A campaign to stop biological men competing as women in Parkruns is claiming its first victory following a botched attempt to censor it from official photos.
Parkrun has apologised to members of the Reality Rules Runners Club UK (RRRC) after admitting that organisers doctored social media pictures to remove the name of the campaign from runners’ T-shirts – an apparent attempt to erase all record of their protest.
Launched in The Mail on Sunday six weeks ago, the RRRC was formed amid mounting concern that Parkrun still allows trans women (born male) to dominate the weekly results for female runners.
More than 600 Parkrunners have worn RRRC T-shirts to force a change of heart from organisers.
The doctored photos, which were published on social media last weekend, sparked a furious online backlash, with some runners branding the censorship ‘dystopian’.
Parkrun, which organises more than 1,400 events across the country every week, appears to be rattled.
More than 600 Parkrunners have worn Reality Rules Runners Club T-shirts to campaugn against biological men competing as women in Parkruns
The doctored photos (here), which were published on social media last weekend, sparked a furious online backlash, with some runners branding the censorship ‘dystopian’
The MoS has established that organisers specifically named the RRRC during a briefing for volunteers at last weekend’s events.
And guidance set out by Parkrun’s online ‘volunteer hub’ says: ‘When publishing photos of an event on social media, please take care to remove any photos that may reference the campaign/demonstrations.’
Parkrun has since backtracked and apologised to the RRRC for the ‘frustration and upset’.
Claiming the photo editing at the Heaton Park Parkrun in Manchester was down to ‘a misinterpretation of our guidance’, the organisers have since published the original images on Facebook.
The founder of RRRC, who wishes to remain anonymous, said: ‘We were not campaigning, we were not handing out leaflets, we were simply running with T-shirts with Reality Rules Runners on them.’
A Parkrun spokesman said: ‘Parkrun is a charity offering community-led events to improve public health.’
