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?

Well neither do I, so I'm not sure who that is aimed at.

Everyone runs together in the park run by me, no idea what that poster was referring to!

I'm sometimes on my way back from town when park run is on so to avoid it entirely would be more like an hours delay on those mornings. It isn't so bad coming back though as I walk fast up the path, and they have to overtake me. I try to go nice and early so they are overtaking me rather than running towards me without looking.

@MasterBeth

It's not about asking people to let you pass, it's about recognising that people aren't obliged to clear the path for you. So it's not relevant how many there are.

You finding something bizarre doesn't mean it's bizarre, it just means that you, personally, don't get it. Millions of ParkRunners and supporters of ParkRun, and plenty on the thread seem to get it just fine, so it can't be that hard to understand. Basically, ParkRun isn't about meeting your own specific personal preferences.

Lol You re just making stuff up now.

Try n think logically, IF you ve ever even been to a PR, you will realise that these 100s of runners are very quickly spread out, after 18minutes, many runners will have finished whilst others aren't even half way around.......

But of course, if you chose to walk towards the start line at 0900....

Market day here, I use the path on the way there and back. It's rare I would be home before 9am and I often have other things to do that day so don't want to go late morning either.

Plenty of people not park runners seem to be taking over paths now the suns come out.

My park has wide paths but that doesn't stop family's or groups of parents with prams who are walking 4 or 5 abreast but won't move out of way of you if you are walking in opposite direction. So it's. It's not just runners plenty of people who use park are inconsiderate.

Don't get me started on parents letting their kids play on the outdoor gym equipment that specifically says for adults only.

I honestly can't imagine how stressful life must be in the mind of someone like @MasterBeth. Just imagine thinking that a hugely beneficial event for hundreds of people shouldn't exist purely because it inconveniences you personally for one hour a week. The mind boggles.

For me, it's the thoughtlessness as evidenced on this thread of people who really don't care if other people are inconvenienced by their actions, and the pompous belief that jogging round the park is such a "force for good" that justifies all inconveniences caused.

Frankly, it shouldn't matter to park runners why someone else might want to visit the park between, say, 8.30 and 10.15 (the disruption is not confined to 30 minutes.) The fact is, they do. And to return to the question at the start of this thread, there's no reason why park running should take priority over anyone else's choice.

Please don't put words into my mouth. I haven't said it shouldn't exist. I've said organisers should give more thought to other park users. The fact that some people find that unreasonable tells its own story.

How am I making stuff up? Look at the photos posted upthread.

It's not about asking people to let you pass, it's about recognising that people aren't obliged to clear the path for you. So it's not relevant how many there are.

Well, at least you're honest, @Watchkeys . "Force for good", my arse.

It has been common knowledge since 2017 that parkrun does not pay to use parks. I refer to 2017 because of the Little Stoke parkrun debacle.

Football clubs take subs from their members and pay for the pitches because they require upkeep, somewhere to keep the goals etc. I do an outdoor fitness class where the organiser pays a fee to use the park as well and I pay a monthly fee for the class.

parkrun is a free event to its members and does not pay to use parks. However, a lot of parks charge for parking, so people pay for that, and those who walk/jog/run or cycle to the park do not.

This sounds a bit like Totnes (Sharpham Estate), although I don't think the cycle path its parkrun uses is a very busy one at all.

However, I can assure you that parkrunners do contribute to the economy. I regularly do a seaside parkrun and always have a coffee in town afterwards, and usually buy something in one of the shops as well. And pay for parking!

They can't change the start time because it's the same time everywhere in a particular country/state (9am in England and Wales, 9.30 in Scotland and Ireland).

I think the old couple and DM with the pram can figure out for themselves to chose a different time next time

However the park runners have turned into an aggressive entitled bunch by the sounds of it

So I have no sympathy for them either

Every park run l have been to (about to do my 100th), they say in the pre run briefing runners don't have prority over other park users.

But sorry op, although it's annoying for you, l am a huge fan of park run's ethos.

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

It probably does, you probably still annoy dog walkers or cyclists or the joined at the hip couples. Everyone annoys everyone else!

