UKC

Hi all,

How far can I run from my house and still be in the rules? I'm in rural Devon and most of my local footpaths are fairly quiet. 

it says not 'outside your local area' but where does my local area end?

Legally, as far as you like 🤷‍♂️

Oh, ok. 

So now it's a moral / fitness decision!

Thanks  

Legally and morally, as far as you think you can justify as being reasonable. Whilst the law doesn’t dictate, it just stipulates reasonable, the guidance is also a guide to enforcement.

This perhaps isn’t the time to attempt the South Coastal Path in one go, but if you want to run 3 miles or 20 miles, I think you will be OK.

Wasn't the advice given, to restrict ones exercise to the village, town, or area of the city you live in?

To me this suggests that you could run around the block 100 times for 100km. But to do a 5k out and back, might take you out of the area, so break the guidelines.

But, as they are guidelines, not laws, there is some flexibility on the part of the cops. Chances are they are not going to be out patrolling the muddy footpaths. I'd also argue that if you can get there on foot, it's probably local.

I go from my doorstep and go as far as I feel. Within no time im out on trails and at this time of year with everything cold and muddy I rarely see another soul. Therefore I see no point in limiting the distance that I go other than physical ability. 

Derbyshire Police's clarification from the NPCC specifically stated they could not issue fixed penalty notices for travelling for exercise, so 'serious' enforcement isn't a factor. Whether they might suggest or ask you to go home is another question.

I can’t believe the number of dislikes your post has got for what is a very reasonable question ! You’ve got some sensible replies too.

I've had some really helpful replies, thanks all!.

As regards dislikes, wigwams are going to be Wigwams. 

Yep, if on your own nobody is going to question you anyway. The UK runners I follow are strava on still putting in 15-20 mile runs, just from their local area.

If they do it's then an offence not to, but that offence is not committed if you do.

I think the enforcement is going to "settle down" to concentrating on situations where you haven't left the house for exercise but rather for a day trip that happens to include exercise (so like those examples of London to the Lakes or Peak).  Those situations don't arise when you start/end at home.

This makes sense, as someone going for a long run in the middle of nowhere from home is not really posing any considerable additional risk to anyone, and is probably posing far less risk than running that distance round their local residential streets where they will meet more other people.

I'm working on the basis that anywhere I can run from my own doorstep is local; I also see no reason not to drive 1 or 2 miles in order to start at the edge of town. It's clear from strava that folks are doing that, and not restricting runs to urban areas.

In my view this advice is yet again totally nonsense. I live in a small village out in the countryside. Our local case count is low, transmission rates are going down. When the BMC issued advice I read it like you. But it means that if you live in a large city the advice is to limit yourself to a massive area where the transmission rates are high and case rate is high. How does that make sense? A distance limit would at least be clear cut, this advice is just next to useless as every person is going to interpret it differently from he very strict "I mustn't leave my small village" through to "i'll jump in the car and go to the sea for the day, I'll fuel up at the petrol station down the road and keep myself to myself". All it does is cause confusion and division...

No I think it was changed back to the original ‘local’ in the wording. Haven’t checked but heard it had! Not that it really makes much difference. 

The formula for running out to a point, round  in a circle around your home back to that point and then home is:

D=8.2r or r=D/8.2 

So for a 10mile run. r=1.2 miles. So if you run 1.2 miles out, then run in a circle round your house keeping 1.2 miles from it you’ll have done 10miles. 
 

If you run in a 10 mile circle where your house is on the circumference, the diameter is 3 miles. So the furthest you’ll be from home is 3.2 miles. Most of the time you’ll be closer. 
 

For my run I head straight out and I see more people in the first and last mile than I do for the other 8. So I prefer to head out. 
 

The problem with staying local when you live in a rural location is you see more people.