Parkrun has eliminated speed records from its web site to reduce the “off-putting” nature of them and dispel the notion that the runs are races.
It is to cease publishing information together with most first-place finishes, age-grade and class speed records. Users will now not have the power to seek for these records.
The transfer comes amid criticism of Parkrun permitting transgender ladies to compete within the feminine class. The assume tank Policy Exchange mentioned in December that a minimum of three Parkrun feminine records have been held by transgender ladies.
Parkrun advised the BBC it had been wanting to make modifications to the information it revealed earlier than the Covid pandemic and that this determination was not in response to criticism they’d confronted.
In an announcement on their web site, Parkrun highlighted that they’d “made many changes” to their web site over time “and will continue to do so as we evolve”.
They additionally mentioned {that a} “global working group” had “spent many months making detailed investigations and recommendations” to guarantee information on the Parkrun web site was “not off-putting and doesn’t imply that parkrun is a race”.
The assertion additionally mentioned: “What was clear is that there was a disconnect between the efficiency information displayed so prominently on the site, and our mission to create alternatives for as many individuals as potential to participate in parkrun occasions.
“We try hard to make sure the information we share is consistent with our values, and that, in all that we do, we continue to find ways to remove barriers to registration and participation.”
Parkrun, which organises free weekly 5km working occasions, started with a gaggle of 13 mates in a south-west London park in 2004 earlier than rising right into a worldwide exercise.
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