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Original poster

parkrun defending their position

780 replies

Funtime2 · 26/04/2026 11:52

I used to be a parkrunner and do not understand how parkrun can defend their position of allowing trans identfying males into the female category.

I read that 280 published race winners in the female category are actually men identifying as women. How is this fair to women? Some women don’t care about this but some women do, just as some men take it as a race and care about the rankings and some men don’t

The other option of course is they could stop the timing, stop recording winners and records?

AIBU to genuinely not understand why parkrun claim not to be a race when they time the runners, publish times by category, rank times and runners, and have record holders by category.

OP posts:
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21
TheKeatingFive · 28/04/2026 14:49

Mangelwurzelfortea · 28/04/2026 14:46

Park Run isn't the sodding Olympics. It's not even a competition. And as a 'mid table' woman, I don't even bother looking at any of the other scores. I don't care. I run with a bunch of other middle aged women and the whole trans thing has never come up. I never even thought about it until I saw this thread.

If it's about fairness or women's safety, then yes it's important but changing a tickbox on a Park Run form won't change/achieve either of those things. And if it goes from changing a tickbox to actually policing it, that's the fun sucked out of one of the few things in life that's free, fun and inclusive.

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It's not important for you. It hasn't come up for you.

But surely you can see that if 280 men have been declared 'best female' it is an issue for some women.

Why don't these women deserve the right to top their category without being elbowed aside by men?

IAmBeaIDrinkTea · 28/04/2026 14:49

givemushypeasachance · 28/04/2026 14:47

People really don't. Every week I encounter first timers to parkrun who have never run before, never been to this kind of event. Parkrun isn't meant to be just for runners with sports watches!

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Exactly!! ♥️

ThatBlackCat · 28/04/2026 14:49

IAmBeaIDrinkTea · 28/04/2026 13:42

Anything, ANYTHING rather than having to say no to entitled men who want women's stuff

Again with the assuming on here that all women think the same way.
People, including women, are telling you they like the inclusive, non competitive atmosphere of on the day what it's like before you go home and scrutinise everyone else's score but yet, still, it's all about entitled men to some.

The word 'inclusive' almost always means excluding women from fairness. It's a word that is the enemy of womens rights. Womens categories are not meant to be 'inclusive' of males. That's the whole point.

givemushypeasachance · 28/04/2026 14:49

ThatBlackCat · 28/04/2026 14:46

If women having fairness puts anyone off volunteering? Then that says more about them. And they're not the type of people who should be volunteering anyway.

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So you want me as a run director to police whether someone who has ticked the "female" box when they registered is really a woman? Or if not me, parkrun HQ? has this very long thread suggested how that would be done, are we going full producing copies of birth certificates?

Original poster
Funtime2 · 28/04/2026 14:48

Mangelwurzelfortea · 28/04/2026 14:46

Park Run isn't the sodding Olympics. It's not even a competition. And as a 'mid table' woman, I don't even bother looking at any of the other scores. I don't care. I run with a bunch of other middle aged women and the whole trans thing has never come up. I never even thought about it until I saw this thread.

If it's about fairness or women's safety, then yes it's important but changing a tickbox on a Park Run form won't change/achieve either of those things. And if it goes from changing a tickbox to actually policing it, that's the fun sucked out of one of the few things in life that's free, fun and inclusive.

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I, I and I

Not everyone is you

OP posts:
IAmBeaIDrinkTea · 28/04/2026 14:48

BananaPeels · 28/04/2026 14:43

We have sex categories . Easy.

if parkrun get alerted to the fact someone is in the correct category then they can change it as they would do if age is wrong. I would expect most people would truthfully declare and it is a tiny minority who would choose to lie.

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As keeps getting repeatedly ignored though - how is that going to be policed? Are you relying on other runners deciding whether or not someone else "looks womanly" enough?
Volunteers probably aren't going to want to, or be able to do all that.

Original poster
Funtime2 · 28/04/2026 14:47

givemushypeasachance · 28/04/2026 14:45

They were removed from the parkrun event websites years ago. They are still on the app, which until fairly recently was an unofficial product, basically a fan-made thing for tracking challenges and the like. The app was brought "in-house" in December I think. I presume in time they'll come off the app as well.

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I just took them form the website and screen shot this morning

OP posts:
ThatBlackCat · 28/04/2026 14:47

givemushypeasachance · 28/04/2026 14:45

They were removed from the parkrun event websites years ago. They are still on the app, which until fairly recently was an unofficial product, basically a fan-made thing for tracking challenges and the like. The app was brought "in-house" in December I think. I presume in time they'll come off the app as well.

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Nope, as people have shown, they're still on the website.

Even if it were still on the app, it's unfair. Unfair is unfair, no matter what.

givemushypeasachance · 28/04/2026 14:47

Spaghettea · 28/04/2026 14:43

But it's a fun run so it doesn't matter. We all have watches we can time ourselves on.

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People really don't. Every week I encounter first timers to parkrun who have never run before, never been to this kind of event. Parkrun isn't meant to be just for runners with sports watches!

Mangelwurzelfortea · 28/04/2026 14:46

TheKeatingFive · 28/04/2026 14:23

I'm not sure what the point of this comment is. If women are objecting to men being able to 'identify in' to women's categories, why would going to a Park Run change their minds?

I'm not an Olympic athlete but I strongly believe women deserve fair opportunities and sex based categories at the Olympics.

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Park Run isn't the sodding Olympics. It's not even a competition. And as a 'mid table' woman, I don't even bother looking at any of the other scores. I don't care. I run with a bunch of other middle aged women and the whole trans thing has never come up. I never even thought about it until I saw this thread.

