To ask a man to move at parkrun

[brownbear201]

I am curious as to what you all think of this incident I had whilst running a parkrun this morning. The parkrun I was running was quite a narrow parkrun- it’s an out and back and you run down a track. The track itself is not very wide and faster runners come back towards slower runners on the return if that makes sense. As I was running earlier I was behind a man running with a dog. He was young-ish probably in his early twenties. He wasn’t going super slowly or anything but I wanted to go faster and overtake. However, there were faster runners coming towards me. As he had a dog I couldn’t get past him, if he hadn’t had a dog I would have been able to squeeze past. To be fair he had the dog on a very short fixed lead and was as far left as he could get but because the dog was running at his side I couldn’t get past. I said to him as I was coming up from behind him “Can you move your dog over please?” And he replied “Can you be patient like everyone else?” I ignored him saying this and I was eventually able to overtake him and I heard him muttering about impatient people and just ignored him. A short while later I pulled over to the side to catch my breath- I was out of the way whilst I did this as past the narrow section. He then ran past me again and said “You’ve gotten far considering you were so desperate to get past” I didn’t say anything back to him. Was I right to just ignore him? He wasn’t big or intimidating looking by any means and he didn’t shout but it was the way he looked at me that left me a bit unsettled. AIBU? Was I wrong to ask him to move?

A lot of "Parkrun means making allowances for others" meaning "nasty man and horrible dog should jump into a hedge for OP" and not realising it could also mean "entitled running OP needs to give them a space for a moment until she can get past them"

Aren't these runs designed for fitness and to be fun. Why are you being so competitive at a park run. Who cares if a dog blocked you for a few minutes. You aren't going to loose out on a gold medal or anything. 😂

So you demanded a man move out of your way on a path you admitted was narrow, and then he re-passed you because you can't pace yourself?

Yeah, that would be pretty annoying.

I appreciate all the comments and it has been interesting to get different perspectives and I accept that pacing does need work! I spoke to the RD about the incident- not to get the man in trouble but just so they are aware of the interaction. They knew who I was talking about as before the start of the run he was at the front of the start line and a volunteer asked him to go to the back of the crowd because she didn’t think his dog looked like it would be fast enough. Apparently he refused and said his dog was small but very fit and capable of running fast enough. They said he was polite about the refusal so they couldn’t really do anything but he didn’t budge. They don’t know who he is though and haven’t seen him before so they think he’s likely a tourist. As to why he unsettled me, I’m not sure. Like I said he wasn’t tall or imposing in any way. He just had a bit of an unsettling presence. I think it was the way he made direct eye contact as he said it and seemed to want a reaction if that makes sense? I’m not sure but will put it behind me and not ask people to move in future!

You may have had a bit of bad luck here.

I think he was right to be annoyed at being asked to be at the back just because he had a dog. A lot of people run fast with dogs. You should start where you mean to run, dog or no. Doing a lot of overtaking increases the risk of tripping or the dog being kicked.

He was therefore probably already feeling pretty defensive about the dog when you spoke to him.

You ruined that dogs day . He was off out later to tell all the other dogs about his PB and post his dog running map on Facebook

YABU I have to say!

I'm a regular parkrunner, I love it! There are times when slower runners, dogs, babies in prams even do momentarily obstruct me, but that's the nature of parkrun - it is all-inclusive and completely FREE.

I have walked my dog on the route at the back before but never been confident enough to run with her in case she pulls me over, but if anyone tried to dictate to me about moving over I would seriously get the hump!

You were rude, and the fact that you had to 'pull over to catch your breath' meant that you were running at a speed too fast for you anyway, so you could have easily sucked up the slower pace for a little while until you could safely overtake without troubling person in front, and the slower pace would have done you a favour as you might have been able to run whole 5k without stopping - better than sprinting/stopping/sprinting/stopping (although i see a lot of people do that, I must admit). You have completely got the wrong attitude to Parkrun, it's about encouraging others/making allowances - not taking a pop at people!

I find it frustrating when walking when people have dogs on extending leads and block the pavement not letting pedestrians past and expect people to walk on the road instead of moving their dogs to the side.

Which is not what happened here

I know. Just saying doesn't hurt to move dog on lead yo let someone pass by. 🙂

Absolutely. Many dog owners seem to think their dogs have more rights than the people around them.

But this was a dog on a short lead, right at the side of the path. They were as out of the way as possible. OP was being impatient.

No, if you have a dog you are taking up twice as much space, so you do the moving.

That doesn't just apply to parkrun, it applies to any situation where you are blocking more than your fair share of the path. So also includes walking with buggies, walking hand in hand with your partner etc. If someone wants to get by, you let them.

There's a strong argument for parkruns not to allow dogs, especially on this sort of course (my home run has a similar narrow out and back section).

But the dog isn't the issue, it's the path-hogging that's the issue.

You sound like a mgif driver

The path was blocked by both the dog owner and the other runners
Sometimes you have to be a bit patient and wait for a wider section of path

This happens even if the flow is only single file but you move quicker

Yes i totally agree. Its courtesy and manners.

Running with a little dog close to heel does not take up twice the space.

I am neither a park runner nor a dog owner, but on the basis of this thread, I deduce that the entitled twat community is very well represented in both groups.

Wherever you expected him to move to, you could have moved there yourself to get around him. That said, our PR doesn't along dogs, which seems sensible.

Several posters said that to allow others to pass they move their children or dogs to run before them instead of next to them.

How do you suggest the OP could have moved there (without him shifting the dog first)?

It’s supposed to be a fun activity. For all types of people/abilities. I would have waited til I could get past and not been bothered about it.

It does. Also dogs have to be on short leads on parkrun, so you have the length of the lead, they are not necessarily "at heel", they may be up to a metre or so away.

At some parkruns, if you waited, you'd be there until 11am. Some people like to run three abreast while chatting, as well.

And fun for some people means getting on with it. I hate walking slowly as well, it gives me hip and backache.

You're not wrong there.