Thousands of runners are preparing to protest against parkrun's policy of allowing transgender women to compete in female categories. The newly formed Reality Rules Runners UK club is spearheading the campaign, asserting that parkrun is violating the law by not excluding transgender women, who were born male, from female events.
According to the group, transgender women hold an unfair physical advantage, leading to gender discrimination and pushing cisgender women and girls down the rankings. The campaign comes as a group of prominent female athletes, including Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies and yachtswoman Tracy Edwards, have issued a deadline to parkrun to ban transgender women from competing as females.
"Parkrun is an amazing thing, but it's not right to pretend there isn't a clear physical benefit to being born male," Baroness Davies stated. "A women's category is for people born female. By all means, get rid of male and female categories and have a free-for-all, or have integrity and do as the Supreme Court says. Instead, parkrun is trying to have it every which way. Allowing transwomen to compete as female is not only completely unfair, it is illegal."
The founder of Reality Rules Runners UK, who remains anonymous, has urged runners to join the club by adding its name to their online parkrun profiles. The group aims to unite individuals across the political spectrum who believe that biological sex is real and that women deserve fair sport. "People are often given the impression that only a small minority object to males being included in female categories, but that simply isn't true," the founder said. "There are thousands of parkrunners who believe sex-based categories matter. This club will give them a way to come together, physically show up and be counted."
Former British marathon runner Mara Yamauchi has noted that at least 20 female course records at parkruns are held by transgender women. She cited instances at Jubilee parkrun in Bedford, where Ellie Davies, who previously competed in the men's category, has reportedly finished first among female competitors 100 times since moving to the female category. Davies also entered the London Marathon in the male category for 2025.
Another female course record, at Aberystwyth parkrun, is held by Lauren Jeska. Jeska was previously jailed for attempted murder following concerns raised about her eligibility for women's athletics. "You don't have to be a very good male athlete to break female records," Yamauchi commented. "All that's required of a man is to be reasonably good. And the result is that week after week, female runners are swindled out of their achievements by transwomen who could and should run in the open category."
According to Yamauchi, transgender women have outperformed cisgender female runners on nearly 300 occasions since parkrun began. Parkrun, which started in 2004, has grown into a large grassroots sporting movement with over 1,400 events across Britain, offering opportunities for people to run, jog, walk, or volunteer.
Views among parkrunners are divided. Some, like Oli Cheney, support the protests, stating, "You can't have men competing against females, it's not fair." Others prioritize inclusivity, emphasizing that participation and inclusion are more important than competition. A spokesperson for parkrun stated that the organization is a charity focused on community-led, socially oriented events aimed at improving public health and cohesion.
Su Wong, spokesperson for the Sex Equality And Equity Network (SEEN) In Sport, highlighted that parkrun has received significant taxpayer funding to promote female recreational activity. "Yet parkrun can't verify female numbers as it allows males to register in the female category," Wong said. "Why should women and girls have to put up with people born male taking female course records or with them bumping us down in the rankings? Sex matters, fairness matters and the law matters. There are no more excuses for discriminating against women and girls."
Fiona McAnena of the Sex Matters campaign group added that parkrun's policy sends a message to women and girls that their achievements are less important than the feelings of men competing in female categories. "The law is clear: when a sporting event offers a female category, that is a category for women. It shouldn't include some men."