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?

Another entitled dog owner

What if another large running group wanted to start doing runs at 9am in the same park? Starting at the same spot?

Pffft. You know when it is. If it bothers you so much, don’t go at that time!

If you deliberately pushed someone out of the way at our Parkrun, you’d get banned!

We make it very clear that other park users have the right of way although we’re a very small parkrun (average 30-40 runners in the summer months), so don’t have many other people pottering about generally.

Ours is a trail run set in woods in a touristy area and my biggest bugbear is the overnight campers blocking the small car park with their vans instead of paying money to use the actual campsite that’s fairly nearby. Second biggest pain in the ass is the dog poo on the paths that their owners don’t bother bagging. 🤬

Wow, "retarded" and "mentally defective"...!!

I am a runner, not a brilliant one, but I can run 10k fairly easily. My sister, who is obese with multiple health problems, started doing the Parkrun with me a couple of years ago. We started off taking almost an hour, we are now down to 40 minutes. She lives about 10 minutes away and could probably walk there, but then she'd have to walk home again after "running" the 5k. The whole amount would be too much for her. So, yes, she drives so she can "run" the 5k. She's slowly losing weight and her health is much improved.

So please, Parkrun is for people of all abilities, so yes, some people drive there. Don't judge when you don't know. If we didn't go there, she wouldn't be in the position she is in now, which is so much better than before. Our Parkrun is fun, the volunteers are amazing and they all know us and cheer us on by name, it's a wonderful feeling of community. There are a couple of ignorant runners for sure, and that is such a shame, but there are far, far, far more ignorant dog walkers and pram pushers!

Well presumably Parkrun has an agreement or booking with the owners of the land. So the other running group could ask the owners for the same and would probably be told that 9a.m. on Saturday wasn't available but they cpuld choose another time. Which would be totally fair enough, wouldn't it?

There's always going to be a time of the day when it's not practical for someone though. Parkrun have picked a pretty good time I think - early but not so early that it puts off potential runners, and gets it out of the way for the rest of the weekend. If they picked 6am or the middle of Saturday you'd reduce the number of people who can or want to come.

You can take your dog for a walk 9 or go to the playground 30 mins earlier or later! I do think the runners you spoke about should have been more considerate and not so rude but I can't sympathise otherwise. It's literally 30mins of a crowd of runners out of the whole weekend.

Same here - but at least it's at a set time so I know to avoid the park at that time. More annoying is the rubbish they leave around!

She'd be able to run down the street if it wasn't crammed with needless traffic and polluted with toxic fumes. Being in a park only gives the illusion that you are away from the pollution as it is invisible. Running knackers your joints anyway, especially if you are overweight. People with babies and dogs have as much right to the paths as you, whether you like it or not.

Every parkrun I've ever been to has an announcement at the start reminding people to be polite and give way to other park users. I guess the problem is that in any activity attended by a large number of people there are always likely to be a few who don't behave well.

I haven't been insulting at all, I don't think?

I've said in my OP that Parkrun is hugely beneficial for mental and physical health. I'm in no way trying to stop it from happening.

I would just expect not to be sworn at, forced to the side of the path, or inconvenienced (so far as is reasonably possible, I know people like to track their PB).

Agree the respect has to come from all sides including dog walkers.

its not going to change from 9am.

Why not? Is it perhaps because 9am on a Saturday is when people like to get out and exercise?

A park with 3 car parks. Ours has only one. Must be in a big city with good public transport?

Yet park runners drive there and fill two up.

The organisers will have worked closely with the land owners, it will be fully risk assessed. Any road closures will be with full consent of the landowner.

They don’t just turn up and say “ye let’s parkrun here”

Genuinely OP I think you have a problem with feeling inadequate around runners. Do you run yourself? Have you ever been to a parkrun? Before you moan about it why not give it a go and you might see that it's a great community event.

@Shoyden

park run isn’t a needless thing to drive to. Hth.

Yes, but they are busy Mnetters with many other activities to fit in to a Saturday. Same as the dog walkers.

Because it's dark at 9pm in most parts of the UK for much of the year and hence would be unsafe especially for less able runners who are perhaps those who stand to benefit most from this type of initiative,
Because there's a wide range of participants including families with children who would be in bed by that time?
Because loads of runners, probably wearing head torches in the dark running round the park and then leaving en masse at night would probably be just as, if not more disruptive to other people?
I don't run, but I organise another sport that takes place in a council owned space and one of our conditions of use is that our evening sessions must finish no later than 9pm to minimise disruption* *to local residents.
On the whole, parks and other public spaces are quieter earlier in the morning. That is at least part of the reason why a lot of community sports events are held fairly early on Saturday and Sunday mornings - there would be a greater impact on other users at other times.Early starts are not necessarily to the benefit of those participating in the sport. I would love not to have to be there at death o'clock to set up our weekend sessions in fact.

What has given you the impression I feel inadequate around runners??? I'm also using the park for exercise, albeit walking and not running. As are the other users of the tennis courts, playground etc.

People with babies and dogs have as much right to the paths as you, whether you like it or not.

Exactly - equal rights. Everyone needs to respect each other and then it is fine. parkrun talks about this all the time. Some parkruns have got a bit too big but even then they are trying to spread this out by having more events and encouraging people not to go to specific event numbers to swell the crowds etc.

So many people (including me) would not run without parkrun. Running near home on your own is not the same. Getting there on foot, by bike or public transport is encouraged but not always possible. Plenty of people do chat their way around or walk it. The worst crowds are for the few minutes at the start - by 10 or 15 minutes in we are pretty widely dispersed (depending on the number of laps) and the majority have finished by 35 minutes.

It is a social lifeline for some people - we have a stalwart volunteer who really only talks to other people on a Saturday morning. It is overwhelming a positive thing and totally predictable and avoidable if you don’t like it.

So that makes it OK for an elderly disabled man to be sworn at and knocked out of the way? I would have thought your experience would make you more aware of how unreasonable it is to behave like that to other people.

Just because they are doing a ‘group’ run doesn’t mean they have to bulldoze their way through anyone because they want to exercise in the fresh air.
they don’t ‘own’ the park

Get a grip, it's for one hour every week.
Personally I'm glad my fellow citizens are out there looking after their health and fitness.
If you know it's happening go and walk somewhere else that morning or before 9/ after 10.
You can't expect 200 odd people to accommodate you.

An older couple today got a "fuck sake" because they couldn't move out of one runners way quick enough

I used to frequent a walking path when my dc were young and runners/cyclists always had this attitude.