Park Runs: Children - Why?

[Knowillbeflamed]

There’s a park run every Sunday near me. They jog along the pavement by the seafront taking the whole damn thing up so no one else can even walk along it.

Honestly, I don’t get running. But, what I understand even less is dragging young children along?! Yes, the older one’s (10+) seem to enjoy it but there’s at least 5x more that seem wayyyy to young - toddlers, very young kids - who hate it. They’re dragged along by their parents, literally kicking and screaming and crying.

AIBU to think if your kid hates running that much or patently doesn’t want to be there, that you do NOT force it on them?! Just because you like running doesn’t mean you force it on them. Find them an activity they enjoy.

PS. Yes I am annoyed by the sheer ignorance of 100+ people taking up that much space and forcing others to dive out the way - but mostly it’s the shrill screams of toddlers being forced to run that drives me bonkers. Someone will pop up and say ‘they love it,’ but I’m sorry - kids screaming ‘it hurts’ ‘I don’t want to’ whilst their parents drag them along by their wrist just angers me. And it’s not one parent one week - it’s multiple different parents on various weeks.

And the fact that numerous marshals are telling you that they see this problematic behaviour?

My child cried at (senior) ParkRun yesterday because I couldn’t run as fast as he wanted me to! He’s 9 and not allowed to run senior ParkRun without an adult until he’s 11, I was worried others would see the tears and think I was dragging him round but it was definitely the other way around!

There is a thread now running - DP wants my teenager to contribute for food - have a look at how a new relationship of the mum, happy one, I presume, impacts a teenager whom this new man is looking in the mouth, counting what he eats. Also, try to find a horrific post from the past where in a new happy (for the father) relationship a stepmum begrudges a sd a punnet of raspberries. But as long as parents are happy in new relationship, that is all that counts. Sod the children.

PS. Yes I am annoyed by the sheer ignorance of 100+ people taking up that much space and forcing others to dive out the way

Children being dragged along by their parents do not enjoy it.

But those toddlers and children will still be in your way if they were happily trundling and pootling along around the path.

It sounds like you resent sharing the space, and if you get to that stage, you’re best off doing your own park run at a quieter time.

I live overlooking the start / finish line of a park run. So I have seen hundreds of these junior PR events on Sunday mornings. I have never, once, seen the type of crying / dragging scenario you describe @Knowillbeflamed . So I’m tempted to call you out as either wildly exaggerating or downright untruthful.

I’ve also run dozens of PRs and watched / been in the park for scores more. Again, not witnessed this from the older kids who take part in the adult run.

@Hwi

err no I remember that thread about a stepdaughter and fruit and that child was actually eating tons of fruit leaving none for anyone else and was making herself ill with diarrhoea she was eating so much! The consensus was that the Op was absolutely right to impose some limits to what she was eating. You’re just twisting the narrative to demonise parents who separate.

I volunteer at this event, and there are always one or two kids who clearly have no interest in being there at all. Some resist at first but eventually get into it. I do find it a bit odd to bring kids to something they seem to hate—maybe it’s more about the parent getting some exercise.

I get it op.my friend brings an 8 y o for full park run, not jr. Friend is obsessed with running, her daughter clearly hate it, refuses to run & mainly walks round whinging. She's an otherwise healthy/active child who happily does other sport, she doesn't need to be dragged around a 5km run every week just because mum is determined to make a runner of her.

Also park run is a bit cultish and dominating. A lot of the people who do it are a bit obsessed with it, lots of bringing a long unenthusiastic youngsters or insisting teens who don't want to run volunteer as marshalls. I say that having run quite a bit at a few different ones. I think there are people who LOVE running and are determined to make it their family "thing" whether their kids want to or not.

Its not efficient to have a vast crowd of people all hogging a park at once. Before park run existed all those runners were spread over much more time, it was far less of an impact on other users of public spaces.

So I have seen hundreds of these junior PR events on Sunday mornings. I have never, once, seen the type of crying / dragging scenario you describe .

its less common at junior PR but plenty of people take relatively young kids along for the full 5km run & push them to do a longer distance they clearly don't enjoy. I've seen this at four different parkruns its really not that unusual.

