Parkrun volunteers – please respect other runners.

For many years now I try to get out for a run a couple of times a week. It’s usually weekend mornings when not at work, these days not usually more than 5 miles but probably double that in younger days.

I’m usually out running on a track long before 9am, it’s now also our city’s parkrun venue but I and many others have used it for the last 30 odd years. These mornings have become a bit of a menace because a certain few seem to get there very early to set up their coloured cones and finish line tape and then stand around only chatting but taking up the whole 8-10ft width of track, no consideration to those wishing to get an early run in before parkrun starts.

These individuals make zero effort to move out of the way at all and seem to think they have priority and we regular runners have to step off track and go around them. Every single week it is as if we do not exist and there isn’t a modicum of respect from these ‘on trend’ part timers. On our particular track they can literally see us approaching from half a mile away so have at least a couple of minutes to shuffle two or three feet to one side in order to share the space….but alas this does not happen, presumably we are irrelevant because we are not part of the ‘clique’ so it is us expected their need of the track for chatting purposes far outweighs ours.

It’s a real shame because it’s really the only negative I experience in the otherwise amazing phenomenon that is parkrun, which has boosted the running world in recent years and produced so much positivity towards getting people out into the fresh air, moving more and enjoying the act of running in beautiful green spaces. Sadly it has made some think that 9am and the preceding hour Saturday/Sunday belongs only to them – not the case. Now please don’t get me wrong I absolutely love the principle and ethos of parkrun and what it has achieved is fantastic, but its reputation is getting a bit spoiled by the small few volunteers and early arrivers whose attitude of ignoring runners using the same track long before parkrun starts is a real shame.

Many of us like to just get up and go, not at an exact time or precise distance and not to be chipped with our name and times uploaded weekly. There’s nothing wrong with it, but it’s not for us all to be the same, however some of the participants seem incapable of understanding or tolerating the different attitudes and appear to be there mainly because of the ‘parkrun’ label rather than for the running experience.

These are long standing public spaces, to be enjoyed by all. Everyday runners still time themselves and extra obstacles slow us down and risk injury, acknowledging this would be much appreciated.