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 agree but also think that runners should give way to walkers, especially elderly walkers.

If you are frustrated with other people using the path then you are at liberty to run elsewhere.

Walking in the park is fantastic for people’s mental and physical health.

Your rights as a runner don’t trump other people’s rights as park users just because you want to go a little faster.

I agree having seen my almost 80 year old disabled husband pushed about by runners. The bullies should be banned.

Probably better to charge dog owners and older kids to enter the park as they cost more due to cleaning up litter and dog poo and poo bags left behind.

Maybe charge everyone an entry fee depending on the time they spend in the park - the park runners would obviously end up paying less as the average time to run a parkrun is under thirty minutes.

Any event has to balance how often it takes place with how intrusive it is to those not taking part.

The riverside park near me is taken over annually for the half-marathon. A few weeks ago it was the Race for Life. I can't do my regular walk there then, but it's a special event, once a year, that raises huge amounts for charity. Great.

Three or four hundred people jogging round the local park every weekend is very different.

No-one is "taking offence" about anything. I am just arguing that the balance is wrong if every week on one of my two weekend mornings, the park is taken over.

It works on roads and cars go much faster. Regular runners would know the crossing points and look out for walkers about to use the crossing. Or volunteers could look out for people needing to cross and signal to runners to stop.

Yes. Won’t somebody think of the perverts in macs? Where will they go at the times the parks are full of runners?

Maybe there should be events for dozens of men in dirty macs to run around parks, then they wouldn’t feel excluded.

‘Perv Run’. That’s the ticket.

This, park run and park walk has changed mine and many other people's fitness and health, physical and mental... for the better.
Just got a different route for 40 mins then majority will be done

No-one needs a park run. There are many other community groups and organisations which support belonging and togetherness without impinging on other people's enjoyment.

They're never going to charge for park run. The whole point is that it's a free event run by volunteers. Subs are paid to football to pay for things like equipment, referees, football also damage the grass.

Again if people want to go down that route then why not charge dog owners, children using play equipment, people with picnics, people playing sports on the grass. These activities incur more of a cost to the park owners.

But it won't happen because it's a ridiculous suggestion.

The route is between the organisers and the park owners. If you believe that there is an issue with the route then it would make sense to raise this with the park owner and the event organisers.

Itnisnt taken over....you are free to move around as you see fit. No one from parkrun stops you using the space. What nonsense. I use park walking dog whilst partner does parkrun, or join in. Both are a non issue and 40 mins max and everyone is done.

they even say be conscious of other park users! Just let people do their thing and you do yours without moaning about people.doing g.positive things for mental health, physical health and community.

Maybe you should do one with your dog. Can't beat them, join them!

So does walking the dog or walking with the family, that changes many people’s mental and physical health too.

No one is asking you not to do it, but not to swear, push, get exasperated because someone doesn’t get out of your way fast enough, that’s literally it. It’s a shared space, so share it. Other people have needs too.

Nobody needs marathons, bike races, garden fetes…. nobody needs to attend football matches or games. However they enhance a large number of people’s lives as do parkruns.

That's awful. Runners should know to take care around elderly people as so many have balance problems, or even if they are fit and mobile, a fall can be life changing.

If people are doing that, photograph them and report them to volunteers because that is wrong.

That’s what this whole thread is about!!!

It's an hour a week
You know exactly when it will happen because it's scheduled
It's keeping people fit
Work around it.

Where I live, the volunteers are watching every week and fail to tell the runners to fall into single file or give way on the main route into town. They just watch runners run at other users.

I wish park run was a hour later. My severely autistic son is now unable to go to most local parks on Saturdays. He can't go after park run because the park is too busy. And before anyone says it I know that lots of people are more important than one person.

I think an hour earlier would be good. It would allow runners to go home, shower and still be able to go out for the day. I don't think later would work.

Surely only a thick dog owner would let their dog off lead amongst a crowd of people.

so many thick entitled dog owners,

But this is a case of being flexible. You say "most parks" so there are others he's happy to go to?
An hour later would make PR less popular for tens of thousands of people.

So 9 or 9.30am and flexibility shown by non park runners seems a good compromise.

nb I acknowledge you say "you wish" so maybe you're just pondering.

As a runner it's not OK to be rude to people although if they are deliberately getting in your way then I would say it's fair enough. I was running towards a couple walking together (not at park run) there was no space to go either side and they refused to move over or just walk single file so I pushed my way through them.

I don't do a parkrun very often because they don't work for me but I think they should absolutely stay. Everyone I've been to (3 total) tells you to be courteous of others and there is enough space for walkers as well as runners. Most of the runners are done in 40 minutes so it's not that hard just to start your walk 10 minutes or so after them just so the bulk of them are out of the way. The walkers are no different to any other walker in the park.

Yes it's annoying when the place you want to go to is busy but it's easy enough to avoid a busy period if it's the same every week. Same with Saturday supermarket shopping, I try and avoid it where possible but sometimes it's the only day that works so I just suck it up, grit my teeth and battle my way through the crowds. There will always be rude people but most supernarket shoppers and most park runners are there to get their job done and are capable of being polite and keeping out of others way.

A lot of parkruns take place on private land with the permission of the landowner.

So, actually, it is fine if the landowner wants to make it "unusable" for a couple of hours a week - which, in reality with any parkrun I have ever done, which is quite a few, is not the case at all.

I’m not a park runner as I hate running and I avoid parks on a Saturday morning as I know the car parks will be rammed.

The park run generates a massive income for our local park with car park fees and in the cafe. The park have recently used their profits to rebuild the children’s playground and redo the paths. Not all the profit will be from park runners but I suspect they’ve helped a fair bit.