parkrun has been a force for fitness good since its inception in 2004. This week, it removed a range of public data from its website, claiming a disconnect between performance and inclusion.
For me whilst not a perfect solution it sends the right message. I have two friends, both trans girls, one a long term runner, the other quite new to it. The the long term runner, long after transitioning, started getting targeted by anti-trans activists based on her presence in 5k and 10k results (despite her never even being close to a best-in-age category), under the banner of "it's a competitive event and your biology gives you an unfair advantage", so after a quite nasty campaign, she gave in and sort refuge in the much more inclusive community that parkruns offer.
And she was really happy here and over time, her friend joined her. Parkrun being "not a race" meant she could participate without fear of retribution.
Until around 18 months ago the anti-trans movement started pressuring parkrun to force people to run under the gender they were assigned at birth and despite them both already running under assumed names (because of what had happened based on the 10k results) the abuse started again (this time at both girls).
All the wanted to do was partake in a mass-participation events, neither is close to "winning" (if there is such a thing in a "not a race" event).
So, by Parkrun doing what they've done, whilst not ideal, HAS forced the anti-trans activists into a corner and protected their participants. NOW anti-trans activists can no longer hide behind the "it's unfair in a competitive environment" rhetoric and either admit that it was never about competitive advantage and everything about persecuting trans girls, or they can STFU and go find another area to attempt to remove them from and leave parkrun the wonderful and inclusive place it's always been.
For me whilst not a perfect solution it sends the right message. I have two friends, both trans girls, one a long term runner, the other quite new to it. The the long term runner, long after transitioning, started getting targeted by anti-trans activists based on her presence in 5k and 10k results (despite her never even being close to a best-in-age category), under the banner of "it's a competitive event and your biology gives you an unfair advantage", so after a quite nasty campaign, she gave in and sort refuge in the much more inclusive community that parkruns offer.
And she was really happy here and over time, her friend joined her. Parkrun being "not a race" meant she could participate without fear of retribution.
Until around 18 months ago the anti-trans movement started pressuring parkrun to force people to run under the gender they were assigned at birth and despite them both already running under assumed names (because of what had happened based on the 10k results) the abuse started again (this time at both girls).
All the wanted to do was partake in a mass-participation events, neither is close to "winning" (if there is such a thing in a "not a race" event).
So, by Parkrun doing what they've done, whilst not ideal, HAS forced the anti-trans activists into a corner and protected their participants. NOW anti-trans activists can no longer hide behind the "it's unfair in a competitive environment" rhetoric and either admit that it was never about competitive advantage and everything about persecuting trans girls, or they can STFU and go find another area to attempt to remove them from and leave parkrun the wonderful and inclusive place it's always been.
Thanks for taking the time to add some great human elements to the story, Glenn!