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?

Gang has a somewhat negative connotation, unless used frivolously.

PR is not a gang, it is a community event.

@Iwasafool

Why can't they halve the route and run it more times so they are only cutting off half the park

Because the people who want to use that half of the park would be twice inconvenienced. What ridiculous reasoning. Better if the ParkRunners just stand still, so that they take up as little space as possible, really... oh, but then, what about the people who insist that they want to use that exact part of the park, at exactly that time? Because you can bet your bottom dollar, there'll be someone who will.

If you wanted to do lane swimming at the pool, and turned up and there was an aqua aerobics class going on....you'd have to do something different/join in/wait

At DH sports club most of the facilities are reserved for Junior members on Fridays 5pm - 9pm. So he is unable to use it at that time

If you wanted to sit quietly in a church and pray but there was a carol service happening, you'd have to come back another time

If you wanted to use the library computers to get on with sone quiet work, but it happened to be toddler rhyme time at that time, it might be inconvenient...

How are any of these situations all that different?

Despite protests about the "whole morning" being taken over, in reality I imagine most parkruns are only extremely busy for around 45 minutes of a week
(Add a further 20 minutes, if the park has the cheek to host junior pr as well)

If you wanted to use the library computers to get on with sone quiet work, but it happened to be toddler rhyme time at that time, it might be inconvenient...

yeah...that happened to me. It was cute, but dear God...I'd gone to get some peace!

It's the way the course is laid out. You keep right because there are out and back sections and a turnaround point.

But generally speaking, I think people should keep left on paths - pavement discipline is much better overseas, especially in Germany and the Netherlands where people actually do tend to keep right, in line with the side they drive on.

They're not "hogging" the paths until 10:30.

It's a 9am start, the start will be busy but within a few minutes the runners have started to spread out and the vast majority are finished within 30/35 minutes. Anyone leaving at 10:30 has stayed for a chat/coffee/to use the playground. No one's taking 90 minutes to or walk 5k

For an hour once a week other people want to use the park

Seriously @MaryRoze get over your entitlement.

That's the point I was trying to make but you've done it much better, thank you!

This... its madness the amount of people against it!

Done wonders for my mental health and others

What a strange analogy to choose. You've admitted that you can still go lane swimming during that time. My request is that park run is organised in the same way, so that everyone can use the paths at the same time. I want park run to share the space, not monopolise it, as the photos I posted up thread show they do.

You can still use the path. You've shown photos of everyone waiting at the start, it will quickly spread out.

Theu don't monopolise
. .. they openly say before EVERY parkrun that there are other park users and to share space
You see 5mins at start photo and assume a lot. People run at different speeds so get spaced out quickly.

This threads bonkers lol

@Pikapikapikachu11

This... its madness the amount of people against it

Not that many, really, thankfully. Otherwise it wouldn't be so popular and enduring. There'll always be a few, just like there will always be a few ParkRunners who behave inappropriately.

It would take my husband several hours, you can't speak for everyone.

I'm a proper parkrun advocate so I won't be swayed haha. Will always defend it as if changed my mental health for better and got me off medication for it, lead to me running gnr

Why would it take twice as long? Running 5k round the park is going to take the same amount of time as running round 2.5k of the park twice. I don't think it is my reasoning that is ridiculous.

The difference would be there would still be access to the playground, the pond, benches, grassy areas. There wouldn't be if they take over the whole park.

Does your husband get a time? I didn't think volunteers stayed that long.
Nonetheless, anyone taking more than an hour or so isn't going to be 'hogging' anything.

Is your local park so small there's really nowhere else in the park to go? I don't think I've ever been at a parkrun where this is the case.

OK, so a man with some sort of issue that makes him way slower than everyone else, is an inconvenience to other park users because...?

The bulk of the event, OP's problem, is over in 30/35 mins.

We stay until the last finisher, but those last stragglers aren't in anyone's way.

@Iwasafool

Why would it take twice as long? Running 5k round the park is going to take the same amount of time as running round 2.5k of the park twice. I don't think it is my reasoning that is ridiculous

I didn't say it would take twice as long. You're insinuating that my reasoning is being ridiculous based on things you've made up yourself. Wow.

This is funny. I've just had a look at my local parkrun page and they are moving to the site I mentioned. Brilliant, no more issues except they are getting it for free when if the local under 8s want to play a match there they have to pay. Are the under 8s more able to pay than the adult runners?. I will be raising that with my local councillor as that does not seem fair to me and if it becomes common knowledge I think there will be a lot of complaints as the subs the kids have to pay for the hire isn't pennies. If the parkrunners paid a reasonable amount the kids could have the facility at a lower cost.

Good lord

You said no one would take 90 mins to walk 5k, I'm just letting you know you are wrong. How lovely of you to describe people with physical disabilities as an inconvenience. Some nice attitudes on here.

If they have a cafe, hosting parkrun will be a moneymaker for them.