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?

I'm genuinely sorry for what you've gone through and why you've had to go through it

Who's a what now?

It’s mad. There are now 3 routes being used simultaneously at my local one, which is supposed to keep things moving. It just means that a much bigger area is completely unusable. It’s a solid mass of people the length and breadth of the paths.

Think that you are taking Parkrun too seriously.

I would probably have made a snide remark as well if I’d seen you stopping after being impatient with me on a public path.

Really not a big deal.
And does depend on your tone.If you ask someone to move, it doesn’t mean they have to do it.Then having to stop, shortly after, to catch your breath, just shows you could’ve relaxed your pace for a minute.He wasn’t in the wrong having his dog there, because it’s a public park.If there were signs to say no dogs, then fair enough.

If you were driving and someone was tailgating, beeped, overtook and then was stuck at the lights when you got there would you think 'ha, look how far all that got you'? Maybe you wouldn't say it, but you may well think it.

Same thing. I run Parkrun every week and also one with two out and back track sections that can be hard to overtake on. I'd hang back and wait for a space (frustrating as it may be) unless I was very confident that I was then going to leave him in my dust and wasn't going to need to stop completely further on.

Well done for asking when it mattered for you. It is normal that people who participate in the same event let the faster ones pass, and when he was taking more space than usual person (because of the dog) he needs to be slightly more accommodating than a usual person.

Your running style and pacing is irrelevant now.

His dig was a bit dickish, some men don't like giving space to others, but it doesn't mean they shouldn't have to.

I’m fascinated to know where 3 parkruns are held in the same park at once?!

Unless dogs aren't allowed, the man didn't do anything wrong, op herself says he had the dog on a short lead and as close to him as possible.
Op, on the other hand, made herself look an absolute dick by impatiently asking him to move then having to stop to catch her breath ....that's just embarrassing!

Both our local park runs don't allow dogs at all now as there's just too many people.

I love parkrun but I do think many of them have been organised in parks that started well but now aren't that good courses for the number of runners. Being stuck on narrow tracks, not able to go at the pace you want or over take just sounds too frustrating to me

Oh dear I think you made a twat of yourself

he had the dog in a short lead doing his best to be considerate

then you made a big thing about getting past then had to stop to get your breath

YABU to do parkrun.
The best bit about running is no one else is there. Go the park at any other time and it will be exponentially more enjoyable.

You were rude.

Urgh I avoid the timing of our local park run as they completely take over any space on the pavements. I think what people fail to remember is the space is not for the sole reserve of runners, they do not have priority over other users of pathways and good etiquette is required.

This. What a dick.

People need to remember that Parkrun is just a run and not a race. It would have been better in this instance to wait for a gap to get past him, it wouldn't have taken long on an out and back.

YABU - also, I'd have felt silly if I'd asked someone to move for me and then had to stop to catch my breath. As previous posters have said, work on your pacing.

I don't like it when people are impatient behind me either. And I definitely would have been annoyed with you in my head and might have smirked inside when I passed you later. However, it's very unfriendly and unparkrun-like for him to have said these things out loud to you. I would have been unhappy too.

You were rude and in the wrong. He and his dog are entitled to run at any speed they wish. You wait until there is room for you to overtake.

Overtaking and then having to stop made you look like a complete tit.

Parkrun is a social run for the benefit of all, not your personal running track.

But it isn't. I am very much not a dog fan but parkrun is very clear that people can take their dogs provided the dogs are in a short lead.

I would also have been a bit annoyed with the op about her pacing. I go fairly regularly and do find the sprint and stop people quite irritating as they seem to stop on muddy or single file bits where it is hard to pass and then sprint again as soon as it widens.

Parkrun is about times, but times are not the main focus - it is supposed to be a community morning run so there are always things which will slow you down.

I did a fantastic parkrun early this year which was flat and along a river on a solid path but which has a rising bridge on the route. If a boat wanted to get out you had to wait for c. 5 minutes. As it was flat there were lots of people in wheelchairs being pushed for parkrun - there were points where you couldn't overtake but you would have been a total dick to ask someone pushing their child in a wheelchair to move so you could get a better PB, even if you got caught by the bridge and had your worst parkrun result ever.

How can it possibly be unreasonable to enjoy running in a different way to the way you do? Did you intend to come off so superior?

Yabu, where did you want him to move too when he was as far left as he could go and the dog was on a short leash? Then stopping a bit ahead anyway, you’d have been better just keeping with the pace

Yabu and Abit rude if you stopped after being impatient to catch your breath.

I don't think he should have been at a park run with a dog. Ridiculous.

Should have waited for a gap, and need to sort your pacing. If you're going to ask him to move, you really can't then have him overtake you at a full stop.

It’s not 3 separate ones it’s one with slow and fast route options.

They may not be official but where the slowest with dogs and buggies go one way and the fastest go another leaving the main route and rejoining it later.

Park run specifically allows dogs. It's a accessable community event, not elite sporting.