It’s hardly Mara’s fault that all of those contradictions existed- the records, the rankings, parkrun’s celebrations of elite performances at their events, the rankings integration, the professional timing and results system that completely outclasses the results of many local ‘races’ I’ve run. Mara pointing at an event that operates exactly like a race for fast men but not for fast women isn’t on her; it’s on the organisers to tell everybody what they are. In their defence they have done so and they have decided to tell everyone they’re definitely not a race by deleting historic records that about 2% of users would have accessed, but keeping all of the rest of the extremely race-like aspects/barriers.
It kind of is. Parkrun has repeatedly said it's not a competition but Mara went to nth degree to push parkrun into a corner. She was on the TV, writing in national newspapers and petitioning councils and the government to withdraw funding and support and threatening parkrun with court for sexual discrimination under Equalities Act.
Parkrun kept to it's original statement that's it's not a competition and decided to no longer keep the records to prove that competition isn't important to it.
Once again, if its not a race, why do they circulate a list of finishers sorted by time?
I told one person I know that the only good news here is that your age group course record will apparently never be broken. Bad news is you also won't be able to set any others.
Most parkruns put on pacers once a month. Volunteers who agree to run at a certain pace, e.g. 20 mins, 21 mins etc. To my mind this is encouraging a race mindset on these days, as runners are striving for pbs etc. Most runners in a race are running against the clock.
This idea that a race is distinguished from a fun event, by every runner signing up to race, agreeing to race against each other, doesn't seem particularly relevant.
Note, I haven't heard whether pacers are to continue or not?
Once again, if its not a race, why do they circulate a list of finishers sorted by time?
I told one person I know that the only good news here is that your age group course record will apparently never be broken. Bad news is you also won't be able to set any others.
My club does a monthly handicap race and circulates a list of finishers sorted by time, does it have to apply standards on transgender participation, or is it up to the club how it organises this?
Most parkruns put on pacers once a month. Volunteers who agree to run at a certain pace, e.g. 20 mins, 21 mins etc. To my mind this is encouraging a race mindset on these days, as runners are striving for pbs etc. Most runners in a race are running against the clock.
It’s hardly Mara’s fault that all of those contradictions existed- the records, the rankings, parkrun’s celebrations of elite performances at their events, the rankings integration, the professional timing and results system that completely outclasses the results of many local ‘races’ I’ve run. Mara pointing at an event that operates exactly like a race for fast men but not for fast women isn’t on her; it’s on the organisers to tell everybody what they are. In their defence they have done so and they have decided to tell everyone they’re definitely not a race by deleting historic records that about 2% of users would have accessed, but keeping all of the rest of the extremely race-like aspects/barriers.
It kind of is. Parkrun has repeatedly said it's not a competition but Mara went to nth degree to push parkrun into a corner. She was on the TV, writing in national newspapers and petitioning councils and the government to withdraw funding and support and threatening parkrun with court for sexual discrimination under Equalities Act.
Parkrun kept to it's original statement that's it's not a competition and decided to no longer keep the records to prove that competition isn't important to it.
Mara misjudged what parkrun is about.
Or, Parkrun has said it's not a competition, in order to evade dealing with Mara's very reasonable accusation.
The point im trying to make is you are more than welcome to race it. But its racing yourself, not racing other people. Thats why there was never a first place for park run since it first ever ever started.
Its a community run you can tackle in any way you like bar the obvious way of being agressive and moaning about transexuals
Most parkruns put on pacers once a month. Volunteers who agree to run at a certain pace, e.g. 20 mins, 21 mins etc. To my mind this is encouraging a race mindset on these days, as runners are striving for pbs etc. Most runners in a race are running against the clock.
They also have a tailwalker at every event.
Does this mean its now a sponsored walk?
Many organised races have tail runners. There are now lots of runners in their 70s and older, entering races, and some may not be moving much faster than a fast walk. M70 and F70 are now common age categories in races.
I know a M85 guy who was very fast when he was younger, and still wants to keep at it. These guys are out shining the youngsters when it comes to age gradings. This age grading info is now being hidden by Parkrun. He should be allowed to compare himself against similar.
Which is odd because if you read Mara's answer to "what's your favorite thing about parkrun?" in the blog post linked above, she replies that she "loves it's non-competitive approach".
I love that it’s always there, you can just turn-up, and it’s a good warm-up distance away from my home! I also love its non-competitive approach – we have a national crisis of inactivity, obesity, diabetes etc in the UK and parkrun is terrific for including and welcoming new-comers and beginners.
At some point in the past 5 years, she seems to have changed her mind.
You're really very negative about Mara, aren't you? The word "approach" isn't equivalent to a definition of whether its a race or not, its simply discussing how its encouraging to all runners, no matter how fast or slow. All races have an "approach". My local cross country series has an approach that particularly embraces different age groups, for example. And sexes.
