Ask Dr. Dumb: Should I Worry About Being Barged Into?
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Dear readers: First of all, an apology.
Way back in September, I was feeling like we were due for a new Dr. Dumb Q&A, but I wasn’t sure which topic to go with. So I asked you, via this Facebook post:
The poop-related one, unsurprisingly, was most popular, with “OTTER!” a close second. And so I wrote about … none of them. I moved on. Failed to deliver. Just completely whiffed.
Sorry.
And speaking of apologies, among the comments on that Facebook post was this one, from a reader named Lucy:
Barging etiquette for me. I'm British, so also am genetically programmed to apologise if barged into, run over or generally assaulted out running in any context, it's a minefield out there. Sorry to ask, but please enlighten me! Thank you. Sorry.
As a serial apologist, this comment spoke to me. So partly for Lucy, and partly because it’s what I wanted to write about all along, today’s Dr. Dumb topic is: Should I Worry About Being Barged Into?
Let’s get to it!
Dumb Runner: Dr. Dumb, thank you for joining us.
Dr. Dumb: Sorry! I mean, you’re welcome.
Today’s topic comes via a BBC article titled “Parkrun suspended over 'worrying' overtaking issues.” Could you summarize the issue for our readers?
Sure. Parkrun is a series of free 5K events for runners and walkers, which started in London but has spread around the world. It’s grown a lot, which has caused problems here and there.
Such as “worrying” overtaking issues?
Yes. The story refers to a parkrun in Weymouth, England, which was seeing “an increase in reports of runners overtaking in confined areas, causing some participants to be barged into or tripped.”
Barged into?
Barged into!
What did organizers do to address all of this barging?
They canceled two events, with plans to resume them “once new signage has been installed.”
Do the signs read, “NO BARGING”?
Presumably so.
Doctor, over the years we have used this column to address many dangers to runners, including moose, cows, kangaroos, snakes falling from the sky, hitting your head twice and waking up in the woods on a pile of sticks, tearing your colon, being GORED IN THE FACE, and ostriches. Should we add “being barged into” to that list?
Absolutely. Especially if you live in the U.K.
This does seem to be a U.K. thing, largely, doesn’t it?
It does, because this is hardly the first time the BBC has reported on barging. From February 2025, there’s “XL Bully Barged Into Home and Bit Mum and Dog,” which describes how a woman and her pet dog were hurt when “an out-of-control XL bully dog barged into their home and bit them.” And from September 2024, “Man ‘Barged Into Woman and Fled With Her Handbag,’” which happened in a placed called Grimsby.
Grimsby! Is that the same Grimsby of Grimsby Telegraph fame?
I assume so. How many Grimsbys can there be? And speaking of dogs and parkrun, there’s this, from earlier this month: “Runner's 'Nasty Fall' at Saturday Parkrun Sparks Row Over Dog Rule.” It doesn’t say explicitly that the dogs were barging into anyone. But it doesn’t say the dogs weren’t barging, either.
Wait. This incident sparked a row?
Yes, but in this usage it’s pronounced row.
Why don’t you hear Americans using “barge” as a verb?
I don’t know, but I will say that at least one American has used it. That American is the humor writer Dave Barry, in his 1997 book “Dave Barry Slept Here,” which is, in my opinion, the best American history book ever written, hands down:
You can tell it’s a real history book because it has footnotes!
Exactly.
As we wrap this up, doctor, any advice as to what a runner should do, if he or she is barged into?
Not much you can do, I’m afraid. My best advice is to keep calm and carry on.
Thank you, Dr. Dumb. This has been very informative.
Sorry!
