I know this concept is really abstract, but literally nothing about the event itself has changed.
I feel you're missing the point. They've deleted years of data and countless category records that were used by thousands of avid runners, all to avoid having to say that a handful of men shouldn't be racing in the women's category. That's what this is about, beyond any shadow of a doubt. The participation/barriers chat is just noise.
I addressed a different point. I didn't even mention the parkrun organization or their motivations. I was suggesting a way for participants to reframe their experience of parkrun so they might still be able to enjoy it for what it is rather than boycott it for what it no longer is.
Did they delete it? I thought they just weren't publishing it. Like when the social media platforms stopped posting the number of likes or dislikes (or something like that).
I understand that the trans issue. I have nothing to contribute that could change anyone's mind on the issue, so I didn't address that part.
Parkrun is definitely a race. It's a race I've won the women's category three times in. Don't try to tell me I didn't really win! I'm too old to win any races now - Parkrun or otherwise - and I value the memory of those three *races* that I won.
Males dominate sports at every level - just watch a 2nd grade mixed sex soccer or basketball game if you don't believe me. I really appreciate people like Mara Yamauchi who are willing to stick their neck out and suffer public scorn to defend women's sports.
I know this concept is really abstract, but literally nothing about the event itself has changed.
I feel you're missing the point. They've deleted years of data and countless category records that were used by thousands of avid runners, all to avoid having to say that a handful of men shouldn't be racing in the women's category. That's what this is about, beyond any shadow of a doubt. The participation/barriers chat is just noise.
Good. The results were tainted and they should be deleted.
Avid runners should look for competitive opportunities elsewhere.
Parkrun is definitely a race. It's a race I've won the women's category three times in. Don't try to tell me I didn't really win! I'm too old to win any races now - Parkrun or otherwise - and I value the memory of those three *races* that I won.
Males dominate sports at every level - just watch a 2nd grade mixed sex soccer or basketball game if you don't believe me. I really appreciate people like Mara Yamauchi who are willing to stick their neck out and suffer public scorn to defend women's sports.
Mara doesn't give a toss about women's sport. But I'm grateful for her intervention.
Is this just the UK, or worldwide? I thought all parkruns had to have the same system, rules etc.
It's world wide. The only drop down menu links under 'results' are: latest results, event history, club list, not parkrun (virtual) and not parkrun history.
From memory there used to be also: age/sex category records in 5-year age groups, fastest 500 times at that parkrun, list of under 17 minute men and under 20 minute women. On the results page you now see all registered names in finish order which you also can sort by total parkruns and age grade percentage.
Parkrun is definitely a race. It's a race I've won the women's category three times in. Don't try to tell me I didn't really win! I'm too old to win any races now - Parkrun or otherwise - and I value the memory of those three *races* that I won.
Males dominate sports at every level - just watch a 2nd grade mixed sex soccer or basketball game if you don't believe me. I really appreciate people like Mara Yamauchi who are willing to stick their neck out and suffer public scorn to defend women's sports.
That's great for you but parkrun is telling you it isn't a race. You get a t shirt for every 50 times you run or volunteer, not for how many times you happen to be fastest person on that day.
Parkrun is definitely a race. It's a race I've won the women's category three times in. Don't try to tell me I didn't really win! I'm too old to win any races now - Parkrun or otherwise - and I value the memory of those three *races* that I won.
Males dominate sports at every level - just watch a 2nd grade mixed sex soccer or basketball game if you don't believe me. I really appreciate people like Mara Yamauchi who are willing to stick their neck out and suffer public scorn to defend women's sports.
Parkrun is not a race. There is no first or last, but you are welcome to run a fast time if you want. This weekend saw 15:42 and and 14:46 at Market Rasen Racecourse parkrun. It's a racecourse, but only for the four-legged.
Sophie Wallis and George Wilson ran the fastest parkrun times in the UK this weekend (10th February). Our weekly parkrun top ten is now sponsored by Vertebrate Publishing (my publisher) and here’s a link to buy my book on the...