We can all look up quotes from park run or individuals connected with it and find ones which imply that it is a race. The fact that most of their literature uses the word "results" for one thing and they record finishing order and the race/event briefing includes an instruction not to overtake any other runner in the finishing chute, and to stay in the order that they crossed the finishing line, so as not to confuse the results.
Anyway, the message is loud and clear from park run. Its not for the likes of serious female runners who want a chance at winning or finishing in the top 3 in their local park run.
The bigger issue is that smaller races and local events obviously struggle with "policing" the trans issue, and women aren't happy if they get beaten in one of those events by somebody who shouldn't be in their category. Complaining that this is "political" and therefore shouldn't be discussed by women is farcical, as is claiming that women shouldn't care, because their runs just aren't important enough. If its not supposed to be important for women, why is it important for trans males to females?
It really seems to have been kicked off when Sian Longthorpe, a trans male to female athlete who was quite happily doing her own thing until she ran 18.53 in the Porthcawl Park Run 45-49 age group. At this point, she had been a woman for 18 months. Since anyone can register under any category in park run, why didn't the athlete in question choose to register in a different category so she wouldn't take a women's placing away from them? Was Sian quite as keen on running before she transitioned and started placing highly in races?
Despite going to all the trouble of changing her gender and embracing womenhood, remarkably this never occurred to Sian at all, although obviously she is quite a serious runner and serious about being a woman. Now I don't know about Sian, but I'm in the same age category and I know exactly who my local competitors are within quite a wide geographical area, many of whom I have grown up with through the age groups or shared podiums with over the years. But Sian grew up as a male runner and apparently had no idea how upsetting this would be to women runners in the races she chooses to do. Sian, who has been married and had children while a man, is now a brand ambassador for Asics. I can't see any biological woman being appointed an Asics brand ambassador for running sub 19 minutes in their local park run in their late forties. I'm sure Sian is a very nice person, but how can she not have had any idea that running as a woman would cause upset to her competitors when she is running with the unfair advantage of having a man's body?
Sian doesn't only compete in park run, in which she regularly finishes first woman overall, she also won her age category in the Exeter Half Marathon, finishing 6th female overall in 1.23.56, and in other races.
And removing the age group records isn't going to solve it, because any fast man can register as a woman for the day and take the leading spots.
The whole thing needs proper leadership on a national level from government by legislation, so that these endless arguments about semantics don't keep spoiling people's enjoyment of running.
I'm not completely negative about Mara. I praise her for volunteering, for pacing, for giving superb training advice and for embracing the non-competive spirit of parkrun. I admire her most for poking at the uncomfortable logical inconsistencies of parkrun's course records and the runbritain rankings, as much as I admire parkrun for doing away with them (runbritain will hopefully follow).
I fear she's gone off the rails now that parkrun have removed the records. Amazingly there's now a petition to "reinstate the course records", promoted by Mara, Sharon Davies and others, fueled by a wider anti-woke culture war here in the UK, and boosted by all the usual suspects who have never cared a fig about running. Hopefully parkrunners will just vote with their feet and we can all ignore them. Conversely - if participation dives, then they may have a point?
I have total sympathy with you for the injustice of Sian Longthorpe taking the "course record" in your age category, and I'm happy that she no longer holds it. I use quotes only because I don't really believe parkruns are measured or officiated well enough to be proper records. They were just for fun, and now they're not fun, so they are no longer.
It is absolutely unfair that she finishes first woman or first in your age category in half marathons or other official races - again I agree 100%. I also have sympathy for race organisers and athletics clubs who are generally trying their best but have a difficult time navigating this delicate issue. What they do is hard enough already and they deserve more support and guidance on this from the regulating bodies (who are all slowly trying to figure out their stance while avoiding public opprobrium and legal jeopardy).
Some races have tried to help by adding a third category, which seems reasonable at face value to a lot of people to balance participation and fairness, yet gender critical campaigners including Mara have strongly condemned this by saying it muddies the waters and dilutes women's prizes. It's an all out war and they will give no quarter.
It's right to raise the perception of these sporting injustices but I draw the line at using a volunteer-run community health initiative like parkrun as the most convenient PR vehicle to do it. There is currently wide public sympathy for the issue of sporting fairness, but this relentless attacking of a wholesome British institution may just as well end up turning many people off the subject.
It's right to raise the perception of these sporting injustices but I draw the line at using a volunteer-run community health initiative like parkrun as the most convenient PR vehicle to do it. There is currently wide public sympathy for the issue of sporting fairness, but this relentless attacking of a wholesome British institution may just as well end up turning many people off the subject.
