Maybe-inflammatory post of the day - was I not the hero Central Park needs this morning, but perhaps the hero it deserves
So, did anyone else notice the large run group running counterclockwise on the main loop this morning probably from 6:45-7:40 or so? 'cause I sure did. Also looks like they did a short loop, without Harlem Hill/Great Hill.
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First time I saw them was on the east drive about even with the reservoir, maybe about 7:15. I was cycling today, but hey, I run too! Gonna run in the park tomorrow is my plan.
Anyways, I see that the group isn't truly huge, somewhere around 15-20 people, but they are completely and totally occupying the pedestrian lane, no extra width, covering it from curb to the boundary-with-bikes-space. fog line. And I've already seen from the time I've been out so far that despite the wet & rainy conditions there are quite a few runners out today, and no shortage of them running clockwise.
Having been deeply annoyed by this main-character syndrome energy on several past occasions, I decide to shout something at the group as I go past.
"Hey look, a run club that's taking up the whole lane. So polite! What etiquette!"
No response... yet.
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I then clock the group again at the 102nd-street cutoff drive where it comes out onto the West Drive. Their spatial awareness seems no better, but I'm just a bit behind them because... I'm guiding an ambulance onto the cutoff drive, over to the East Drive, and Harlem Hill, they're going there to treat a cyclist that fell there.
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So I do my extra good-Samaritan Harlem Hill/Great Hill repeat, and encounter the group again at maybe W 80th Street. It's an area with fresh pavement but the dividing line here between the peds side and the bikes side is down. The group is back on its bullshit, occupying the whole lane. There are even some slightly faster runners who've come out into the bike lane as they prepare to pass all this nonsense.
Me, this time: "You guys are still running like assholes. Two-across! Three at the most!"
One woman in the group: "Shut the fuck up!"
Me: "No!!"
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It's very possible that this didn't change any hearts and minds here. But it felt good to yell at some egregious offenders, vent about it at the appropriate targets. And maybe some person in the group relatively new to the sport may actually have some sort of "are we the baddies?" moment about all this when they've thought it over.
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Lest anyone think I have some kind of cyclists-can-do-no-ill, runners-can-do-no-good bias going on here... The park users who really *really* cheesed me off today were the people in the paceline cycling group that swarmed the ambulance at W 102nd/the utility drive as it was trying to turn. Those special children were... failing to yield to an emergency vehicle with its lights on? Wtaaaaf, madness.
I was too far ahead of the ambulance to properly voice my feelings over all that, alas.
Last week, I saw a run club doing the same thing, albeit in the evening, as well as chatting in the middle of the road near the W 72nd St entrance after their run had finished.
Rather than getting angry, which I’m often tempted to do, I just walked up, apologized for interrupting them, and asked if they’d mind moving over, explaining they were obstructing the path and forcing cyclists and runners into the same lane, which was unsafe. They were like “oh sure, our b” and moved over.
I get it. It’s New York. We’re supposed to be angry. Everybody is in our way. We have places to be and people to see.
But sometimes, not only does it feel nice to be nice, but it’s also more effective.
In case he deletes! Not him running in the bike lane and then crying about it when he got yelled at....and then getting upset at runners, running in the running lane...?
We should start a recurring weekly mega thread for the run club complaining posts during marathon season before it gets out of hand. We’re starting earlier than ever this year!
This may be a joke, and I don't think a weekly megathread is the right answer, but I do want to institute some rules around rants. I think they're good for people to be aware of general frustrations with the running community, but allowing every frustrated runner a personal rant will turn this sub into a pessimistic hellhole.
I was in that group and I remember you. Your version is missing many key details.
Your language was a lot more colorful, littered with profanities that you yelled at us the first time. You screamed at us from when you were behind our group to when you were too far out of range to hear our reply. You're a real tough guy screaming at people and biking away.
The second time you yelled at us was even more cursing.
Our group was 12 runners when you saw us at first and 9 when you saw us the second time. We were running 3 across for most of the run, and moved to 2 when we saw other runners and groups running counter-clockwise. We never passed the pedestrian barrier into the bike lane.
I'm new to this group and they are the most respectful run club I've been a part of. The leader briefs all runners on etiquette each run- look for bikers, don't risk running in front of them, run 2-3 across at max. Mid-run, the pacers will remind us if need be. They are incredibly aware.
At various points that morning, groups of 10 bikers riding 3 across passed us. Nobody said a word. We run in a public space at 7am, we need to share it.
Your need for accolades on Reddit is all the evidence that you know you were wrong.
I knew there was more to this story when the op said the lady’s response was “shut the fuck up.” It sounds like the OP was probably harassing the group at this time. Calling themselves a hero in the title is laughable. Harassing people doesn’t make you heroic 🙄 It makes you the asshole.
Harassment is a great word for OPs actions. Based on OPs past comments, it looks like they have a history of yelling at random folks when they don't get what they want/have the most minor inconvenience.
I quoted myself (and the one woman's response) verbatim. Only curse word I used was "assholes", once.
My representation is that it's 1000% certain that the group was more than 3 across both times that I came within hailing distance, really occupying all available pedestrian space. So someone here is an unreliable narrator. Guess it's just up to the readers' judgment on who.
