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.

@ParkRunIdiots

i agree . This is ridiculous.
Park run seems to think they run the place.

My personal hate are cyclists in park who don’t think the speed limit applies to them!

Actually, over 1100 words!

None at all, as I understand it. Any lodges over there are accessed from the outside by barrier gates.
There are still tracks that lead onto that side from the road alongside what was the Clumber Hotel, so Normanton "entrance", and people do park in the laybys that the entrances have become.
I miss the "old" Clumber - even if that makes me a stick in the mud.

Yes, very important to be accurate about that otherwise he will come back and correct you

I agree. And my best mate does Parkruns (fastest male many times) - but prefers others to Clumber, for some of the reasons on here.
And my sister lives in the Park, right near what is now the man/biggest car park.
My mother lived in one of the Cricket Ground cottages; she would have hated this carry on. Even though she worked for the Trust, she longed for the evenings when things quietened down - and that was before Parkrun was even a twinkle in anybody's eye!

For Information - the Worksop Marathon - or Half - I can't remember which - is coming up - and goes through Clumber! And it's longer than a Parkrun. (Obviously)

(But there will signs I believe.)

Why does anuine do things they enjoy with other people who enjoy the same thing?

Do we all have to do things in small groups?

Of course not.

But it's good to be mindful how a big group of people getting together can inconvenience the even bigger group of people not involved in your activity.

The park run director also mentioned another car park I could have used which he is adamant I would have driven past and that it was signed. He posted this photo. Firstly I never saw this sign but there are at least two pay points into Clumber and I suspect I used the other one so am not sure I went past this sign (still no idea where that picture was taken).

Even if I had - would one not think that was a car park for people doing the park run? Silly little me for following the NT signs saying main visitor carpark.
If I saw that sign I'd actively avoid parking there.

If I drove past that sign I would not park there. Parkrun parking is surely for parking for the parkrun.

I am going to say that is just after the cream gates and pay point (themselves just after the crossroads heading towards the main central area/Chapel etc), and towards the Cricket Ground on the left. See attached. Other than that, it is after/alongside the Cricket Ground itself - but is anyway before the big field car park...
But I may be wrong altogether.
The friend who would know for sure is at work, so can't ask him...

Nor in law I suspect. Despite his courtroom style and bold assertion that a driver 'would be liable' if a runner stumbled into the path of a car or was hit by a stone thrown up by a tyre. Not so. No pun intended but perhaps Mr Manners should 'stay in his lane' as they say.

Oh wait. I have just looked at their webpage, and am by and large, correct; it seems that start and finish is at the Bark Café.
Interestingly, this is a quote from the webpage -

"Please remember that the parkrun uses shared paths. For the continued success of the event, please give way to other park users. This won't hurt your time, it won't stop you from getting a PB and it will make sure everyone continues to enjoy the event."

Maybe a little Refresher training is in order....😉

Fucking hell this is mental! It's an hour a week! And barging pensioners out of the way, people having to throw themselves into bushes lest they get trampled! Where are all these parkruns that sound like medieval football matches?! I'm starting to worry that ours is unusually sedate. It's been months since I squashed a dog, must try harder. (Joking about this bit before you come at me with your sanctimonious outrage...)

I've done 80 odd different ones and never had this! I did one a few weeks ago on a cycle network track thing. We were told there'd be walkers and people with dogs. But I don't remember anyone having to throw themselves into bushes.

@LighthouseTheme if it’s after/alongside the cricket ground then you probably couldn’t get to it without been stopped in the traffic jam anyway.

I haven’t seen anyone mention about barging pensioners out of the way or people throwing themselves into bushes? 🧐🤷‍♀️

This crowd builds from around 8.30 to block this path, then sets off through the park, completely oblivious to any pensioners, dog walkers or cyclists.

https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=14V821CwoJdrHl8gr7mQf5TJsR9c&femb=1&ll=53.268624609894964%2C-1.0578649999999978&z=16

This might help visualise - and is better than my diagram!
There were 307 participants this week. I know I would hate to get snarled up with them, or the cars!

(Also a few years ago, I would load my horse onto his lorry and park just over the other side of the Cricket Ground - near a place called The Clump I think, and we would ride right through those same woods and alongside the lake arm.. We would be early on a Sunday morning and have very very few encounters; and those we did were lovely. But times have very much changed now.)

It looks as though it is - so I fail to see why the Marshall was preventing access to the Main car park..., which is straight on down towards the Chapel, and not even really on the route.

The Marshall wasn’t stopping anyone. There were green and white cones across the road though, with a small gap that you could get through but a sign saying “accessible parking”. So very much an impression that you shouldn’t go through unless (in my mind) you had a blue badge.

They are indeed very unwelcome. My DH was cycling there on a public right of way, he got chatting to a NT person on the site and mentioned that he was scoping out a route to do with our horse. They told him that we couldn't bring a horse on site without an annual pass. This is completely wrong, they can charge to access the estate but not to use the public bridleway, luckily I know this but what a way to discourage people from healthy outdoor activity.

Not the point of the thread, but I boycotted Parkrun 7 years ago when a runner/organiser told my then 10 year old off and made him cry, for "weaving" between runners. To say I lost my shit with him is an understatement. It put DS off from running there again.