To think the National Trust should not let Park Run volunteers marshal the cars at a NT property

[ParkRunIdiots]

So rocked up a very large NT property with lots of parkland at about 9:25 today.

had gone through the payment control bit, then you drive for about another mile (no joke) to the car park. Just before the car park all traffic stopped in a traffic jam caused by two Park Run people in pink vests who would not let any cars through.

So I sat there and say there and sat there, not a single car moved through. I could see the runners approaching from the right, at times there were gaps in the runners but still no car was allowed through. After ten minutes still no car had been allowed to pass. Several cars behind me did a 20 point turn and left.

Then I realised that the runners weren’t even crossing the road as I’d originally assumed, they turned right and ran alongside the road edge, which has a massive Green verge they could run on . So in my mind no need to stop any car. Or if some risk assessment has deemed it too dangerous to have the cars beside the runners then it means there’s no access to the car park for about 45 mins, in which case the NT property needs to open later!

the runners were all strung out, no big wide bunch/crowd, so single file or in pairs.

anyway I honked at this point. One pink vest guy had obviously been waiting for this moment and charged up, ran past me and bollocked the car behind me who was mid 20 point turn and leaving. That driver grassed me up so the park run guy came and condescendingly told me “when there’s a gap” we will let a car through. I said it was ridiculous, that there had been plenty of gaps, nobody had been allowed through and the runners weren’t even on the road!

At which point he told me if I didn’t like it I could leave!

then the other marshal let some of us through, even though there were still runners running alongside the verge the same as there had been for the last ten minutes! I think they were letting cars through in groups of 5 or 6 as some had gone through just before I got stopped. Again when there were runners there! So nothing to do with gaps!

diagram for an idea.

I do feel like emailing the NT and telling them they need to have an NT person there overseeing it, and preventing the Parkrun people been rude to other users.

I may be slightly anti park run after my (on lead, walking to heel) dog was trampled on and tripped over by several park runners on the inaugural run of my local new park run on a narrow public bridleway and they shouted at me for been there with a dog (even though I’d stepped into the mud at the side). Still not forgiven them for that.

Our local park run was canceled due to behaviour of some of the participants and volunteers. A small part of the route went through a local landowners property. The landowner had given permission for the route to go along a pathway but had made it clear that the pathway runs along fields which contain livestock and if there was an emergency access would be needed.

Unfortunately some participants (not local ones) had brought a dog with them and it had somehow got into the field and started chasing the sheep in the field. The landowner had tried to come and aid on his quad bike to be told rudely by the volunteer that he couldn't access his field due to the run and it was not an emergency. The landowner lost several sheep due to being chased by the dog. Landowner posted on local Facebook explaining that due to the incident and ongoing litter problems (apparently runners were discarding water bottles along the route and not using bins) he was withdrawing access permission and that was the end of the parkrun. It ran for a whole 2 months before being cancelled.

The pathway that was in use had been used by locals for many years without incident, there was an unofficial agreement that people could use it to continue walking along the river. The farmer had secured it best he could with fencing and hedgerows and a gate and put a sign on the gate asking that dogs would be kept on leads for this section of the walk during lambing season.

Anyone who thinks Parkrun is a well run organisation obviously is unaware that they allow men to take women's places and steal their wins. The directors of Parkrun hate women. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12118371/Fury-Parkrun-womens-record-revealed-held-transgender-attempted-murderer.html

The parkrun with about 2500 is in South Africa. The biggest event in the UK gets about half that.

Honestly, this is such an arrogant reply. Do you not realise how intimidating a group of dozens of people like this looking "official" can be? Would you say the same if this was a group of teenagers in hoodies?

Do you think every walker, cyclist has the social capital to take on such a group? Many of our local population don't speak English as their first langauge, many elderly people can't make their voice heard etc etc. There seems to be the internal impression that park runners are such lovely, kind, thoughtful people that everyone else should only be impressed and grateful for their presence.

I shouldn't have to be the park run police. The organisers should have the training and intelligence to think this through for themselves.

Problem is with my local one when I’ve tried to cycle along the path I do use my bell and shout out “cyclist coming through “. And they don’t move, or move at the last minute. I’m talking about when they’re standing around in a group of 300 before they start. They’re too busy chatting and oblivious. Even other park runners are shouting at them and still they don’t react. I’ve stopped going anywhere near there on a Saturday now but it is unfair that their behaviour causes this.

And locally I know I’m not the only walker/cyclist who feels like this. It has been brought up with the local RD (not by me) who’s response apparently was that we all need to share. Yes we do. But it seems to be a one way street

Well done on standing your ground here, OP. I wonder if the Parkrun defenders who have lately joined this thread read the very condescending 1000 word public scolding you were given by the RD on page 4, since withdrawn. Perhaps they did. The 'we can do no wrong, just wait/step aside/come another time/ask us to move/we're all lovely volunteers you know' seems to be a common attitude. Not 'how can we manage this better?'.

So still more than a thousand people?

85% of voters think the OP is not being unreasonable. Yet park run people can’t see it.

So, have I got this right - the ONLY place to park - at weekends - is the "overspill" car park? Which means that general users to the property WILL come into the Parkrun "Zone", and be forced to cross the route and join the melee, even just to park??

