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?

I fully agree the park is for everyone! I love seeing people enjoy our green spaces in different ways, and I don't mean to suggest the park should exclusively be for runners when the park run is on (and ALL park runners should respect other users). I just see it in the same way as going to a restaurant at peak time and expecting to be able to get a seat with no hiccups - its better to plan around when you know spaces will be busy.

I do parkrun from time to time and we are always told that we need to give way to other park users - ie they have priority not us. It sounds like a very badly organised one if walkers are being inconvenienced to let runners past. I think that they need to alter the route.

However there is a real issue with the size of some parkruns - my nearest one sometimes gets 1000 runners - that is simply too many and I do think that a close look needs to be taken to health and safety.

Ah, but the OP's right to drive to walk her dog is obviously much more important than the rights of others not to be run over as they use the park.

Why should she have to wait to let others go past? Don't they know who she is? What child should ever wait a couple of minutes to let others go past before going to the playground?

It's only the single best free public health initiative of the last twenty years, but OP can't wait a few minutes to let them go past.

@Spinet

The human body is a machine evolved over an enormously long time period... to run.

It's a cult like eating meat is a cult, or drinking beer. i.e. if you call it a cult, you don't know what 'cult' means.

I have a bit more common sense than to drive into anyone, thanks For info, I was able to drive into the car park, find a space, put my handbrake on, and get my dog out of the car before the next runner appeared at the top of the hill. So I do believe the volunteer was being a little over-cautious.

The parent with her child waiting to get into the playground was stood there was 14 minutes before she got fed up. So that was hardly "a couple of minutes" either.

@Barleypilaf

Why should she have to wait to let others go past? Don't they know who she is

😆

Perhaps I should have said "the running cult". I'm talking - honestly not that seriously but I'll continue anyway - about the religious fervour that exists around the collective hobby of running for pleasure. Not running away from sabre toothed tigers etc.

But you could say the same for the runners? They know there are others using the park, so they shouldn’t complain either. And they certainly shouldn’t be swearing at elderly people or running 4 deep when other people are using the path. As I said in my post, it’s about everyone being courteous, not some people behaving however they like and others having to just accept that. I no longer use our park Saturday mornings for this reason, but I don’t think that other people should have to stay away or arrange their entire day around runners, it’s about everyone showing some common courtesy.

I don’t and have never run for pleasure, I run because for me it is the most time/money efficient way to keep fit and enjoy the outdoors in an otherwise very busy life. All the people I know feel the same apart from a few marathon runners who actually enjoy the challenge.

@Spinet

Yes, I knew what you meant. You'll find that the running is a very similar action, if you try it. It isn't a cult, was the point I was making. It's a hobby, and some people are very passionate about it, and some people are also rude and idiotic. Presumably you don't know many runners, so these 'fervent' types are the ones you're aware of.

People who are passionate about their hobby aren't in a 'cult'. Again, if that's what you think, you don't know what a cult is.

I agree with you OP!!

And I am not a dog walker.

There's too much competition for park space now, it's getting ridiculous. The basic walker with no dogs is the one excluded.

Firstly, (and as dog owner you probably won't appreciate this part) there's been a massive increase in dog ownership, that's enough already, but also there's the increase in the amount of professional dog walkers with several dogs at once taking up paths. There's also now I noticed, professional dog walker meetups where you are confronted with two or more people walking anything from 6 or more dogs between them. Of course YOU are the one expected to move. The dog mess issue is another thread.

Then the personal trainers and the outside gyms. Ok one-on-one fine maybe. But now you get exercise groups in the park, one I saw recently had about 30 people! and a van with equipment dumbells, skipping ropes etc strewn on the grass and taking up the narrow road into the car park. These groups also jog. So well after Park Run you find yourself with more jogger groups. In fact all weekend and evenings.

Then there's the newest social annoyance of people bringing their families and using hammocks and tents, mini-camping, cooking and screening off an entire area - for themselves.

Then the concerts which bang on for 3 days straight that the council assures us brings in revenue (which strangely the local shops, cafes and bars never see as no one goes out) and which suspiciously seem to require the cutting down of tree branches and leave the park littered with trash.

