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.

As a parkrunner myself I get what you are saying. I happen to enjoy running for all sorts of reasons but my DD hates it. I’ve taken her to the odd parkrun with me but she really doesn’t like it so I never make her. She’ll happily run round the football field all day and is enjoying cross country at school.

I agree it can be annoying when people seem like they are taking over, but it’s only once a week for a short time and good that children and families get to do exercise outdoors together.

It's not for long and has huge health benefits for participants, which in turn benefits society. And it only lasts 40 mins!

According to Park Run the average time taken to complete is 12min 41 seconds. They are also much smaller than Saturday runs so unlikely to be 100s of screaming toddlers!

Through choice. Not being dragged along by their wrists by their mother/father whilst they yell at them to 'be quiet because if you're talking you're not exercising properly'

100 people sounds like a lot. junior parkrun events are usually much smaller. Yesterday there were 17 participating children at Prestatyn prom and 27 at Felixstowe prom, only 11 at Clacton seafront (obvs your closest event might not be any of these, but 100 sounds massive)

I've been involved (not your local event!) before and the events start with an announcement that 'it's a run not a race with a smile on your face' so there shouldn't be pressure on kids who don't want to be there, and they definitely shouldn't be screaming or being dragged along. If you're concerned, there are processes to report safeguarding issues ... safeguarding at parkrun.com

I'm not actually inconvenienced as they tend to move out of my way

Are you running towards them? How are they seeing you?

I have two dogs of a breed people tend to avoid - people keep their kids away from me

Well, I think we know now why so many of the toddlers were distressed. They saw a woman riding towards them flanked by hellhounds.

Your story is getting more and more exaggerated as the thread goes on OP in some respects. And yet in others it’s just completely changed. In your op you say that nobody else can use the seafront because of the hordes of runners. Now you say you aren’t inconvenienced in the slightest as they all move out of the way.

I too would love to know what junior park run had hundreds of participants yesterday.

It's so the mums can show off their sweaty betty gear..

You're obviously determined to believe that the snapshot you saw is transferable to all children taking part in all parkruns. If you have genuine concerns, please approach a member of the volunteering team or email in or contact parkrun HQ.

Sweaty Betty is so last year, Tikiboo is the clothing of choice for the discerning runner

I thought Parkrun is one dog per runner?

Oops- need to update my fashion knowledge :-)

MAKING kids run 😂. I can't get my kids to put their shoes on or tidy their room so is have zero chance of making them run 2 k against their will.

I was dragged to Parkrun against my will this Sunday as my boy and his two mates wanted to go and play 'olympics' and then go to the play park.

It is for the Saturaday 5k ones.

For the Sunday junior 2k parkruns, it is no dogs at all to take part. OP isn't commenting as a participant, and her dogs shouldn't be of any relevance.

OP doesn’t run, she doesn’t “get it” apparently. She just insists on walking her two large intimidating dogs in the precise area where she knows an event aimed at young children is held at the same time every single week. Not half an hour before or after, not somewhere else, it has to be right there and then.

Yet you think walking them through an area you know for that half hour will be full of children is a good idea? Sounds unfair on the dogs and the children!

When football is not on I take my DD’s to parkrun. DD13 does it and is generally happy and is the main reason we go. DD7 begs to come, “really wants to get her PB”, reckons she’ll beat DD13 this time. Get there she sprints off, runs for about 6mins, then hates it and starts crying because DD13 has overtaken her. I take them because it’s their choice and they want to go…. I’m just hoping that one day DD7 will actually enjoy it as much as she thinks she will before she starts it.

There seems to be a anti park run subset on MN.

As a said on the last post I saw on the subject, in a world where so much is wrong, people spending an hour having a nice time engaging in exercise is not something I can get particularly worked up about.

Oh and I can 'come out' and say my DC did cry on their first junior park run aged 5. They are ND and everyone, thinking they were being kind, decided to clap them home which prompted a sensory meltdown. Don't worry though, I'm pretty used to getting judged by clueless onlookers.

I wouldn't be surprised if in a minority of cases the parent is treating their child as a mini-me and projecting their enthusiasm onto them (you WILL enjoy it).

I've done one 5k park run for charity which was a very good event, no stroppy kids and although I didn't train for it, I just used the tactic of going at a pace I could sustain. I got round without stopping. The danger with forcing kids to do stuff you think they should be doing is you might have the opposite effect on them and put them off for life. I remember a long time ago on a organised walking holiday (Walkwise I think) when at meal times, whenever fried eggs were on the menu, my roommate asked for them to be done very hard. He told me at the time this stemmed back to his childhood days when his grandmother forced him to eat runny eggs and he developed a hatred for them as a result.

Have you tried it, I'm hopeless as a runner and I don't really enjoy it, but Parkruns are brilliant, inspiring and full of joy, even when it hurts.

I love a park run. The Sunday one is a junior one.
The exercises that you describe cost money and park run is free.
considering obesity is on the rise this is a brilliant way to get families out and about.

Just to pick up one point, PE twice a week in school isn’t nearly enough exercise. My year 3 child hardly did any in the autumn term because of behavioural issues in the class. When it happens it might be a little bit of dance interspersed with a lot of crowd control. It might not be very aerobic at all. Even if it were, kids need more.

I’m a run director for junior Parkrun. In every briefing I do I tell them I have two rules

1. have fun
2. keep moving

That is literally the point of Parkrun. Kids complain, whether they are on a bike ride, a swim, a hill walk, building a Lego they find difficult, drawing a picture that isn’t looking as they hoped….do they just never do any of these things again because they are slightly hard work??? I encouraged and motivated my first child at the age of four round the junior Parkrun. He didn’t always enjoy it and did cry on more than one occasion but was always happy he’d done it. Guess what? Age 10 he still loves it, has competed at multiple national competitions, picked up a few trophies and most importantly is super fit and healthy. His friends now see this and have started coming along to the junior Parkrun too.

There are a number of our volunteers who come along every week who enjoy the company and wouldn’t have anyone to talk to otherwise, so they really enjoy it and get something out it too.

Every runner/walker, parent and volunteer comments on our wonderful junior Parkrun community and what a great way it is to start their day.

So I’m very sorry if you have to move over a little for fifteen minutes once a week, but, you know, it’s kind of good for them.