The decision was taken to “remove barriers to registration and participation”, Parkrun told the BBC. They explained:
“What was clear is that there was a disconnect between the performance data displayed so prominently on the site, and our mission to create opportunities for as many people as possible to take part in Parkrun events – especially those who are anxious about activities such as Parkrun, but who potentially have an enormous amount to gain.”
The decision was taken to “remove barriers to registration and participation”, Parkrun told the BBC. They explained:
“What was clear is that there was a disconnect between the performance data displayed so prominently on the site, and our mission to create opportunities for as many people as possible to take part in Parkrun events – especially those who are anxious about activities such as Parkrun, but who potentially have an enormous amount to gain.”
We've already been over this. If this was the real reason then they would remove much more obvious barriers like the event results being displayed for all to see in time order, and each athlete's page showing 'slowest parkrun'. They very specifically removed the specific category pages (which were hidden away in sub-menus that newbies wouldn't have navigated to anyway) in response to the pressure from 'save women's sports'.
This post was edited 26 seconds after it was posted.
The decision was taken to “remove barriers to registration and participation”, Parkrun told the BBC. They explained:
“What was clear is that there was a disconnect between the performance data displayed so prominently on the site, and our mission to create opportunities for as many people as possible to take part in Parkrun events – especially those who are anxious about activities such as Parkrun, but who potentially have an enormous amount to gain.”
We've already been over this. If this was the real reason then they would remove much more obvious barriers like the event results being displayed for all to see in time order, and each athlete's page showing 'slowest parkrun'. They very specifically removed the specific category pages (which were hidden away in sub-menus that newbies wouldn't have navigated to anyway) in response to the pressure from 'save women's sports'.
I think it’s probably a balancing act, and they know (probably correctly) that all levels of runner value a time being sent to them and displayed on the site, so if parkrun removed that, they know they will haemorrhage participants. Whereas, most people don’t look at the records anyway (I used to, but I imagine the vast majority just have a cursory look at best, and I’d hazard a guess that most haven’t ever opened those pages).
People go on about it not being a race. Fine, for it not to be a race and just a run in the park, they need to just publish participation lists alphabetically and get rid of times and positions. They wouldn't need anything other than a name.
People can time it themselves if they want to. Accuracy is not important since it is not a race.
People go on about it not being a race. Fine, for it not to be a race and just a run in the park, they need to just publish participation lists alphabetically and get rid of times and positions. They wouldn't need anything other than a name.
People can time it themselves if they want to. Accuracy is not important since it is not a race.
Why would they need to get rid of times? I went for a run this morning, it wasn't a race but it was still timed.
My local parkrun course is ****. Permanent mud and dirt, lots of exposed tree roots and trip hazards, trails not been maintained for 10+ years and the course doesn't even measure 3.11.
Parkrun is definitely a race. It's a race I've won the women's category three times in. Don't try to tell me I didn't really win! I'm too old to win any races now - Parkrun or otherwise - and I value the memory of those three *races* that I won.
Males dominate sports at every level - just watch a 2nd grade mixed sex soccer or basketball game if you don't believe me. I really appreciate people like Mara Yamauchi who are willing to stick their neck out and suffer public scorn to defend women's sports.
That's great for you but parkrun is telling you it isn't a race. You get a t shirt for every 50 times you run or volunteer, not for how many times you happen to be fastest person on that day.
You have to pay for those t shirts. They should pay me for free advertising.
Parkrun is definitely a race. It's a race I've won the women's category three times in. Don't try to tell me I didn't really win! I'm too old to win any races now - Parkrun or otherwise - and I value the memory of those three *races* that I won.
Males dominate sports at every level - just watch a 2nd grade mixed sex soccer or basketball game if you don't believe me. I really appreciate people like Mara Yamauchi who are willing to stick their neck out and suffer public scorn to defend women's sports.