There are 168 hours in the week and the park run takes approximately 2 hours - you have another 166 hours to use the park.

If you find that all the car storage is taken, its difficult to get around the runners, the officials are blocking the path

go at a different time or choice another park

I assume you reported the cars without blue badges to the authorities, so they come round and check.

I know that at Totnes, the local traffic wardens make sure they go to the nearest car park to the parkrun to make sure that everyone has paid so I am sure they check the blue badge spaces are appropriately occupied.

On the subject of car park charges, or charging parkrunners, Dinton Pastures is a country park near Reading, it has a parkrun and its parking charges are extortionate! The local council does very well out of parkrun there without needing to charge anyone for the parkrun itself. And the parkrun only uses one section of what is a fairly large park.

All the people finding it so frustrating to access the park for a few minutes every week, I assume you have spoken to the organisers, while you're walking through?

As a result of issues raised by members of the public, we now have parking warden as a volunteer role because the disabled spaces were being incorrectly used (although that turned out to be other parkusers disgruntled at finding "their" carpark busy) and have made a small change to the route to reduce congestion. We also include a request to be considerate of other users in the briefing, every week (as every parkrun does).

"Please don't put words into my mouth. I haven't said it shouldn't exist. I've said organisers should give more thought to other park users. The fact that some people find that unreasonable tells its own story."

You are free to contact the organisers at any time to suggest better ways they could run the event - ie a different route perhaps. But at the end of the day, despite weekly briefings, the organisers can't be responsible for the individual behaviour of hundreds of runners. Take issue with the minority of inconsiderate runners rather than the event itself which clearly benefits the wider community.

As many other pp have said, other park users have the rest of the week to enjoy the park. If that isn't enough then they too 'tells it own story'.

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.

The course goes through the car park? The rules say: Courses must not cross car parks. If they go alongside a car park this must be mitigated appropriately.
volunteer.parkrun.com/hc/en-us/articles/16857103665170-2-2-Event-Location-and-Course-Design-Guidance volunteer.parkrun.com/hc/en-us/articles/16857103665170-2-2-Event-Location-and-Course-Design-Guidance]]]]

I'd be emailing the local organisers to point out that their course is not appropriate or safe; and if they aren't helpful, I'd report them: support.parkrun.com/hc/en-us/requests/new support.parkrun.com/hc/en-us/requests/new]]]]

The rest - well, I'd be addressing the runners who are rude or aggressive specifically and directly. But blocking access to, and presumably the exit from, the car park for the duration of the run is bang out of order.

Not really sure what this passive aggressive remark is referring to, but the fact remains: you think Parkrunners 'should' get out of the way. You feel entitled to priority over them. But you won't get it, because you aren't in anyway any different from them: you are a human, occupying the space of one human. If someone gets in the public space you want first, then you can't have that space.

If the concensus agreed with you, ParkRun wouldn't still be happening. Most people don't prioritise you, or even think of you. You're just a random in the park. As are they. If you can't handle gatherings, don't be around them.

The park run where I used to live takes over the main walking route between a large housing estate and the station - due to the shape of the park, it’s significantly longer to walk around the outside.

Thankfully I don’t live there now, and don’t have to get to work on a Saturday morning any more, but I did have a period of time when I was constantly complaining to park run organisers because I couldn’t get through to get the train - they couldn’t care less.

Park runs shouldn’t be allowed to obstruct access like this, particularly where there’s a “through” access route. It would have been possible for them to keep part of the path clear for other users, they just didn’t give a shit.

I actually believe some people don't do well living in communities because they are so entitled that they can't cope with anything that inconveniences them even slightly. And of course living in a community around other people pretty much guarantees that at some point or another you will be affected by them. It's inconvenient for me to have to queue in the shop on my lunch break when I'm on a time limit but I can't get cross with the other people who just happen to be shopping at the same time as me can I?
If you can't exercise some basic tolerance and find other people so stressful and inconvenient, stay at home. Or move somewhere completely remote so you rarely have to encounter them. Otherwise life is going to be incredibly disappointing for you.