A park goer was allegedly left ‘bruised and upset’ after an altercation during the Millhouses parkrun on Saturday.

The incident took place as hundreds of runners took part in the weekly event, held in celebration of International Women’s Day. 

Catherine McKeown, the event director for the Millhouses parkrun, said a park user, who wasn’t taking part in the run, was “physically and verbally assaulted” by a runner, “leaving them bruised and upset”.

The assault occurred at around 9:40am near The Wagon & Horses Cabin, a local business that supports the event, on the final stretch of course. The queue for the cabin spilled out onto the parkrun course which led to a collision between the parkrunner and a customer in the queue. 

Parkrun organisers will now be putting in extra measures to ensure that people can use the business safely during the event. Marshals will now be placed nearby.

Ms McKeown said: “We struggle for volunteers at parkrun, if we could we would have another marshal stationed by the Wagon cabin to encourage those queuing to do so in the enclosure.” 

The parkrun organiser said the event emphasised keeping its good reputation, and that the event is ‘safe and welcoming’.  

Ms McKeown said: “At Millhouses, like many other parkruns, we are proud to hold an inclusive and welcoming event every Saturday come rain or shine.  

“Our aim is to provide a safe space for people to get together, feel part of a community and prioritise their well-being. Runners and walkers alike participate each week and our wonderful volunteers make it all possible.”

Ms McKeown said Millhouses parkrun finds any form of verbal or physical abuse ‘unacceptable’ and that any parkrun participant caught doing so will potentially risk having their registration revoked.  

The Millhouses parkrun started in October 2019 and the event has continued every Saturday morning since. 

According to the Millhouse parkrun website, since then 12,771 participants have completed 64,306 parkruns covering a total distance of 321,530 km.

A spokesperson for South Yorkshire Police said there is no record of the incident being reported.