Women's Park Run Record smashed to smithereens

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The way to beat records for men to self ID and run as a female. Straight into the record books and stand aside females whilst man in dress sets the record. Is nothing safe from men anymore?

Was a married man until just 4 years ago.

oh sorry, are you too woke for capital letters?

I agree it’s ridiculous but I’m a bit confused. If you look at the results page for this run she is the first “woman” that week but she doesn’t break the women’s record which you can see at the bottom of the page was set in 2015 by someone much faster than her. It’s a bit sensationalised.

Sian currently has the age graded record for that particular event for the W40-44 I think it is.

@Ihaventgottimeforthis ah ok gotcha.

If you know, you know...

aowalc 🤣

It really hasn’t. Parkrun is just for fun, it’s not elite athletics.

Why do you think that sex is only important in elite athletics?

What do you think will happen at grassroots levels when women and girls find themselves up against males?

Why do you think that British Triathlon have addressed this by extending its policy to grassroots level?

Yes. Mixed gender awards only. Gender being entirely irrelevant to the physical effects that makes 48% of human physical bodies have intrinsic advantages over the other 52%.

Within the mixed-gender awards there are two sub-categories. (A) Men, women and non-binary persons of the male variety and (B) Men, women and nonbinary persons of the female variety.

I think of parkrun as inclusive but that doesn’t mean it’s not competitive. It’s meant to be fun but again it can still be competitive. The whole ethos is that it’s for everybody (although I find it really cliquey at times) whether you’re “fast” or not. For me that doesn’t equal not competitive…although I do find it funny when people rock up in carbon plated shoes.

Totally missing the point but not bad looking for a trans woman

I'm very average, but I enjoy the timed element and age grading. I don't want to sacrifice that aspect of parkrun to swerve the issue of trans-women with the advantages of male frame, muscle and hormones taking records in female categories.

The timing and grading is one of the oldest principles of parkrun back to Bushy Time Trial. All solutions to appease biological males in female spaces seem to involve sacrifice from women and we already sacrifice enough through society.

When Katherine Switzer tried to run the Boston Marathon in 1967, she was manhandled because women were banned. She entered using her initials.
Our elites didn't even get the olympic marathon until 1984.

Women's place in sport has been a long slow slog and it's being eroded again.
Women (or trans-men) don't take away from the achievements of men.

I don't understand why they cant just have their own category

Park run is a huge network

I support transgender women but I cannot understand the mindset that allows someone to do this. I can’t imagine doing it myself but
that may be because I was born and m raised a woman and therefore have a way of being in the world which means I usually defer to others and am a stickler for doing the right thing.

Jenn if parkrun had dealt with this quietly and removed this runners course records when we started complaining a year ago then it wouldn't have got into the Daily Hate. Parkrun have dug themselves into a hole.

I expect it was another "only the women" are complaining situation so no one took it seriously.

Parkrun could potentially be a great tournament for Trans athletes. S transwoman in Glasgow could compete against other transwomen in for example Hull, Portsmouth and Aberystwyth for their own title each week. Transmen could do similar. They don't need to be in the same place to have meaningful competition against each other.

(There would need to be a way of working out a course handicap but Parkrun must have enough data for that now!)

This could be done on Run Britain Rankings probably quite easily, if the trans community were on board with it. But it would mean outing themselves and, unfortunately, even if some people wanted it they may well be afraid to say so due to the nature of the discussion.

A big problem is that when you complete the sign up for many sports events they ask your gender.

If they asked sex then (hopefully) those who are transgender will compete in the right category for their biological make up.

After all what makes someone female or make gender is only a bunch of stereotypes society has decided are male or female.

My sons not so good at sport against the boys. I'll tell him to self identify as a girl. He could be amazing. Absolute joke isn't it. So unfair to woman.

@Season0fTheWitch

An open section

It would make no difference whatsoever if they asked for sex rather than gender.

Melissa Bryant Courtney (a biological woman) has the women's park run record at 15 mins something.

Set last year in Poole.

The world has gone mad!

How can anyone NOT know how unfair this is!

There should be three categories in sport now.

I'm a runner and I've won a few races. It means quite a lot to me, and I would be really fucking pissed off if I "lost" to a biological male.

Why is it that when there is such a minuscule % of transwoman in the population and even smaller in sport - that they are winning so many records 🤷‍♀️ Do any of these events have woman beating woman that were born male?

I'm a runner and I've won a few races. It means quite a lot to me, and I would be really fucking pissed off if I "lost" to a biological male.

but if you voice your feelings then you’re transphobic