That's great for you but parkrun is telling you it isn't a race. You get a t shirt for every 50 times you run or volunteer, not for how many times you happen to be fastest person on that day.
Because they publish the finishing order, with times, it is a race. It would only come under the definition of not being a race if it didn't record results with finishing order and times, and actually quite a lot of fun runs in the uk operate like that. Park run records times and finishing order and thesecare often listed in local newspapers or their own social media posts saying"First female across the line was xxx in xd.xx, first male was beating xx who has won 2 times previously" and so on giving the top 3 places.
Park run are going to have to stop recording all results if they are going go with the angle that its not a race. You cant claim something is non competitive and then produce detailed results of the finishing order and times like that
A lot of park runs take place in public places which are subject in the UK to the Equality Act, which doesnt permit discrimibation against women, and neither does public funding permit discrimination against women either.
Its clear that Mara and other female runners wearing t shirts with slogans were secually discriminated against last weekend when park run organizers told one of their official events photographers to delete photos of them because of the message on their slogan. Parknrun has a prrven history of encouraging politcal slogans on t shirts for a whole varuetynof other causes, so this is clearly discrimination against women seekibg to defend their rights under the Equality Act, and i hope they get sued. Because permitting political campaigning for causes other than those supporting the elimination of diacrimibation against women is about as discriminatory as it gets.
As for the "you should do a proper race" type comments, do you really think somebody running under 20 minutes never does any other races than park run and they need you to instruct them on their racing schedule? Did you chant "do a proper race" when Jake Wightnan or Andy Butchart or Alex Yee or Jemma Reekie or Ciara Magheean ran fast times at park run as part of their training? Or do you just like to pick on women who post on Lets Run, even when they're probably faster than you?
How many times on this post have we seem a woman being mocked forcsaying she has run 19.30 or has won a park run? Why is it always the wonen who aren't fast enough for the critics of Lets Run, but they would never dream if telling Mr 21.55 he's slow?
We all know this is because there's a certain element of slow male runners out there who.see women being recognized for winning races in times they think they could do themselves. Because they've never won anything in their lives, they think its unfair. So they support people who were born as men having 2 categories to run in because they really don't think that women should have a category of their own. Life's always favored men until recently and they don't really believe it should be any different now. To them, equality means treating people the sane (although in practice, treating women worse because they're less likely to hit you than another man), not equality of opportunity, which is the legal definition.
So, they mock women who post on the internet for not being as fast as men of the sane age, rather than actually running fast themselves. Pathetic and cowardly.
That's great for you but parkrun is telling you it isn't a race. You get a t shirt for every 50 times you run or volunteer, not for how many times you happen to be fastest person on that day.
Did you chant "do a proper race" when Jake Wightnan or Andy Butchart or Alex Yee or Jemma Reekie or Ciara Magheean ran fast times at park run as part of their training?
We need this next, if the story develops anymore absurdly than it already is. I mean, what right do they have to come down and use everyones park?
How many times on this post have we seem a woman being mocked forcsaying she has run 19.30 or has won a park run? Why is it always the wonen who aren't fast enough for the critics of Lets Run, but they would never dream if telling Mr 21.55 he's slow?
We all know this is because there's a certain element of slow male runners out there who.see women being recognized for winning races in times they think they could do themselves. Because they've never won anything in their lives, they think its unfair. So they support people who were born as men having 2 categories to run in because they really don't think that women should have a category of their own. Life's always favored men until recently and they don't really believe it should be any different now.
If there's one category of person I truly don't understand it's heterosexual men who dislike, hate or resent women. I honestly think I get where everyone else is coming from more or less, but not them.
I understand that parkrun receives funding from organisations that are pro transgender. if parkrun were to confront the issue, they could lose this funding, and this funding provides the salaries for those at the top. so, parkrun have taken the easy way out. By removing these stats, the records of men running as women becomes less visible.
The larger issue, is, how will athletics bodies, all the way up to the IOC, deal with the issue of men taking part in women’s sport?