If it's about fairness or women's safety, then yes it's important but changing a tickbox on a Park Run form won't change/achieve either of those things. And if it goes from changing a tickbox to actually policing it, that's the fun sucked out of one of the few things in life that's free, fun and inclusive.

ThatBlackCat · 28/04/2026 14:46

Mangelwurzelfortea · 28/04/2026 13:41

I agree. It's just going to put people off volunteering and getting involved.

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If women having fairness puts anyone off volunteering? Then that says more about them. And they're not the type of people who should be volunteering anyway.

givemushypeasachance · 28/04/2026 14:45

ThatBlackCat · 28/04/2026 14:41

he "course records" have been removed

No they have not. As people have amply proven with screenshots. Even the guy who tried to kill someone over it, his records still stand.

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They were removed from the parkrun event websites years ago. They are still on the app, which until fairly recently was an unofficial product, basically a fan-made thing for tracking challenges and the like. The app was brought "in-house" in December I think. I presume in time they'll come off the app as well.

ThatBlackCat · 28/04/2026 14:44

BananaPeels · 28/04/2026 14:39

You would lose half the runners overnight and then i expect that it would be hard to justify it.

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Well, then maybe that should happen then. Considering there is no money involved, it's not a charity or anything, who cares. If they were running for fitness or the fun of it, they wouldn't care. If half left, that proves it's competitive. They wouldn't be any loss anyway.

Spaghettea · 28/04/2026 14:43

BananaPeels · 28/04/2026 14:39

You would lose half the runners overnight and then i expect that it would be hard to justify it.

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But it's a fun run so it doesn't matter. We all have watches we can time ourselves on.

BananaPeels · 28/04/2026 14:43

Flossette · 28/04/2026 14:41

What would you suggest the solution is then? As the current situation is not legal.

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We have sex categories . Easy.

if parkrun get alerted to the fact someone is in the correct category then they can change it as they would do if age is wrong. I would expect most people would truthfully declare and it is a tiny minority who would choose to lie.

ThatBlackCat · 28/04/2026 14:42

IAmBeaIDrinkTea · 28/04/2026 14:40

What about those of us who don't have watches? Or can't afford a fancy ? We have to go get one just to time ourselves at Parkrun now?
See, nobody's happy whatever happens. Which you'd think those wanting to compete would go bog off to a competitive run and cc leave everyone else to it instead of demanding they change.

A watch costs what, one, two pounds? Do you not have a smartphone? Even a basic non-smartphone with a stopwatch? This is all bs.

Flossette · 28/04/2026 14:41

BananaPeels · 28/04/2026 14:39

You would lose half the runners overnight and then i expect that it would be hard to justify it.

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What would you suggest the solution is then? As the current situation is not legal.

ThatBlackCat · 28/04/2026 14:41

givemushypeasachance · 28/04/2026 13:39

99% of the people at the parkruns I help to put on really don't care about all this. We're just out there putting on timed runs for people. The "course records" have been removed, no one "wins" anything and the walker who finished in over an hour last week is just as celebrated as the person who finished first in 16 minutes. I don't know whether either of them were recorded as men or women and am not asking! I'm also not going in and deleting people's run details because someone says to me "I don't think they're really a woman, this is unfair, delete their time". If that starts to become an expectation then I'll stop being a run director.

he "course records" have been removed

No they have not. As people have amply proven with screenshots. Even the guy who tried to kill someone over it, his records still stand.

IAmBeaIDrinkTea · 28/04/2026 14:40

What about those of us who don't have watches? Or can't afford a fancy ? We have to go get one just to time ourselves at Parkrun now?
See, nobody's happy whatever happens. Which you'd think those wanting to compete would go bog off to a competitive run and cc leave everyone else to it instead of demanding they change.

BananaPeels · 28/04/2026 14:39

ThatBlackCat · 28/04/2026 14:38

Nope, no listing of times on the website. That's what we're after. There is zero need for it. Time yourselves with your own watches. I saw something on twitter (X or whatever you want to call it) where a poster was saying 'why can't you take your own timings, you want parkrun to wipe your arse too?' I think that was a fair and pithy comment.

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You would lose half the runners overnight and then i expect that it would be hard to justify it.

ThatBlackCat · 28/04/2026 14:38

IAmBeaIDrinkTea · 28/04/2026 14:38

Everybody who disagrees with me is a MAN! Who's on the run from Reddit!
FFS ,😂

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I didn't say that they are men...

ThatBlackCat · 28/04/2026 14:38

IAmBeaIDrinkTea · 28/04/2026 14:34

Sounds good to me - do away with sex, gender and age on the website that shows your result and just have your name and time.

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Nope, no listing of times on the website. That's what we're after. There is zero need for it. Time yourselves with your own watches. I saw something on twitter (X or whatever you want to call it) where a poster was saying 'why can't you take your own timings, you want parkrun to wipe your arse too?' I think that was a fair and pithy comment.

IAmBeaIDrinkTea · 28/04/2026 14:38

ThatBlackCat · 28/04/2026 14:35

The Mens Rights Activists are really working overtime on this thread. Did a Reddit call go out?

Everybody who disagrees with me is a MAN! Who's on the run from Reddit!
FFS ,😂

Original poster
Funtime2 · 28/04/2026 14:37

IAmBeaIDrinkTea · 28/04/2026 14:34

Sounds good to me - do away with sex, gender and age on the website that shows your result and just have your name and time.

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why bother showing everyone’s times on the website? Just get them send privately to each person or check them on your app

OP posts:
ThatBlackCat · 28/04/2026 14:35

The Mens Rights Activists are really working overtime on this thread. Did a Reddit call go out?