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?

Cringing for you - asking rudely for someone to move out the way at Parkrun and then stopping to catch your breath. It’s Parkrun ffs

Edit: Ignore me, I didn't realise the dog was running parkrun (not allowed at ours)

For anti-social people perhaps. Some of us actually enjoy being with around others. Best bit of our Parkrun is the friends we've made there, and all catching up for coffee afterwards.

This. It's okay to want to beat your time but the first aim of park run is to get everyone, young and old, fit and unfit out there running together. You looked totally dickish forcing him out of the way and then having to stop..

If you want to be ultra competitive join a running club.

He was forcing you to run either at just under the pace you were comfortable at, or then, perhaps a little over the pace (hence you pulling over for a breather)

It would have been better for him to pull over for 2 seconds and let you past so you could run at your pace, rather than imposing his on you.

That's pretty standard for parkrun though. Maybe it's just my local one where there are always slower patches and you just have to suck it up or travel to a course which is more suited to you.

Hahahahahahaah. Pushing past and then having to stop bc you can’t breathe. Brilliant.

I do parkrun most weeks and my local is a two lap affair. We have all manner of dogs, prams, young children etc. The paths are generally a few meters wide and there is no out and back but there is a roughly 200m section each lap where it is single file as the path is very narrow with bushes on each side. Everyone just goes single file and accepts it. I can’t imagine having a go at someone to get out of my way, man, woman, dog, pram whatever. As others have said it’s parkrun not the Olympic trials. If you’ve gone huffing past and then stopped for a breather whilst being an arse then you deserve a bit of a snide comment in my view.

Better for OP but he was enjoying his dog run at his own pace

Oh it's not is it?? I hate reverses

You were both being u .

You were wrong to ask him to move and when running, it’s difficult and distracting to have to suddenly alter your pace/move aside because someone else demands it, especially with a dog. If you want a quiet run with no dogs and no crowds to impede your progress, parkrun is probably not for you.

@brownbear201

you were being utterly entitled.
why did you ever think you have that right to get past when the path was full each way
you have to wait

seek help and dear me indeed.

I also find park runners with dogs annoying op but he wasn’t doing anything wrong and was Following the rules. What did you expect him to do? You should’ve waited for a gap in oncoming runners or for the path to widen.

and if I had been that man I would’ve rolled my eyes when I saw you stopped to catch your breath after making a show of overtaking him. I probably would’ve said something too.

People barking at others to move out of their way is the worst thing about parkrun in my opinion. I don't run with a dog but I regularly have similar (ish) where the 2nd lap fast people are overtaking the slower people at the end of their 1st lap. I'm already as far left as I can be, but the paths are narrow. Polite people say "passing on your right" - no issue with that. Self important fuckers bellow "move left" "keep left". It pisses me off.

Parkrun is not the place for a PB, it's too crowded. Just run at the pace of where you are if you can't overtake. It's not a big deal.

I think you were both being unreasonable. In parks it is polite and considerate to make over to let people who are walking, jogging faster to move past. But if they cannot comfortably do that at the time you should have just waited until the path was wider or a gap in the people.

Sounds like it's not actually a good park for the run if the path is so narrow that people cannot flow freely through.

YANBU. Parkrun is timed and everyone e wants to get a good time. He should be more considerate about taking his dog if he’s expecting you and “everyone else” to wait patiently to behind him.

I used to go to a Parkrun years ago that was so busy, nearly 500 runners most weeks. It's 3 laps with a narrow path at one point. I always kept to the left as I was slow but would get shouted at to get out the way sometimes.
As said before, it's not the Olympics, it's a free 5k run/ walk for people. If people want to get a personal best, pay for an organised race.
As long as a dog is on a short lead and out of the way so people don't fall over them, it's fine.
I stopped going to that Parkrun as didn't enjoy it, there is a new one near me which is not as busy. I haven't been for ages as have been injured, should really go back!

Why are dogs allowed at Parkrun? What a way to ruin a lovely event.

I used to do parkrun a lot back in the day. I gave up on it due to annoying issues like this... Narrow paths so everyone is in convoy plodding down a path, those blocking the whole path (a family of 4 running in a line across the whole path)... Dogs on leads etc.

I totally get the annoyance, but unfortunately some courses aren't great for overtaking. Is there another course nearby?

Sometimes you have to be patient until the course widens.

But the remark when he passed you was against the spirit of the event.

His attitude is not in the spirit of park run!

Nor is OP's! It puts me right off ever going. I thought it was meant to be a jolly fun run

Then all the people with dogs would have to run past the walkers. Not ideal.

I have found a lot of men don't like being overtaken by women on any kind of run, so when you do you have to make sure you totally burn them off and they don't catch you later or they often give unsolicited pacing advice.

I'd out this in the mildly annoying box and move on.

Because it's meant to be a community event, not a sporting one.