Before parkrun existed a fairly large group of those who now do it regularly were not running at all, or only occasionally. I was one such person. You consider it cultish, I consider it one of the best habits I've ever formed. It's been a really good public health initiative and incredibly cheap for the benefits. I really have no patience at all with the people who carp and snipe at parkrun.

This. It's a relatively short space of time weekly, there's room for others to be at the parks too

The best thing about parkrun for the less committed runner is the fact that it is at a fixed time, early in the day. Having an "appointment" makes getting out for the run so much more likely!

No, they weren't "spread out". A large proportion didn't go to the park before parkrun.

I agree I’ve occasionally seen this behavior too but seen more of it at junior football matches.
doesn’t change the fact that the vast majority enjoy and benefit from it

Also, it's a short space of time at a time when most people are still at home in bed.

Exactly. Wherever there's a large group of parents, there's always one who had to do this. I think it's less likely in parkrun than elsewhere.

It’s not efficient @InDogweRust ? What do you mean by that?

I get that you don’t like PR but I think it’s an incredibly efficient use of public space.

In my experience the parents who run with their child at junior parkrun do it because they know their child will likely slow and walk at some point, and the parent does not want them to do that and intends to prevent them doing that. Or, because they expect their child to get upset part way round and want to stop

For us, it's because junior parkrun is an organised / structured activity that we can do together - rather than me watching from the sidelines. And yes, some weeks there will be moaning and whinging - and it will look like I'm dragging him along as he likes to hold hands no matter how many times I've said that makes it harder - but he'll still be excited to see his results and be a step closer to the next milestone.

To whoever keeps saying about going for a walk: there aren't any wristbands awarded for that / recognised milestones to work towards, so the 'gamification' element isn't there, and that's the hook for mine.

We're also a part of our local parkrun's community now, and sometimes he'll ask to volunteer instead. Which we enjoy just as much and, again, is something we can do together.

And sometimes he'll go weeks or months without going at all, and as it's free and you don't have to book in advance, that's also fine.

All this talking of pedestrians diving out of the way, lone children being trampled by parents, and children being dragged kicking and screaming in pain just feels like the usual hyperbole on here - and people projecting their own experiences / doubling down to validate their own choices. If you had a genuine concern enough to come to a mumsnet thread about it, I refuse to believe you wouldn't raise it through parkrun channels / with one of the volunteer team on the day.

Yep.

This is what the one near me is like. It's also on concrete (I think people keep missing the fact it's not actually in a park) which I imagine when you're very young and have a parent dragging you along probably makes it worse than if it was on grass?

Older children seem to enjoy it far more, but the really young ones (age is 4-14, I checked online) clearly aren't happy. I think there is a lot of competitive parenting going on.

My 3 and 4 year old kick off to all hell over having their teeth brushed and getting in the bath… should I refrain from ‘forcing’ that upon them also? They kick off frequently when I try to make them eat healthy food, they want to live on chicken nuggets, chips and sweets. So to clarify, should I refrain from ‘forcing’ parenting them to do all of these things or is it just healthy outdoors exercise you’re so opposed to?

I sometimes catch the end of this Parkrun (I am presuming Lyme Rgis?)it’s always been lovely to see the kids finishing, especially when they do the fancy dress run. Not sure about the crowds you mentioned - never seem to be that many and always spread out. I have never witnessed any of the behaviour you talk about. It’s also only a short distance of the front that is used, not the busy bit

If you want to avoid the ‘crowds’ just run earlier. I usually have the seafront mostly to myself, even in the summer.

We should be encouraging kids to be out and about exercising, not chastising them.

There are lots of seafront park runs @Worldgonecrazy

I don't know why you needed to check online what age junior parkrun is for, @Knowillbeflamed, given that a great many people had already told you. When you first started this thread you hadn't even realised it was junior parkrun, not the main one, which is on Saturdays. Bit rich in that case to say you don't think people read your OP carefully enough. You've ignored most of the replies you don't agree with.

It's also on concrete (I think people keep missing the fact it's not actually in a park) which I imagine when you're very young and have a parent dragging you along probably makes it worse than if it was on grass?

Young children up and down the country are running around concrete playgrounds for the same length of time.