TransLucent.org roundly condemns the ongoing Gender Critical attempts to create an invented problem for Parkrun, which is a charity organisation whose aim is simply to improve people’s health and has never been promoted as a competitive sport. It’s a fun run.
Parkrun Statement
TransLucent.org roundly condemns the ongoing Gender Critical attempts to create an invented problem for Parkrun, which is a charity organisation whose aim is simply to improve people’s health and has never been promoted as a competitive sport. It’s a fun run.
Their aim is to promote healthy exercise, not to seek the next Olympic Champion. Performance times were given to everyone participating simply so those wanting to challenge themselves to run faster and monitor their fitness levels as they improve. There are no rewards for where you finish. It’s a fun run.
Parkrun describe themselves as “a health charity delivering non-competitive free to access physical activity events focused on removing barriers to participate”. Yes, it’s a fun run.
The likes of Sharron Davies, Mara Yamauchi, Bev Jackson, James Esses, Jon Pike, Maya Forstater, Milli Hill, Sex Matters and The Woman’s Rights Network must have all been well aware that claims of ‘trans women destroying women’s sport’ is simply not happening as there still has been no genuine impact in any elite level sport; no world records, nor gold medals – they struggle to even qualify for any elite event in any sport. So their attention has turned to the likes of Parkrun to invent an issue that has never existed. Their claim is that “Biological Women” are “unfairly losing places” as if finishing 238th instead of 237th makes any genuine difference. It’s a fun run!
They also fail to make any reference to the impact on places by trans men who are no longer recorded in the women’s category. If there were more trans men than trans women participating at any Parkrun event, cisgender women that are supposedly being unfairly impacted may in fact have been placed higher up the list rather than lower. But does it really matter? It’s a fun run.
So now Parkrun have deleted the course records, which some Gender Critical activists have complained has upset those that were motivated by keeping track of their times. Parkrun say it has nothing to do with this issue, but it is unlikely this would have happened had those Gender Critical individuals and organisations not invented such a fuss about what has always been, just a fun run to promote a healthier lifestyle. Gender Critical Ideology created the problem that they are now complaining about.
TransLucent.org calls for this clear targeting of trans women to stop before the fun is removed and Parkrun participation is affected. With 1,244 Parkrun events around the UK every weekend, any negative reaction could have an impact on health.
Parkrun participants run with buggies, children and their dogs. It’s a social event that welcomes everyone and has no competitive element. The fact that Parkrun has become the prime target for ‘Saving Women’s Sport’ exposes the reality that there truly is no genuine problem of trans women competing in sport. When a non-competitive social event becomes their biggest concern in sport, it is clear their motivation has never been fairness.
It’s simply a fun run.
Parkrun Statement
15th February 2024
