don't mind the dogs and usually wave to them, I used to wave to small children but got called a nonce, despite being a dad myself so I stopped that.

Hahaha yes my wife was a quick walker and I had trouble keeping up with her.

I think most people don't have a problem with runners in particular.

I think problems arise when people are inconsiderate and/or unaware that they are in a space used by other people.

So, as you say, it's thoughtless to use the whole pavement. People may want to walk faster, pass in the opposite direction without having to wait while you move yourself/selves, or, yes, run or jog by.

In a busy shopping area, there is likely to be a lot of ambling on the pavements with people thinking more about the errands they are running than how to make progress, so I think it is more considerate, if you want to go at an unusually high pace, to avoid those areas. Specially as there are more likely to be the type of people there who are a bit unsteady on their feet and nervous of losing balance if they perceive someone to be swerving close to them.

As Rule H2 of the Highway Code says "At a junction you should give way to pedestrians crossing or waiting to cross a road into which or from which you are turning." I think that drivers need to be aware that a pedestrian close to a side road approaching fast is, in effect, waiting to cross, albeit in motion, and the driver should give way to them.

OTOH, runners who hassle slower or more vulnerable pedestrians are a problem. I was cautiously descending some narrow potentially icy, slippery leaf-covered steps the other day, holding the handrail. A runner came up close behind me about halfway down and first huffed and then asked me to step aside to let him past. To do that I would have to go onto the broken edge of the steps and it would still have been a squeeze, so I refused to risk it.

I'm a fast walker so tend to step off the pavement (checking for traffic first) to pass slower pedestrians, so I don't think it would be unreasonable for you to do that, and I think the road is less likely to be icy than the pavement. But in general, I think it's safer, and more expected for pedestrians to be on the pavement.

First they came for the cyclists….

Next it will be pedestrians

@Bog @iknowhimsowell no, did not call them out. The first time was a car full of teenage lads. They slowed right down.

the second time was only last week, a transit type van came up behind me and as it went past I could see the passenger holding his phone out and i could see my own image on the screen, like a selfie (if you see what I mean). I was again too creeped out to call them out on it and they drove off. I actually saw the van pulled over in a lay-by about 50 yards down the road in front, and genuinely for a moment was planning my escape- but they were just letting a car past the other way (we were on country lanes!). It’s really the only time I have felt very threatened and vulnerable while running.