I don't know a lot about the background to what Mara has been doing. However, taking on a national organisation (British institution) appears to be the right tactics. The national organisations have to set the standards.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I suspect that trans gender will feel emboldened by Parkrun's reaction. If a man calls himself a woman, and joins the local running club, local tennis club, local golf club, local swimming club, etc, and enters ladies competitions. The local club may have found the issue easier to deal with if a national organisation had taken a stand. It would be sad if local sports clubs feel obliged to re-define their competitions as fun events.
Sharon Davies has been more vocal about the serious injury risk faced by females competing against men in contact sports. Are we to allow males into the boxing ring with females? Males in female football teams etc?
Sport has to deal with this, and to my mind, Parkrun is part of this.
It's right to raise the perception of these sporting injustices but I draw the line at using a volunteer-run community health initiative like parkrun as the most convenient PR vehicle to do it. There is currently wide public sympathy for the issue of sporting fairness, but this relentless attacking of a wholesome British institution may just as well end up turning many people off the subject.
I don't know a lot about the background to what Mara has been doing. However, taking on a national organisation (British institution) appears to be the right tactics. The national organisations have to set the standards.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I suspect that trans gender will feel emboldened by Parkrun's reaction. If a man calls himself a woman, and joins the local running club, local tennis club, local golf club, local swimming club, etc, and enters ladies competitions. The local club may have found the issue easier to deal with if a national organisation had taken a stand. It would be sad if local sports clubs feel obliged to re-define their competitions as fun events.
Sharon Davies has been more vocal about the serious injury risk faced by females competing against men in contact sports. Are we to allow males into the boxing ring with females? Males in female football teams etc?
Sport has to deal with this, and to my mind, Parkrun is part of this.
If you join a running club in Britain, the national organisation is UK Athletics, and they state: If your gender is different from the sex you were observed at birth, you are not allowed to compete in the female category from 1 April 2023 unless you are approved by UK Athletics as complying with the World Athletics Regulations to be able to compete in the female category.
If you join a cycling club, the national organisation is British Cycling, and they state:
Transgender women, transgender men, non-binary individuals and those whose sex was assigned male at birth will be eligible to compete in the ‘Open’ category. The ‘Female’ category will remain in place for those whose sex was assigned female at birth and transgender men who are yet to begin hormone therapy. At this stage, they will be eligible to compete in the ‘Open’ category only, and should ensure that they continue to adhere to the requirements of UK Anti-Doping. Those whose sex was assigned female at birth are also able to compete in the ‘Open’ category if they so wish.
If you play Rugby: The RFU Council has determined that until such time as new further peer-reviewed science is available, a precautionary approach is appropriate to ensure fair competition and safety of all competitors. Therefore, the RFU Council approved a policy change to only permit players in the female category if the sex originally recorded at birth is female.
There are something like 50 other national sporting organisations in the UK yet to declare a policy on this subject, but for some reason it's most important to go after parkrun, which is a not competitive, not a sport, and involves no contact.
Just check out her Twitter, she's been tweeting 10 times a day for 9 months about parkrun.
She's reached the point where she's claiming the records still exist and denying parkrun have removed them (they're merely 'hiding' them!)
The records most likely are hidden is they've changed the category of person who can view them. That woukd be the obvious IT fix. Didn't park run say something about them "no longer being visible'?
Just check out her Twitter, she's been tweeting 10 times a day for 9 months about parkrun.
She's reached the point where she's claiming the records still exist and denying parkrun have removed them (they're merely 'hiding' them!)
The records most likely are hidden is they've changed the category of person who can view them. That woukd be the obvious IT fix. Didn't park run say something about them "no longer being visible'?
They'll not acknowledging or updating records anymore so kinda irrelevant what IT fix they made.
Just check out her Twitter, she's been tweeting 10 times a day for 9 months about parkrun.
She's reached the point where she's claiming the records still exist and denying parkrun have removed them (they're merely 'hiding' them!)
All this energy she's given off in her campaign against Parkrun is just the energy she had planned to use fighting the evil entities of World Athletics and UK Athletics for allowing men to compete in women's events.
She wasn't expecting them to pretty quickly say 'Yeah, fair enough, it's ridiculous....BANNED'. She was kinda enjoying her Twitter engagement too much for it to be over.
Just check out her Twitter, she's been tweeting 10 times a day for 9 months about parkrun.
She's reached the point where she's claiming the records still exist and denying parkrun have removed them (they're merely 'hiding' them!)
All this energy she's given off in her campaign against Parkrun is just the energy she had planned to use fighting the evil entities of World Athletics and UK Athletics for allowing men to compete in women's events.
She wasn't expecting them to pretty quickly say 'Yeah, fair enough, it's ridiculous....BANNED'. She was kinda enjoying her Twitter engagement too much for it to be over.
Nah, she's lost the plot.
She's been rallying the troops to encourage them to deny reality and believe the records do still exist, it's just that parkrun is hiding them. Therefore the campaign to remove the trans record holders continues.
I imagine if parkrun ceased to exist entirely she'd still be campaigning on this.