That's been the case the last few times we've visited, they block off at the junction by the cricket pitch and direct people towards what used to be called the overflow car park. They do this even when they've left the barrier down so you can't actually get in!

Someone posted the maps earlier and you'll see that it's labelled accessible car park on their maps

OK! And agreed @MetaMette , I have now rung the Park, and it is a relatively recent change; the former tarmac car park, is now the "Accessible" car park ("as a third has been given over to staff") and everything - including the PR participants - is directed to the Event field, and yes, there is a barrier in place.

Wow! I'm so surprised at this - and of course there will be Parkrun conflict.

(Taking a drive out there tomorrow to see it in person, and see what happens when trying to drive straight down the main road.)

(It was me who posted the map/s, but I took "Accessible" to mean that this includes an accessible section, not that that is all it is!)

So it's starting to look like this is a problem of the National Trust's making?

If what I have been told is correct - and she was quite clear, and was also reading from a Calendar - then yes, the NT are almost totally for blame for funnelling general visitors (paying remember) right towards the now shared (and almost only) car park, and the start/finish and part of the PR route.

(Did the Parkrun spokesperson mention this in the now removed post?)

This will lead to more people parking on the bits they still can on/off Limetree and therefore not paying... Seems crazy!

Aaannd... a Parkrunner immediately jumps upon this information to point the blamey finger at someone else. I should draw up a bingo card. Being in the 'right' at all costs doesn't win support for one's cause, as the 85% YANBU voting figure above illustrates.

(Did the Parkrun spokesperson mention this in the now removed post?)

no. They said I should use a different car park and produced a photo of a car park with a sign which says ParkRun car park. Which I pointed out implies it’s for people doing the park run. Plus I think (not sure) that car park is also after the marshal stopping zone.

im still not sure if I can use the accessible car park so will just carry on parking on Limetree ave and keep collecting notes telling me off for doing so.

I am a parkrunner, yes. I only know first-hand about what happens at my parkrun and a few others I've also gone to. From some of the anecdotal posts on this thread it sounds as if there are sometimes problems at other parkruns, which is a shame, but not very surprising, given how big parkrun has become, and that it's run by volunteers. Given the latest information about this Clumber, it sounds like the NT has made a change which has caused problems for both parkrunners and other visitors, and neither the NT nor parkrun has yet sorted this out, as they clearly need to do to avoid further confrontation and inconvenience. I expect they are both grateful to the OP for pointing this out to them.

Not surprising. Stick too many people together in a crowd and the effect is akin' to a lemming on crack.
Someone will get trampled to death or assaulted in the bushes and that will be the point of "lessons have been learned". Such is the eventual end story of all hardly-regulated mass events.

Sounds like the Park Run has outgrown it's capacity to "run" smoothly.

Not the point of the thread but I'm also quite surprised at the popularity of the event.
Having enjoyed running for exercise, there's nothing worse in my opinion than being paced by other people, avoiding trampling someone's heels, not being able to see past the bodies all the obstacles or reasons for sudden halts, not being in "the zone" but exchanging scuse mees and platitudes instead, hearing gargling and laboured breathing instead of nature or music...

It's like arriving to a swimming pool to find it incredibly busy. Surely everyone would prefer it fully to themselves instead?

Just as I start to think I'm normal, hundreds of thousands of people disagree.... 😁

I think the problem is with all events like this is that a lot of the volunteers end up being of the more officious variety and try and impose random rules on everyone, whether they’re part of the group or not! Happened with a swimming group I used to attend - the Clipboard Clives took all the enjoyment out of it (and before anyone asks, I did try to volunteer but the Clives put so many rules in place, no one could comply)

I expect they are both grateful to the OP for pointing this out to them.

Did you read the long patronising ticking off the RD gave the OP on page 4 for getting it all wrong? According to him she'd got the wrong car park, the wrong map, the wrong distances, the wrong times. Not a smidge of 'okay, it seems there might be a problem, I'll look into it'. He was about as far from grateful to her for pointing out the issue as he could possibly be.

Clipboard Clives

Love it.

Yes, that's what my Parkrunning friend said, and why he doesn't go to the Clumber one any more. Even remotely close to the front, you will meet the back of the pack on their first lap. and the number of people is not fun at all!

"Running for pleasure" seems a bit of an oxymoron to me! 😰

Maybe even they aren't fully aware of what I was told today.... And that the Accessible car park is now ONLY the Accessible (and staff?) car park. I did ask if a Blue Badge was needed as proof, and she wasn't 100% on that - I suppose plenty will say that they need it, without "proof" - so it won't be long before that's a requirement officially as well.

I intend to try it out tomorrow.

My history is so long that, when I first went there, my mother was living above the Stables (which is where the bookshop is I think??); she moved after a while to one of the cottages overlooking the Cricket Ground. And more "recently" would have a lovely ride on the wide verges and under the lovely trees on Limetree.
I wish it was still so quiet. I am probably in for a fright tomorrow, even a mid-week morning....

@LighthouseTheme let me know how you find it tomorrow, hope you enjoy your visit. How lovely that your mum used to live there.

I've parked at Hardwick Village on a mid week morning in the autumn and walked to central bark and back and barely seen a sole.

Nowadays we tend to walk in from a layby on the A614 as it saves a bit of driving.