Add to that the usuals (which are fine but are now vying for space)

The football/rugby/cricket teams

Increased cafe usage - with dogs

Ordinary joggers

Droners

Bird watching groups

Circus

Funfair

Farmers/Craft markets etc etc

With everything going on already and councils saying yes to everyone, who wants to co-opt space being confronted with a P.R can feel like the zenith. There should be a fee at least that can be poured back into the park.

There ought to be designated places for people to run in large groups, but not the parks. Everyone shares the weekend after a 5 day working week, and I don't see why Saturday morning should be exclusively for runners with everything else. My is small so you cannot avoid the paths, so it is virtually exclusive to PR in practice as all of them are taken up with the runners.

If you want to run in the park, run on your own. Take your own timings.

The parks have become like an extension of the city, or a business, when actually, you go to the park because you are trying to escape the city crowd atmosphere.

No more ridiculous than driving somewhere to walk a dog imo

In the park near me, it’s at 9am so the park is not very busy anyway and most are done within 30 minutes or so. Don’t see the big deal really? It’s only once a week no?

Parks aren’t to escape though, they’re for the community.

@GoldfishSoup

Yes, I agree, it's about common courtesy. So it's got nothing to do with running, or Parkrun. OP has had some rude people get in her way in the park, and, by the sounds of it, an ill trained volunteer. It's just... normal. If she's bothered, she needs to contact Parkrun about the ill informed volunteer, and have a look at where she's placing the blame for people being rude. Parkrun don't claim to vet and police all runners. They're just people running around in a park. If OP can't handle it, she needs to deal with her inability to function in a society with occasional rude people in it, because it does just happen sometimes.

Not a single poster who has said they attend a local Parkrun has actually suggested they want exclusive access.

Do you often make stuff up for attention? My toddler grew out of that nonsense by age 4.

I do Park Runs - neither of our local ones are massively big but we regularly share paths with dog walkers, people watching their children play sports, other runners and walkers. Parks are open spaces for everyone. The peak running time is probably 30-40 minutes so I feel you are being a little harsh.

Park run is just something that wannabe middle class people feel they 'should' do

People shouldn't be inconvenienced by parkrun. We are reminded it's a shared place and to be courteous to other users.

I'd not be happy waiting 15 mins to cross a path either though that's madness.
I'd suggest complaining to the organisers as that's not well organised if it's causing that much disruption.

It's 9:30 until 10:30 every Saturday. You know this

Either take the dog for a walk at 8:30 or 10:30 and avoid the park runners.

I would argue that there IS a running cult, of sorts anyway, I'll admit I'm hyperbolising. I'm not saying you're in it. I'm talking about the evangelical nature of some runners and the way the group culture of things like parkrun pervades the area in which they happen, sometimes in a way that is quite unpleasant for those not involved. The way the OP's experience is being denied and minimised is an example of a feature that makes it cult like.

Admittedly you can usually avoid it and living in a community putting up with other people's annoying habits so I'm not saying nobody should do it. Just that the replies on this thread are not a surprise to me.

Maybe you haven't met any people like that but I have met plenty of them.

Do you think that about all exercise? Isn’t a park run great in the sense it is free, inclusive, walkable? Why do you think it is aimed at the middle class? Isn’t that as bad as saying it is aimed at the over 50s or unfit people? Just divisive.

This is what I don't get - I used to do long runs on a Sunday. My local junior parkrun was held in a park about a mile away. I'd always wait until 930 (it's 2k for juniors and we start at 9) because I knew I'd be getting in their way. (And I don't expect a 5 year old to understand they must stay to one side)

I think generally Park Run is a good thing, as it gets people fit and together, and it’s only for a short time.

I do understand the frustration though - everyone should be considerate of one another- no one should say “fucks sake” and they should he letting people cross “their” track at regular intervals so kids can access the playground.

I don’t think the fact it’s “the dog walking trail” should mean they can’t run there though - I think humans take precedence over dogs.

I don’t do park run because it’s too early for me 😂