To think Parkrun shouldn't take priority over the rest of the public?

[MaryRoze]

9.30am every Saturday, our biggest park is inundated with Parkrunners. There are hundreds of them.

They take up the 3 biggest car parks (including the one at the start of the dog walking trail), meaning I need to park at the furthest away one. Not a problem except I can't get to the furthest away one because volunteers stop the traffic to let the runners go past.

Once I get parked, I'm pushed to the side of all the main paths because they're running 3 or 4 abreast. I try to go down the muddier gravel paths, but they're down there too. An older couple today got a "fuck sake" because they couldn't move out of one runners way quick enough.

Parents are being stopped from crossing the path between car park and playground with their kids because the runners are passing by.

I get that Parkrun is fantastic for people's physical health and mental health, and it's clearly very popular but AIBU to think they need to be courteous of other park users too?

Parkrun in NI and Scotland starts at 9.30 (for any parkrun tourists). Nothing more to add other than what has already been said. I’m a parkrunner, I respect other park users and I think it’s a brilliant initiative to improve the mental and physical health of the UK/world!

I suppose it boils down to whatever is in the greater good. Hundreds of people running is of sufficient benefit to justify the inconvenience of a few people, who can freely use the park at any other time than the two hours per week the runners are there.

What a miserable post. Your local park is hosting a hugely successful weekly event that gets people out of the house, exercising and socialising. It is a small window of time, at the same predictable time each week, so therefore easily avoided.

The car park is presumably 'first come first served' so go earlier to grab a nearer parking space, and beat them to it.

If the park is 400 acres and their route is the same every week surely this can also be easily avoided.

You mention inconvenience because they take routes popular with dog walkers and near to the park. Don't dog walkers and families wanting the park have the other 6 days and 23 hours to enjoy unfettered access?

I'm not a runner but love seeing it take place if I'm in the park at the right time. I'm a teacher and lots of my pupils do it with their parents. I think they're a good thing and the park is to share with everyone.

Don't be ridiculous. You might as well argue that running is one of those things that makes people feel they are more important than others and have right of way over other pedestrians etc. It would be equally applicable to a small number of people.

Park run always say to be considerate of other park users and that they don't have exclusive use of the park round my area.Its s bit of give and take though surely, moat runners are done in 30 -40 mins.

Running is one of those things where some people managing to do it makes others feel defensive.

Its not this. Its that runners tend to avoid stopping at any cost, which means expecting everyone else to simply get out of their way. Its entitled. They need to be willing to pause sometimes for other park users and be considerate. Not saying other park users (dog walkers, kids etc) are perfect either but having done park run when it was much smaller, i actually stopped due to a lot of the inconsiderate behaviour when the crowds got very large. It became clear a lot of the park runners at my park thought the only solution was for other park users to bugger off and never use the park at that time. They basically wanted exclusive use of the park for parkrun, which isnt fair on other people who've got jobs and lives to fit in too.

No, you'd have to go round them.

No

In fact, none of them involve stopping traffic, routes can NOT go across roads.
And at the start of every parkrun I've been to the briefing includes a bit about respecting other users of the area and reminding its a shared space.
Of course you always get twats among runners, but you also get twats among the other users of the shared space. My favourites are the dog walkers, who are on one side of the promenade while their dog on the extendable lead is on the other side (this happens at times other than parkrun as well), or that allow their off lead dog to bounce around my ankles

It's not a visceral response to runners. There are runners in the park all week. They are unobtrusive. They are quiet. They don't get in the way. They don't prevent anyone's quiet enjoyment of the park. They are perfectly sociable park users.

It's a visceral response to to three or four hundred selfish and self-important runners gathering with megaphones and cones, roping off public areas of the park for their own use, blocking pathways and public routes, every fucking weekend.

@SoupDragon I agree- small numbers on both sides. But on this thread runners have been called a cult and a mob. Just exploring why people feel like that because it seems somewhat extreme

Ours is the same , lots of cars driving to a place to go running. Has never made sense.

Where I am the drunks are less bother than the runners and they don't swear at disabled people because they can't move fast enough. Run if you like but don't swear at people, don't assume you take priority and no one will have an issue.

Really? I don't do parkrun but understand the appeal of having a fun run with a bunch of other people.

I think parkrun is brilliant, not many planned exercise groups are free, but I do think everyone needs to co-exist in the space. It's the same in our park on a Saturday morning, it's sort of unusable for anyone else, the runners could be more considerate and run either single file or double at max, and definitely shouldn't be swearing at people, but during that hour it's fair that access to the car park is restricted if it's keeping the runners safe (if you get there and parked by 9am this won't be a problem) and dogs should be kept on leads, and walkers stay on one side of the path etc.

I think it takes both the runners and non runners to be slightly more considerate of each other for it to run smoothly.

In Scotland parkrun starts at 0930... Because would be too dark to course check in winter.

I'm guessing OP is talking about Camperdown where the parkrun route does cross the access to the biggest car park... But is a massive park...

As a runner with a rubbish sense of direction I really like a marked route with signs/people showing me where to go. Too many exploration runs have ended up much longer than planned as the Scottish right to roam means there's millions of tracks to nowhere...

For me it is because of the rudeness which has resulted in disabled husband almost being knocked over, good job he was holding my arm as we managed to keep him upright.

Of course you always get twats among runners, but you also get twats among the other users of the shared space

I think this is the thing. 'Parkrun' isn't to blame if a few of the runners are disrespectful on route. They can't vet everyone all the way, and have to assume that people will be respectful, and not everyone is all the time. Perhaps you could contact Parkrun and ask them to put a volunteer or two, or a sign, at the pinch points? As for parking, it's the same as with anything else: don't go when it's busy. If someone gets the space first, you don't get the space. Do you want shops that you don't use to close on Saturday afternoons, because their customers shouldn't 'have priority' over the parking spaces, and there's none left for you?

Shared purpose.
Sense of community.
Motivation.
Company.
Not everyone lives somewhere they can run

I'm beginning to wonder if the op is genuine tbh, apparently their parkrun not only starts 30min after every other parkrun in the country, but also crosses roads, when I know that one of the criteria for planning a route is that it can't cross roads. (we were trying to organise one for our little town but couldn't find anywhere suitable without crossing roads)

Isn’t it like a 30 minute run? Can’t you go slightly later or earlier on that particular day or go to a different spot?

I think you are being completely unreasonable- why should ll those people defer to your desire to walk in that particular spot at that particular time.

Why do you think the briefing needs to include those reminders? If runners weren't causing issues I don't think it would occur to anyone to issue those reminders.

That's fine if the same ppl are not taking over time after time.

So you're the person that barged into me because I didn't get out of the way fast enough. Or is there more than 1 of you that thinks shouting "get of the way" is enough? Hint....you can shout as loud as you want want, I still won't be able to hear you so maybe go around rather than barge through.

Just back from a shopping trip. It was gridlocked. Bloody unreasonable of all those early morning shoppers getting in my way.