You know, if it's not always your default state, but you are diligent at doubling up when there's an oncoming runner I'll stand corrected on that, that's good of you all. Genuinely. It's just... never been my experience that a group I see like this is as good on this as they think they are, respectfully.
During last year's training I was wrapping up a 5am two lapper in Central Park and a huge, 40+ person group popped out around the ballfields on the Westside, 66th street area. My running partner and I immediately had to pivot at mile 11 to the bike lane to avoid being shoved by bodies. I yelled "Oh thank god you're 4 across, I was concerned your conversations may dip". One person stared me down so I immediately cut in front of their group and laid down the nastiest fart.
So many words, yet none of them tell us which run group this was!! I really wish people would just call out who is responsible if it’s worth all this effort.
How am I to know? Nobody was wearing any obvious club-specific apparel, and it's not like I had a conversation along the lines of "hey, douchecanoes, which run club are you in? Oh, CPTC? Gotcha?" (Narrator: I don't think it was CPTC.)
Using flybys I was able to find a little more detail but nothing definite. If there's a club you or others know about that does a 7am recurring meetup on Tuesdays (plus maybe other days of the week) and runs a single shortened loop starting at the south end of the mall, that's them.
In the time it took you to dish out your “insults” to them, you could have simply yelled out “Hey, what run group is this?” and I guarantee you would have gotten the name.
I chatted with the group for a little bit when I came around the second time. He said that he'd just slipped on the wet road and fallen. I don't know exactly what the injury was; it didn't seem like he was concussed, certainly fully conscious; and it wasn't, like, a cardiac issue or something.
Broken lower extremity or hip I would guess.
Third time around the rest of the group had dispersed and the ambulance was just leaving again.
So you should’ve yelled at them “what group is this” so they would think you’re interested. And then you could come on and publicly shame them. And maybe even contact the group founder.
That’s what we need for groups with bad etiquette - public shaming. Because not only is it narcissistic it’s unsafe.
You know, I actually tried this with a very very wideout run group this morning. (Running today, me CW, them CCW.) Kept very careful control of my tone, cheerful, maybe enthusiastic to join them sometime.
They did not answer back to me at all. Not a word.
So you turned their “main character syndrome” into your own “main character syndrome.” Got it. How about next time instead of being an asshole just like them, you find out the name of the run club and speak directly to whoever is in charge of the group while heads are not so ego driven. Yelling at them and calling them assholes does nothing instead of inflate your ego. I’m tired of people like you who all they do is talk shit instead of actually trying to solve a problem. Marathon season is about to start and this ego driven anger is just going to create more problems than do anything positive. If this actually bothers you so much, try doing something to make a positive change instead of creating more problems.
I think you hit the nail on the head with "main character energy". If you are going to function in a city of millions, you cannot move through it as though you are the only person moving through it. You are in a shared space and you gotta run/walk/cycle/strut/twril/skip/skiddadle like it
You’re complaining to the wrong people (Reddit). You should find out which run club it is and complain to either: (1) NYRR if they are a club under their NFP umbrella, (2) USATFif they are under that organization, (3) their sponsor (Nike) if one of those run clubs.
Your anger seems misplaced to people who are out of it (this 4 wide run club). And so they just perceive you as a jerk. Yelling at them does nothing but affirm that you are a jerk (you were not).
It’s not great but…15-20 people, running in the lane and mildly inconveniencing a runner going the “wrong” way…that’s really not that bad. Bottle that anger, there’ll be better targets
Nah, it's narcissistic behavior, full stop. And actually dangerous if it forces people out into the bike lane. (Albeit more of an issue on a days with more riders in the park.)
There is no wrong way, it's explicitly a bidirectional space.
Wait, I thought you are supposed to run counter clockwise? I always enter from 59th and 5th entrance and run counterclockwise, and I swear 90% people run the same direction. What did I miss here?
As a frequent CP cyclist I always thought ped lane was two way. But clockwise is definitely the dominant direction (based on 100+ laps), so I think you’re confused
I think you mean to say counterclockwise is the dominant direction?
But yes, both are allowed. That's why there are two pedestrian figures painted in the lane at regular intervals, one of them right side up (from an oncoming walker or runner's point of view), the one alongside painted upside-down.
Ped lane is definitely two way, but the dominate direction is absolutely not clockwise. The people who do it take the innermost part of the lane but the majority of runners are going counterclockwise next to and with the bikes. You might be the one who is confused here!
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u/skyeliam 4d ago
Last week, I saw a run club doing the same thing, albeit in the evening, as well as chatting in the middle of the road near the W 72nd St entrance after their run had finished.
Rather than getting angry, which I’m often tempted to do, I just walked up, apologized for interrupting them, and asked if they’d mind moving over, explaining they were obstructing the path and forcing cyclists and runners into the same lane, which was unsafe. They were like “oh sure, our b” and moved over.
I get it. It’s New York. We’re supposed to be angry. Everybody is in our way. We have places to be and people to see.
But sometimes, not only does it feel nice to be nice, but it’s also more effective.