A Jersey parkrun event director has reminded participants to be respectful of each other and those who help make the free weekly 5km event possible – after a young volunteer was subject to an “unpleasant verbal outburst” by a runner.
Michael Chaytor told Express that the incident at last Saturday’s run involved someone who had demanded to know their result “straight away”, despite the usual protocol involving times being provided shortly after the event.
He explained that the person was “quite unkind to an under-18 volunteer” and that, while this did not involve aggressive or abusive language, “it wasn’t a very pleasant experience for that individual”.
The event director highlighted that parkrun relies on volunteers every single week “to make it happen”.
Mr Chaytor took to Jersey parkrun’s Facebook page to issue a reminder to all participants “to respect each other and specifically in this case the volunteers who give up their time and energy to ensure parkrun happens safely and is a brilliant experience for all”.
Mr Chaytor wrote: “If any participant has an issue or query, they should seek out the run director and ask or discuss whatever that concern may be and will be assisted accordingly.
“Any behaviour like this will not be tolerated.”
A number of islanders reacting to the post also shared their disapproval of the runner’s outburst.
One commented: “A fun morning out with a great community, and this person tried to ruin the experience of a volunteer who has given up their Saturday morning to make sure they got their run in. Crazy. Hope the volunteer is alright and the runner has learnt his lesson and cheered up a little.”
Another wrote: “No need for that whatsoever. Parkrun is for fun and would not be possible without the volunteers.”
Jersey parkrun will celebrate its 500th event towards the end of next month.