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?

Maybe years of experience of people who think people with disabilities shouldn't have access to things they take for granted.

They don't cut of access, there may be a few minutes imeadiately after the start when it's very busy, but it's really not more than that.

A few minutes once a week so 100s of people can be happier and healthier and enjoy a sense of community. Really, why is it such a problem for you?

The PR near me is not a loop it’s a “there and back” it’s not even in a park it’s along a public footpath and cycle path. The full length of this route links a village and two towns and is used by many people all day every day going shopping going into town and its market day on Saturday.

They fill the whole path the cycle path and the walking path many seem over entitled and truly believe their right to run is far more important than the people who use this path daily.

As we are a lovely coastal area we have many hundred of outsiders who come down do the park run and go home they add nothing to the local community or economy .

As I have said they have been asked to vary the start and have refused, I know people who live near the start who get woken up every Saturday night as a coastal town many people work shifts. When people turn up they are loud shouting to each other as they are excited to see and get swept into the PR bubble.

Many people have implied they need excercise and it’s good yes of course it is but you don’t need to run with 500 other people to get excercise. I run on my own several times a week and this has no impact on anyone else.

I do think that a small charge for park run perhaps £1 per run and the money used to cover some of the damage done by the PR would be a good idea.

Sorry I'm not a runner so I don't know why that matters. Don't men and women just run?

Petty crap, runners swearing at pedestrians maybe petty in your book not mine, this is the problem
its 100% attitude

They do in my local park and that is probably why they are moving to the sports facility. It is about what is workable in a small park.

I also have years of experience thanks to having a disabled child and having to fight for every scrap of support and care for him.... including taking the Local Authority to tribunal.

But l still don't allow myself to become bitter and default to negativity.

With most park runs the main bulk of runners will pass by you in a few minutes before the field thins out to a few back markers. Are you really shitting the bed over a few minutes of your week being mildly inconvenienced by an event that can be entirely avoided if you left your front door half an hour later? You come across as incredibly miserable.

Hopefully, enough people have explained to you that isn't how it was intended. and everyone is very welcome at parkrun.

I guided a visually impaired runner yesterday. Our community includes a man who pushes his adult daughter in a wheelchair, a man well into his 80s who puts most of us to shame a man who does the whole thing on crutches, someone who, recovering from a stroke used to sit and watch every week, until one of the volunteers asked him to walk with her the following week, one who, for reasons not entirely clear, ealks it in hockey GK gear every week, and several people who can't/don't want to run, but come to volunteer and share a cuppa every week.

It must be hard, but in this case you really are looking for offense where none was intended.

So suggesting people should be consderate of others is negativity? Interesting.

So you've got what you want now.
Presumably because people complained to the council instead of AIBU and parkrun organisers did something about it.

At least I don't swear at people or push people with disabilities off a public path.

"But this is a case of being flexible. You say "most parks" so there are others he's happy to go to?

Three out of the four parks he uses regularly have park runs. Two of these are country parks with large numbers of runners. We did try going to one at 10:15 am but every blue badge space had a car in it with no blue badge.

If that has happened to you, I sincerely hope you reported it to the organisers and the police. We'd be furious if one of our runners did that, they'd be given "words of advice" and asked not to return if they can't respect other parkusers.

I ve done dozens of PRs i ve never heard anyone swear at anyone, 99.9% of public and 99.9% of the runners just get along fine.

You and a few others on here must be bored and just want something to row about.

I was talking specifically about the petty argumental style of the posts I was quoting.

Any abuse needs to be reported to ParkRun. I agree with you: it's not ok.

Sorry, don't understand. How do I use the path when there are up to 500 people on it blocking the way?

It's incredible that you think that addressing 500 people who have spent the previous 30 minutes congregating on a path that blocks everyone else's way and saying "Be respectful" is respectful.

Same as you do when there's a bunch of parents with buggies or a group of kids or a large family in your way: you respect that other people have as much right as you to use the path, and don't expect them to live according to your personal schedule and needs.

Do you genuinely think that people shouldn't stand in your way? Why? Why are they meant to do what you want? You don't want to do what they want.

It's often not wandering. It's a main route into town on market day where I live. People are just walking to town to buy food.

Explained upthread. The park is large but wet/boggy and covered in lakes. The path is a mixed pedestrian/cycle path through the park. Gathering up to 500 people on the path through the middle of the park stops other users enjoying the park.

Thinking about it Torbay asks you to keep right on the velodrome (been there twice), but then when out on the footpath we were herded to the left. All the other parkruns I've been to it's been keep left

So go half an hour later when there's not lots of people round so you can ensure your own safety.

How bizarre.

Yes, I don't think that people should get in other people's way. I think it is inherent in our social contract that we try and look out for other people as we go about our daily lives. I absolutely try not to stand blocking other people's way. Don't you?

And do you really not see a difference between politely asking a family group if they can let you pass and trying to negotiate with a 500-strong crowd?

Don't we all make decisions based on how busy a place will be all the time? I need to go and collect a prescription, but I know Mondays are always busy, so I'll go on my way home from work on Tuesday. I know Friday lunchtime is a stupid time to go to M&S Food and driving past any school at 3pm is to be avoided, if you can help it. What is it about being in the park at exactly 9am - 9:30am on a Saturday that's so important to the people who it upsets so much?