'This trend will come to pass': Netizens share their thoughts about the running community in Singapore | The Independent Singapore

SINGAPORE: The increasing number of people joining running clubs at the Singapore National Stadium has recently sparked concerns over whether some groups have become too large to operate safely and smoothly in shared public spaces.

On Reddit, a netizen voiced out a concern, stating that he/she encountered a growing group of people gathered near Gate 2 of the stadium with their own bag deposit and water point set up. 

“This group grew from the 10s to over a hundred people possibly, with people constantly streaming across the running track towards the gate and across. Some even paused and stood and wandering on the track itself. I personally almost collided with two of these run club participants. While resting, I also encountered multiple others stumbling across these run club participants,” the netizen further declared. 

Additionally, the person whom the netizen assumed to be one of the organisers was trying to persuade the runners to go to the warm-up area but did not instruct them to obstruct the tracks. 

The netizen added: “The participants continued to grow, congregate and chit-chat at and around the track, many causally strolling to and fro… At what point do we say run clubs have grown too large to govern in a safe manner?” 

With this, many netizens shared their thoughts and opinions about the subject raised. One commenter claimed that, as with all the trends on social media, the run club trend will also come to pass as people migrate to other trends in the future. 

“Anything involving large groups of people is a nuisance,” another netizen remarked. 

A netizen also said: “Very annoying cos sometimes they hog first 2 lanes, and some rude participants will shove people out of their way instead of going round them.” 

Another comment stated that in running, everybody has their own pace, and suggested that if the crowd gets too big, it would be nice to break the runners into subgroups and not run all at the same time. 

Moreover, one more netizen stated that having running groups is not the problem, but rather individuals who either have no self-awareness at all, or are just too self-centred to care for others. 

“I don’t get what the point of running in a huge group around crowded places other than for men to show off their abs and women to show off their tight running attires,” one admitted. 

“Everyone is there with an agenda other than running,” a comment concluded.

Overall, run clubs can be good for Singapore’s running community. As more people join in these activities, organisers should set clear rules on group size and remind runners how to interact with other people in shared public spaces. It is important to remember that runners should also be careful and respectful of others on the running tracks.