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?

No one should be hurling abuse I agree

I generally find people helpful. Getting DHs scooter out of the car the other day a lovely young couple dashed over offering help. Travelling with baby GC I had people (almost all men but one woman did offer help, she was in her 80s and confessed she was relieved when I said I was fine) offering help with buggy and bags. I do live near a primary school and the parents are inconsiderate with how they park but they aren't rude or aggressive. Yesterday a man insisted on me going in front of him in the queue at Lidl. There is only one group who seem different.

Just remembered a lovely young mother who offered me the last loaf of bread in the supermarket at the shopping madness at the start of covid. I did refuse but I thought her kindness was touching.

Get away with you! My Parkrun, which also has a Parkwalk, is in a very culturally diverse, quite deprived area. There probably are wannabes, but they are indistinguishable from all the regular people who are just there to improve their health. We have a whole range of people from young white males competing for the best time (approx 16 minutes), to ladies in hijabs, who, as a rule may not be able to access a gym or typically do other exercise. We have skinny runners in all the best gear, to obese walkers in regular clothes and normal shoes that have seen better days and every combination in between. There are an average of 600 people being clapped, cheered and encouraged round the course by lovely, welcoming volunteers, one of which is my teenager. The success stories of the many people who otherwise might never have got started if it weren't for Parkrun is so heartwarming, that I'm afraid the inconvenience to a very few for an hour once a week is acceptable in my humble opinion.

Of course, any rudeness or inconsideration is not acceptable. By anyone at anytime, Parkrun or otherwise.

Because parkrun is on a marked out course.

Which in a small park means the whole way round the park. That is how it is in our local park.

Mark it out across half of the path then, instead of commandeering the whole path.

All the ones in Scotland start at 9:30

One of our local Parkruns has 500+ runners every week in a public park. The route has been changed twice to accommodate the growing numbers over the years. A handful of times a year there are other big events on in the park which means Parkrun gets cancelled and the public can't enter the park unless they have expensive event tickets.
The Parkrun organisers always remind runners to be mindful of other park users.
The event is on at the same time every week. It's great to see so many people exercising for free spurred on by other runners and marshalls.

You (and other park users have a number of options):
Join in the park run (accompanied children and dogs on short leads are permitted at ours)
Go to the park later or earlier
Go somewhere else to walk your dog/let your children play on a Saturday morning.

I think Parkrun is a fantastic initiative, inclusive to all. So no I don't think the rest of the public should have priority. Parkrunners are also 'the public '. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!

Don't be silly, I didn't say at any point I expected to have the park all to myself.

Whilst I expect children, dog walkers, lone joggers etc I do expect some tranquility. I do expect it to be a park and not a group outdoor gym. A place to relax if you want.

I am interested if any of the smaller Royal parks in inner London allow PR every Saturday morning. If not why don't they allow them? Green park? St James? Hyde?

All of those are way bigger than my local.

My local parkrun is an out and back. How do you mark half of the path?

So my husband who can barely walk 20 metres without having to stop and sit down should join parkrun? Are you usually so totally tunnel visioned?

You suggest what the public can do, how about what the runners can do?

Stay to one half of the path (don't mind if you want left or right)
Give way to people trying to cross the path
Don't swear
Don't jostle people.

Not hard is it.

Not fit for purpose then is it.

Lots of people relax and destress going park run, or boot camps, or other not-allowed-by you. Kids make a noise playing. It’s a park not a library. Sorry @DysonSphere but I think you sound really entitled, not the park runners.

It's only a small part and a part that most people are unlikely to use

A risk assessment would have been done before deciding whether it was "fit for purpose"

Op, do you think that the rest of the public, which you yourself admit are fewer in number at that time of day, should take priority over the higher numbers of runners, in that one hour that you know they are going to be there?

Not one person has said anything about exclusive access, and parkrun doesn’t want it. The course is marked, it isn’t closed off.

Sorry op, when I first posted my phone didn't show all the pages!! I see you've basically answered that already. You are not wrong that other park users should not be sworn at for just being there!

@Iwasafool I assume the OP can walk more than your DH as she wants to walk her dog in the park! Whilst your DH cannot walk far, the event would be open to wheelchair users, parents with children in pushchairs, children on foot, dog walkers, slow walkers, learning disabled, visually impaired with guides, so from that point of view it is extremely inclusive.

If you were crossing anywhere with 500 people/cars/cattle coming at you, you would expect to wait until they had passed not the other way around.
It's 1 hour, once a week - it's not as if it's every day.
And no I'm not a Parkrunner!

The noise of children playing is actually soothing to me. Keep deliberately pretending you don't understand what I'm saying all you want.

Now back to my question about whether the London Royal parks are excluded from the PR rounds and if so, why.

I've read all OP's post and will just say this...

The parkrun in your city must be quite old as there is strict guidance now about not crossing roads when planning a parkrun route. There's also other stuff in there about not finishing downhill etc. so it's quite specific. The route will have been designed to accommodate 5k without gates/styles/near dropped walls etc and to make sure the environmental impact of runners is minimal (no running through SANGS type places)

EVERY parkrun starts with a briefing where parkrunnners are told they don't have sole use of the park.

Just as an aside my Mum did her 50th volunteer today (she's 78yo) with my teenage son and they both got thoroughly told off by other park users.

It sounded really shit actually. Mum just said 'oh just to let you know there will be runners heading this way shortly'. One guy was horrid saying it's his park too and parkrun had no more rights than him etc etc. he then headed straight for the runners with his dog off lead.

I mean that's just bonkers. People could get really injured.

Anyway, pls just look for the local team on facebook and send a message to let them know.

it lasts two hours max, has helped loads (thousands) of people get fit/ mentally better. Honestly, is o really that life affecting for you to wait a bit before you walk your dog?

But why? Why can’t the runners just run to one side and others walk to the other? No one should be banned from using a space at any time because running people want to run 4 abreast. Everyone can use it at the same time, everyone just has to mind the space? Why should everyone else stay at home or go somewhere else that might not be as suitable when park run is on?! That’s so daft.

But I can tell you who gets guaranteed user/focus time

What does this mean? We all get as much guaranteed time in the park as we want. What does 'focus' mean? Park runners are expressly told that the route isn't just for them, and that the park is a public space. They might not all respect that, but they're individuals at a free event, who have been told. Their disrespectful decision making isn't Park run's fault. Park run isn't their mum.

Sometimes, runners are going in both directions so they need to use both sides of the path. They also don't all run at the same speed so can't run in single file. They do overtake each other.

Parkrun is one hour a week and all the runners aren't all over the park all at the same time.

But just because YOU think a park is a place to relax, other people think it's a place to exercise, shock horror, maybe with other like-minded people. Maybe they live in a flat or can't afford gym membership? Why should a park only be a place to relax? Apart from the fact that YOU think it should be?

Can't help with London parks as I'm up North.