Thank you for subscribing!

Campaigners have called the inclusion of trans men in female events 'illegal'

Women across the UK have demanded that trans Parkrun competitors are banned after one transgender runner has won over 100 events.

A mass protest movement targeting Parkrun's policy launches today, with thousands of runners across the country expected to take part.

The newly formed Reality Rules Runners UK club is calling on the popular weekly running event to comply with the law by preventing trans women from registering in the female category.

Parkrun, which operates more than 1,400 events nationwide, still permits trans women, who were born male, to compete against women and girls, enabling them to record top times and displace female participants in the rankings.

The campaign's organisers argue this practice gives trans women an unfair biological advantage and constitutes gender discrimination.

They say Parkrun appears to be disregarding the landmark Supreme Court ruling, which determined that trans women cannot be classified as female for legal purposes.

Alongside the grassroots campaign, a group of prominent female athletes is stepping up legal pressure on Parkrun.

Olympic swimmer Baroness Sharron Davies, yachtswoman Tracy Edwards and the Women's Sport Union have set a deadline of next Friday for the organisation to bar trans women from the female category.

Baroness Davies told The Mail on Sunday: "Parkrun is an amazing thing, but it's not right to pretend there isn't a clear physical benefit to being born male."

She urged the organisation to either abolish sex-based categories entirely or follow the Supreme Court's guidance. "A women's category is for people born female," she said.

"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 campaign's anonymous founder is encouraging Parkrunners to signal their support by adding the Reality Rules Runners UK club name to their online Parkrun profile.

He described the movement as one that transcends political divides.

"This will bring together people from across the political spectrum, male and female, who agree on one very basic point: Biological sex is real and women deserve fair sport," he said.

He added that many women privately consider the current policy unjust but are reluctant to speak out for fear of being targeted.

"Reality Rules Runners will allow people to stand together and show that support for fairness in women's sport is neither extreme nor niche."

The founder called on participants at every Parkrun in the country to join and attend their local events, making the depth of opposition "impossible to ignore".

Former British marathon runner Mara Yamauchi, who has been tracking Parkrun data, has identified at least 20 occasions where female record times at local events are held by trans women.

One belongs to Ellie Davies at the Jubilee parkrun in Bedford. Ms Davies previously spent five years racing in the men's category and, according to Ms Yamauchi, has since been recorded as first female finisher at 100 parkruns.

Notably, Ms Davies competed in the 2025 London Marathon in the male category.

The second course record is held by Lauren Jeska, who ran Aberystwyth Parkrun in 17 minutes 38 seconds.

Ms Jeska was sentenced to 18 years in prison in 2017 for the attempted murder of athletics official Ralph Knibbs.

Ms Yamauchi calculates that trans women have beaten female runners on close to 300 occasions since Parkrun began.

"You don't have to be a very good male athlete to break female records," Ms Yamauchi observed. "All that's required of a man is to be reasonably good."

At yesterday's Highbury Fields parkrun, opinion was divided. Oli Cheney, 44, backed the campaign. "You can't have men competing against females, it's not fair," he said.

"It's like saying the cat and the fish are the same thing. You can call a cat a fish if you want, but it won't swim."

Su Wong, spokesperson for the Sex Equality And Equity Network In Sport, pointed out that Parkrun has received millions in public funding aimed at boosting female participation.

"Yet Parkrun can't verify female numbers as it allows males to register in the female category," she said.

Fiona McAnena of Sex Matters said the organisation's message to women was clear: "Your achievements don't matter, we put these men's feelings ahead of yours, and you should too."

Ms McAnena added: "The law is clear: when a sporting event offers a female category, that is a category for women. It shouldn't include some men."

In response, a parkrun spokesman described the organisation as "a charity offering community-led, socially focused events delivered by volunteers with the aim of improving public health and community cohesion."

The statement made no direct reference to the campaign or the legal deadline set by Baroness Davies and her fellow athletes.

Parkrun has grown remarkably since its modest beginnings, when just 13 runners gathered at Bushy Park in London in 2004.

It has since become one of the largest grassroots sporting movements in Britain, with participants free to run, jog, walk or volunteer at any of its events.

Some runners at Highbury Fields yesterday maintained that inclusion and participation should take priority over competition.