Parkrun group apologises after bad behaviour complaints

Parkrun is a weekly community event in which participants walk, jog or run 5K in their local park

A parkrun group has apologised after receiving complaints about the behaviour of some of the event's participants.

Swansea Bay parkrun said it had received reports of abusive language towards cyclists, a woman being barged on her way to work and "significant disregard of the shared path etiquette" on the course along the city's seafront.

The feedback regarding Saturday's run was "the worst it has been ever", the group said in a statement on Facebook.

Organisers said they felt "really disappointed and despondent", adding that parkrun events, which are held every Saturday for free, should be inspirational and inclusive.

The group said the complainants would likely take the matters up with both parkrun HQ and with Swansea Council.

Both have been asked to comment.

Swansea Bay parkrun added its team of volunteers was "at a loss as to what more we can do or say to reinforce the need to 'share with care and kindness'".

"We do not pay for the right to have exclusive use of the path," they said.

They apologised to "disgruntled path users" and said it was "upsetting" to receive such negative feedback.

People commenting on the post acknowledged some runners viewed the event as a race, rather than a community event.

"Not all but some faster runners expect you to move out of their way as they are on course for a PB [personal best] whereas it maybe a PB for a not too fast walker, jogger, runner," one person wrote.

However, one also described parkrun as "the best thing that's happened in the UK" in recent years.

"Unfortunately there are always a tiny minority who can't bring themselves to behave in a way that minimises friction between groups," they said.

Some people questioned whether the Swansea Bay event might have grown too large for the course and suggested organisers might need to look for an alternative location.

Swansea Bay parkrun acknowledged on social media that it had been attracting more than 800 participants regularly but said a new event which started in June had cut the number of participants by some 200, helping to reduce the pressure.